IMSA GTP sports cars racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1991

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars. GTP sports cars, Lexington, Ohio, 1991, by Rick Dikeman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... GTP sports cars, Lexington, Ohio, 1991, by Rick Dikeman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. ... Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Lexington, Ohio. ... “Racing cars” redirects here. ... Karl Benzs Velo model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race An automobile or motor car (usually shortened to just car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. ... 1963 Jaguar E-Type, a classic sports car 1963 Chevrolet Corvette was based upon European sports cars A sports car is an automobile designed for performance driving. ...

A kind of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this racing is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, it is one of the oldest motor races still in existence. Other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. Most top class sports car races emphasise endurance (races are typically anywhere from 2.5 to 24 hours in length), reliability and strategy over pure speed. Longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes - sports car racing is seen more as a team sport than a gladiatorial individual sport and team managers like John Wyer, Tom Walkinshaw, driver-turned-constructor Henri Pescarolo, Peter Sauber and Reinhold Joest have become almost as famous as many of their drivers. Open-wheeler is a catch-all term for purpose built racecars with the wheels located outside the cars main body, as distinct from cars which have their wheels below the body in the manner of most street cars. ... Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. ... 24 hours of Le Mans (24 heures du Mans) is a famous sports car endurance race held at Circuit de la Sarthe near Le Mans, France, near river La Sarthe. ... The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held near Palermo, Sicily. ... The Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles - pronounced [mi:lle mi:lja]) was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before the war, eleven from 1947). ... John Wyer, born Dec. ... Tom Walkinshaw (born November 17, 1950 Mauldslie Farm, near Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland) is a Scottish racing car driver and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing. ... Henri Pescarolo was a Formula One driver from France. ... Peter Sauber (born October 13, 1943, Zurich, Switzerland) was founder and team principle of the Sauber Formula One team. ... Joest Racing is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. ...

The prestige of Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, Lotus, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and Aston Martin derives in part from success in sports car racing and the World Sportscar Championship. Road cars sold by these manufacturers have in many cases been very similar to the cars that were raced, both in engineering and styling. It is this close association with the 'exotic' nature of the cars that serves as a useful distinction between sports car racing and Touring Cars. Ferrari Enzo. ... Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. ... This article is about the auto company. ... Lotus Logo with monogram of its founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at Hethel, Norfolk, England. ... A 1957 Maserati 200SI at the Scarsdale Concours Maserati Birdcage 1959 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe Maserati Sebring This article is about the automobile manufacturer. ... Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Jaguar Cars Limited is a luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. ... Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, Warwickshire, England in the United Kingdom. ... The World Sportscar Championship was a series run by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. ...

The 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans were once widely considered to be the trifecta of sports car racing; driver Ken Miles would have been the only driver to win all three in the same year, but an error in the team orders of the Ford GT40 team at Le Mans in 1966 took the win from him, although he finished first. Aston Martin DBR9 at dusk during the 2005 12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race held at Sebring Raceway, a former Air Force base in Sebring, Florida. ... The Rolex 24 1/2 at Daytona (also frequently referred to as the 24 Hours of Daytona) is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. ... The 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) is the worlds most famous sports car endurance race, held annually at Circuit de la Sarthe near Le Mans, France, in the French Sarthe département. ... In American horse racing terminology, a trifecta is an exotic parimutuel bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order. ... GT40 Mk II front. ... A team order at the 2002 Austrian GP. Barrichellos #2 status at Ferrari was made obvious after he moved over to let Michael Schumacher win. ... GT40 Mk II front. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

History

In the 1920s, the cars used in endurance racing and Grand Prix were still basically identical, with fenders and two seats, to carry a mechanic if necessary or permitted. By the 1930s, most Grand Prix cars like the Silver Arrows were optimised for high performance in their relative short races, by dropping fenders and the second seat. Endurance racing can refer to races involving persons running in events such as marathons or triathlons, long cross-country skiing events, the racing of horses or other animals, or motorsport. ... Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. ... Silver Arrow – 1939 Grossglockner hillclimb Silver Arrows was the name given by the press to Germanys dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939, and also later applied to the Mercedes-Benz Formula One and sports cars in 1954/55. ...

