Motorsport

Motorsport refers to various sporting events and competitions involving powered vehicles. These activities primarily utilize automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats, and powered aircraft. People often use specific terms like automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating, or air sports to describe these activities. Different versions of motorsport are called disciplines. Each discipline follows its own specific rules and objectives. Common examples of these disciplines include circuit racing, rallying, and trials.

Organizing motorsport requires strict rules to ensure fair competition. Governing bodies, also known as sanctioning bodies, establish general rules for each discipline. They may also create supplementary rules to define a specific championship or series. These groups often categorize competitions by vehicle type, surface type, or propulsion method. For instance, automobile sports are categorized into groups like formula racing, stock car racing, or touring car racing. This structure helps manage the many different ways people compete.

One major type of competition is circuit racing. This takes place on sealed-surface courses, such as permanent autodromes or temporary street circuits. In these races, competitors complete a set number of laps. The winner is usually the first to finish or the one with the most laps completed in a set time. Early motorsport often involved point-to-point racing between cities. However, safety concerns and the desire for spectators led to the use of closed, policed circuits. The first purpose-built motor racing track was Aspendale Racecourse in Australia, built in 1906.

Within circuit racing, cars are often divided into specific categories. Single-seater racing involves cars with minimal bodywork that only hold a driver and mechanical parts. These are also called open-wheel cars because the wheels protrude from the body. Formula racing uses specific design rules for these vehicles. Formula One is a famous international championship governed by the FIA. Another category is Formula E, which uses only electric-powered cars.

Sports car racing includes production-based grand touring cars and racing prototypes. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a famous flagship race for these vehicles.

Other forms of racing focus on different environments or styles. Off-road racing occurs on open terrain or unsealed surfaces like dirt. The Baja 1000 is a notable desert race organized by SCORE International.

Rallycross is a shorter form of racing that uses compact circuits of both asphalt and dirt. It began in Great Britain in 1967. Another unique discipline is drag racing, which is an acceleration contest. Drivers compete from a standing start along a short, straight course. The winner is the person who finishes first or sets the fastest time.

The history of motorsport began with very early self-powered vehicles. The first recorded match race between two self-powered road vehicles occurred on August 30, 1867. This eight-mile race took place in north west England between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford. Isaac Watt Boulton won the race using a steam carriage. In the United States, a 200-mile race was held in 1878 between Green Bay and Madison. Only two machines competed in that event. Later, the 1894 contest from Paris to Rouen in France became widely accepted as the world's first motorsport event involving automobiles.

International governing bodies manage the complexity of these global sports. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, or FIA, was formed in 1904. It is the oldest and most prominent international authority for land vehicles with four or more wheels. The FIA works alongside the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, which manages vehicles with one to three wheels. Within the FIA, each nation has a National Sporting Authority, or ASN. These ASNs are the sole authorities in their own countries. They ensure that participants hold the correct licenses and follow official rules.