Prestige, adrenaline, and large cash prizes make world-famous automobile races a source of amazing excitement. Drivers race under the heavy pressure of extreme speeds, putting their courage, along with a wide-range of skills, to the test.
The top speed, acceleration, and durability of a high-performance machine are not everything that plays a key role in automobile races. The reflexes and driver’s experience, as well as the efficiency of the entire team of technicians, are equally important. Salvagebid invites you to take a look at the most interesting and popular automobile races in the world.
A Brief History of Motorsport
Carl Benz built the first car with an internal combustion engine in 1885. Although the public did not meet the invention with an enthusiastic reception at the beginning, it was thanks to it that the desire for speed reigned in the next century.
In 1900, James Gordon Bennett, a New York newspaper tycoon, funded prizes in a car race on the Paris-Lyon route. Famous Frenchman Fernand Charron, a legend of the automotive industry, won the competition. The success of this event caused an avalanche in the popularity of the races. The next big car races were organized in the United States and Western European countries. The World Championship, a multi-stage motor race consisting of several grand prix, was held around 1925.
The Biggest Car Races
There are so many car events and races that it can be quite challenging to sort them out and get their peculiarities. In the article, we will review the three automobile races that are most important for motorsport.
Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco
It is, without a doubt, the most famous and prestigious car race in the world. It belongs to the Formula 1 World Championship races, in which drivers compete in single-seat vehicles with open bodies.
The first race was organized in 1929. The arena of the competition is the famous Circuit de Monaco, a track covering the streets of Monte Carlo. This tracking lap has 3,337 meters, or a little more than 2 miles long, winding through 18 turns through the streets of the settlement. The fastest lap in racing belongs to Lewis Hamilton, who in 2019 completed it in just 1:12.909.
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally is an annual car race in difficult off-road conditions, held on routes equalling thousands of miles. It is usually held in January. This is an extremely interesting event, also due to the fact that a large percentage of participants are amateurs.
Competitors race in four categories: cars, motorcycles, trucks, and ATVs. The traditional route leading from Paris in France to Dakar in Senegal with a crossing of the Mediterranean Sea was organized in the years 1979-1994 with a break. In the following years, for many reasons, the rally was held on other routes, also outside Europe and Africa.
Many manufacturers treat this event as an opportunity for the presentation of the newest models of their machines. However, the cars taking part in the rally are adapted to extreme desert conditions, so their performance features should be taken into account during the race preparation.
24 hours of Le Mans
The F1 racing requires concentration, and the Dakar Rally is a test of endurance. However, the 24-hour race in Le Mans, France, combines both challenges into one extreme competition. The event takes place on the Circuit de la Sarthe, which is over 13 kilometers (it is little more than 8 miles long) and consists of roads used for public traffic on a daily basis.
The task of the competitors is to overcome as many laps of the track as possible in a time equal to 24 hours. The route consists of several winding sections along the Mulsanne Straight, on which drivers accelerate to exceptional speeds.
The race has a particularly long tradition, as its first edition took place in 1923. Initially, the car’s crew was a single driver. The race started at 3 PM, and the hours between midnight and 3 AM were considered particularly critical and hard for the participants. Over time, the crews were enlarged to two and then three drivers, who can change quite freely.
The Bottom Line
Extreme speed and extreme passion attract people to automobile racing. In our article, we have reviewed the three most impressive automotive competitions that gather thousands of fans together. All the races have a rich history and are becoming even more popular every year.
To help you get involved in the huge and impressive automotive world, Salvagebid can offer you affordable vehicles with minor damage. All you need to do is to register on our website by providing some basic information. You can also use your Facebook or Google accounts. We also invite you to contact us if you have any questions concerning online auto auctions. To reach us, call: +1 (360) 347-1300 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday, or email support@salvagebid.com.