In open-road endurance races across Europe such as the Mille Miglia, Tour de France and Targa Florio, which were often run on dusty roads, the need for fenders and a mechanic or navigator was still there. As mainly Italian cars and races defined the genre, the category was called Gran Turismo, as long distances had to be travelled, rather than running around on short circuits only. Reliability and some basic comfort was necessary in order to endure the task. The Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles - pronounced [mi:lle mi:lja]) was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before the war, eleven from 1947). ... Tour de France automobile was a sports car race held on roads around France. ... The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held near Palermo, Sicily. ... Gran Turismo is Italian and Spanish for grand touring or grand tourisme. ...

In the 1950s, sports car racing was regarded as almost as important as Grand Prix competition, with major marques like Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar and Aston Martin investing much effort in their works programmes and supplying cars to customers; sports racers lost their close relationship to road-going sports cars in the 1950s and the major races were contested by dedicated competition cars such as the Jaguar C and D types, the Mercedes 300SLR, Maserati 300S, Aston Martin DBR1 and assorted Ferraris including the first Testa Rossas. Top Grand Prix drivers also competed regularly in sports car racing. After the accidents at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1957 Mille Miglia the power of the sports prototypes started to be curbed and into the early sixties GT racing became more important internationally. Ferrari Enzo. ... A 1957 Maserati 200SI at the Scarsdale Concours Maserati Birdcage 1959 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe Maserati Sebring This article is about the automobile manufacturer. ... Jaguar Cars Limited is a luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. ... Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, Warwickshire, England in the United Kingdom. ... The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 11 and 12, 1955. ...

In national rather than international racing, sports car competition in the 1950s and early 1960s tended to reflect what was locally popular - in Britain 1100cc sports racers became a very popular category (effectively supplanting 500cc F3), with Lola, Lotus, Cooper and others being very popular, although at the other end of the scale in the early to mid 1960s the national sports racing scene also attracted a crop of large-engined "big bangers" the technology of which largely gave rise to Can-Am; Italy found itself with both grassroots racing with a plethora of Fiat based specials (often termed "etceterinis") and small Alfa Romeos, and exotica such as Maserati and Ferrari. The US scene tended to feature small MG and Porsche cars in the smaller classes, and imported Jaguar, Allard and Ferrari cars in the larger classes. As the French car industry switched from making large powerful cars to small utilitarian ones, French sports cars of the 1950s and early 1960s tended to be small-capacity and highly aerodynamic (often based on Panhard or Renault components), aimed at winning the "Index of Performance" at Le Mans and Reims and triumphing in handicap races. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a racing car engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, England. ... Team Lotus was one of Formula 1s most successful teams. ... Jack Brabhams 1961 Cooper-Climax, the car that began the rear-engine revolution at the Indianapolis 500 The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. ... Cover of Car and Driver magazine, showing transparent diagram of CanAm racer The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974. ... Fiat S.p. ... Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the auto company. ... The Allard Motor Company was an English car manufacturer founded in 1936 by Sydney Allard. ... A Panhard-Levassor was the first automobile to be introduced in Japan, in 1898 Panhard & Levassor X18 1912 Panhard & Levassor 1914 Panhard & Levassor X31 1921 A 1920s Panhard Dyna Panhard X 86 4-Door Sedan 1952 Panhard repair manual cover showing PL 17 A VBL of the French Army Panhard... Renault S.A. is a French vehicle manufacturer producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. ...

