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Major Motor Sports Disciplines

Dependent on where you are in the world and who you ask, different motor sports disciplines will dominate the conversation. Nevertheless, these are the major disciplines in motor sports. 

Formula 1

Simply put, formula 1 pits some of the best drivers in the world onto a circuit and asks them to be the first to cross the finish a pre-determined number of laps. Originating during the 1920s, F1 now sees a standard set of rules govern the teams, a championship season and a tour around most of the world. 

The car is an open-wheel, open-cockpit single seat race car, designed almost exclusively to ensure maximum speed is attained. The science around the development of the tires used limits friction and enhances the cars pace.

These machines can accelerate from 0 to 100mph and then decelerate back to 0 in under 5 seconds! Furthermore, even more fascinating is the fact that the cars average speeds of 185mph around most tracks on the circuit. 

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MotoGP

In 2002 a MotorGP class, which saw the amalgamation of a 2-stroke machine up to 500 cc and 4-stroke machine up to 990 cc, was created and ultimately gave rise to what has become the very best of World Championship Road Racing. In 2004 the regulation changed once again to allow only a 4-stroke machine to compete, but by 2012 1000cc bikes were welcomed onto the grid in what is now the pinnacle festival of speed. 

Italian riders, including the legendary Valentino Rossi, have the best all-time records winning 20 titles in the premier class of racing. 

NASCAR

Founded in 1948, NASCAR is essentially the governing body for what is called stock-car racing in North America. Bill France is considered the father of NASCAR, it was thanks to his ambition for one day seeing a functional championship of stock-car racing that NASCAR came to be. 

The first NASCAR sanctioned races was held on the 4^th of Jan in 1948, today you have a structured circuit which sees the safety of drivers, modern technology and an appreciation of speed and control come together to form another pillar of motor sports. 

IndyCar

Simple enough to understand, the driver which crosses the line first wins, but complex enough to speak to the heart of a true motorhead! Welcome to IndyCar! Governed by nine flags which communicate various aspects to the driver, divided by segments for the race procedure and underpinned by the so-called IndyCar precautions – drivers race around various circuits and tracks to establish a king of the bunch. 

Legendary Motor Sports Figures

There will always those who add far more value to their sport than they received from it. Those who truly left the game in a better state than what they found it in. Those who are remembered, and rightly so, as legends of the game!

Ayrton Senna 

Senna was a former F1 legend who died in a racing accident. Born in Brazil, Senna was a driver who claimed three world championships on his way to becoming an F1 icon and considered by many to be the fastest driver to grace a track. 

He rode for McLaren over his decade-long career before he tragically died during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy. He crashed into a wall travelling at 191 mph. 

Michael Schumacher 

Schumacher was a German driver who set records for the most F1 Grand Prix wins – this was eventually broken by Lewis Hamilton – and F1 Championships, which was also tied by Lewis Hamilton. Driving for Ferrari, Schumacher was one of the first athletes to amass a career earning of close to a billion dollars! 

Valentino Rossi 

Born in Urbino, Italy in 1979, Rossi credits his grandfather (who was also a Grand Prix winner) for introducing him to riding. The Italian has won nine championships in MotorGP, won over 110 races and is rightly seen as the face of global MotorGP. 

The Future of Motor Sports 

The future of motor sports is an exciting one. The continued technological advancements will not simply enhance the performance of race cars, but it will also make for a safer driving environment and racing discipline. 

The transition to electric vehicles in motorsports is not just driven by technological advancements but also by regulatory pressure and a general societal acceptance for safer environmental practices. 

There is a shift already considered, whereby sustainability and a reduction in carbon emissions is considered in the racing community. 

A Brief History of Motor Sports 

Dating back to around 1895, motor sports was more a novelty exhibition than a true sporting event. The first true races were only held in 1895 between Paris and Bordeaux and was seen as more a celebration of the invention of the ‘gasoline fueled internal combustion engine’ than anything else. 

Early Automobile Racing 

Official, and organized, automobile racing began to find some traction amongst fans throughout Europe and the United States in 1895. Although, at the time, racing was a town-to-town race rather than something confined to a circuit. 

It was only in 1903 that authorities suspended international (or inter-town) racing due to the high number of accidents that began to occur. This inevitably saw the inception of closed-circuit racing, which was safer for spectators, drivers and livestock. 

The Golden Age of Motor Racing

The golden age of motor racing is often considered to be the 1930s – but I think this is often the case from a tyre perspective. The 1930s saw Pirelli tires innovate to negate as much traction as possible and start to shift the focus to unbridled speed on the track. 

However, the dawn of a competitive F1 season was largely responsible for the introduction of motor sports golden age…

The Birth of Formula 1

What we understand F1 to be today was born in the 1950s, although its roots belong to the 1890s in France. Racing originally saw upright and heavy machinery moving on tarred and sandy roads. 

Thankfully evolution saw the introduction of the “Grand Prix” in 1901, “Pits” were then introduced by 1908 – even if they were sand dunes dug out on the side of the track. The Great Depression saw a steep decline in F1 interest, I guess there were other important matters to consider for the people at the time, but by the 1970s turbo development had already been part and parcel of the F1 community and a need for speed was ultimately born. 

This almost single handedly changed the design of F1 cars, with an increased focus on weight, aerodynamics and tire reliability.