Motorsport
Motorsport or motor sport or motor sports are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.
Different manifestations of motorsport with their own objectives and specific rules are called disciplines. Examples include circuit racing, rallying and trials. Governing bodies, also called sanctioning bodies, often have general rules for each discipline, but allow supplementary rules to define the character of a particular competition, series or championship. Groups of these are often categorised informally, such as by vehicle type, surface type or propulsion method. Examples of categories within a discipline are formula racing, stock car racing, touring car racing, sports car racing, etc.
History
The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred in the north west of England at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford, Manchester, a distance of eight miles. It was won by the locomotive of Isaac Watt Boulton, one of six he said he had run over the years, perhaps driven by his 22-year-old son, James W. The race was against Daniel Adamson's carriage, likely the one made for Mr. Schmidt and perhaps driven by Mr. Schmidt himself. The reports do not indicate who was driving, since both were violating the red-flag law then fully in force. Boulton's carriage was developed from a scrapped John Bridge Adams light-rail vehicle. These were solid fired steam carriages. This event and the details of the vehicles are recorded in the contemporary press, The Engineer, and in Fletcher's books.The Wisconsin legislature passed an act in 1875 offering a substantial purse for the first US motor race, which was run on July 16, 1878, over a 200-mile course from Green Bay to Appleton, Oshkosh, Waupon, Watertown, Fort Atkinson and Janesville, then turning north and ending in Madison. Only two actually competed: the Oshkosh and the Green Bay. This is examined and illustrated in detail in The Great Race of 1878 by Richard Backus, Farm Collector, May/June 2004.
In 1894, the French newspaper Le Petit Journal organised a contest for horseless carriages featuring a run from Paris to Rouen. This is widely accepted as the world's first motorsport event, and was the first to involve what would become known as automobiles. On 28 November 1895, the Chicago Times-Herald race, running from Chicago to Evanston and back, a distance of sixty miles, was held. This is believed to be the first motorsport event in the United States of America. In 1900, the Gordon Bennett Cup was established.
Motorsport was a demonstration event at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
Following World War I, European countries organised Grand Prix races over closed courses. In the United States, dirt track racing became popular.
After World War II, the Grand Prix circuit became more formally organised. In the United States, stock car racing and drag racing became firmly established.
Automobile sport
Governing bodies
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, formed in 1904, is the oldest and most prominent international governing body. It claims to be the sole international motor sporting authority for automobiles and other land vehicles with four or more wheels, whilst acknowledging the authority of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme over vehicles with one to three wheels, which FIM calls motorcycle sport.FIM and FIA are both recognised as international sports federations by the International Olympic Committee.
FIA hierarchy
Within the FIA's structure, each affiliated National Sporting Authority is recognised as the sole authority in their nation. Permission of the ASNs must be obtained to organise events using their rules, and their licenses must be held by participants. Not all ASNs function in the same manner, some are private companies such as Motorsport UK, some are supported by the state such as France's FFSA, or in the case of the US's ACCUS, a council of sanctioning bodies is the national representative at FIA meetings.ASNs, their affiliated clubs or independent commercial promotors organise motorsport events which often include competitions. A collective of events is called a series, and a grouping of competitions often forms the basis of a championship, cup or trophy.
| International | National Sporting Authority | ASN Members/Associates etc |
| FIA |  Unaffiliated automobile sport bodiesNot all nations have a sporting authority affiliated with the FIA, some disciplines may not fall within the FIA's remit of control, or organisations may choose to ignore the claim of the authority of others. Examples include banger racing and stock car racing in the United Kingdom which are claimed by both the Oval Racing Council and the National Stock Car Association, despite the claim by the FIA affiliated ASN, Motorsport UK, to be the "governing body of all four-wheel motorsport in the UK". SCORE International, the National Auto Sport Association and the National Off-Road Racing Association of the United States are also not members of the FIA affiliation system but may work with members for international matters.RacingAlthough English dictionaries do not unanimously agree and singularly define that a race is between competitors running head-to-head, in its International Sporting Code, the FIA defines racing as two or more cars competing on the same course simultaneously.Circuit racingCircuit racing takes place on sealed-surface courses at permanent autodromes or on temporary street circuits. Competitors race over a set number of laps of the circuit with the winner being the first to finish, or for a set length of time with the winner having completed the highest number of laps, with others classified subsequently.Circuit racing replaced point-to-point racing early in the history of motorsport, for both spectator appeal and as safety concerns brought in regulation of the sport, forcing organisers to use closed, marshalled and policed circuits on closed public roads. Aspendale Racecourse in Australia in 1906 was the first purpose-built motor racing track in the world. After which, permanent autodromes popularly replaced circuits on public roads. In North America, the term road racing is used to describe racing and courses that have origins in racing on public highways; distinguished from oval racing, which has origins at purpose-built speedways using concrete or wooden boards.
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