A breed of powerful hybrids appeared in the 50s and 60s and raced on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring European chassis and large American engines - from the early Allard cars via hybrids such as Lotus 19s fitted with large engines through to the AC Cobra. The Allard Motor Company was an English car manufacturer founded in 1936 by Sydney Allard. ... The Lotus 19 or Monte Carlo was a racing car built by Lotus from 1960 until 1962. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Powerful prototypes (effectively pure-bred two-seater racing cars with no real link to production vehicles) started to appear as the 1960s progressed, with world-wide battles between Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Lotus, Alfa Romeo and Matra as well as other more specialist marques running on into the early 1970s. The competition at Le Mans even made it to the movie screens, with Steve McQueen's film Le Mans. This era was seen by many as the highpoint of sports car racing, with the technology and performance of the cars comfortably in excess of what was seen in Formula 1. Mécanique Avion TRAction or Matra is a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to aeronautics and weaponry which today operates as the Lagardère Group. ... Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an Academy Award-nominated American movie actor, nicknamed The King of Cool.[1] He was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s due to a popular anti-hero persona. ... Le Mans is a 1971 action film directed by Lee H. Katzin. ...

These prototypes of the late 1960s/early 1970s were comfortably quicker than contemporary Grand Prix machinery and for 1972 they were constrained to run much smaller engines to F1 rules, often detuned for endurance. Group 4 GTs and Group 5 "silhouette" GTs again became the premier form of sports car racing, with prototypes going into a general decline apart from Porsche 936 domination at Le Mans and a lower-key series of races for Group 6 prototypes. Group 5 is a FIA classification for cars in sportscar racing. ... The Porsche 936 was introduced in 1976 by Porsche as a successor to the Porsche 908 to compete in the FIA Group 6 sports car world championship, which it won (as did the Porsche 935 in its championship) . The open top, two seater spyder was powered by a 2140cc 540...

A peculiarly American form of sports car racing was the Can-Am series, in which virtually unlimited sports prototypes competed in relatively short races. This ran from the mid-sixties to 1974 in its original form, but fell victim to rising costs and the energy crisis. Cover of Car and Driver magazine, showing transparent diagram of CanAm racer The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974. ... Line at a gas station, June 15, 1979. ...

The ACO, organisers of the Le Mans 24 Hours, attempted to come up with a formula that would encourage more prototypes back to the race but would also be relatively economical - their Grand Touring Prototype rules in the late 1970s, based on fuel consumption rules, gave rise to two different varieties of sports car racing that were widely held to be a high point in the history of the sport.

In Europe, the FIA adopted the ACO GTP rules virtually unchanged and sanctioned the Group C World Endurance Championship (or World Sportscar Championship), featuring high-tech closed-cockpit prototypes from Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Jaguar and others. In the USA, the IMSA Camel GTP series boasted close competition between huge fields of manufacturer-backed teams and privateer squads - the cars were technically similar to Group Cs but used a sliding scale of weights and engine capacities to try to limit performance. Both Group C and GTP had secondary categories, respectively Group C2 and Camel Lights, for less powerful cars. Group C was a category of auto racing, and was introduced into sports car racing by the FIA (the governing body of World motor racing) during the early 1980s. ... The World Sportscar Championship was a series run by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. ... The World Sportscar Championship was a series run by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Nissan Motor Co. ... IMSA logo The International Motor Sports Association (generally referred to as IMSA) is an American auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. ... IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. ...

The FIA attempted to make Group C into a virtual "two seater Grand Prix" format in the early 1990s, with engine rules in common with F1, short race distances, and a schedule dovetailing with that of the F1 rounds. This drove up costs and drove away crowds, and by 1993 prototype racing was dead in Europe, with the Peugeot, Jaguar, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz teams all having withdrawn; a number of GT series sprung up at national and European level, with the BPR series eventually evolving into the FIA GT Championship. IMSA GTP continued for a few more years but was replaced by a series for World Sports Cars - relatively simple open-top prototypes - which gave rise to cars such as the Ferrari 333SP and the Riley & Scott Mk 3, supported by GTs. As the 1990s progressed, these prototypes and others like them started to be raced in Europe and an FIA Sports Car series evolved for them. Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën. ... This article is about the automaker. ... The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes refered to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR.) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. ... The FIA GT Championship is a sports car motorsport series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisations (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile (FIA). ... A Bentley Speed 8, winner of 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours. ... 1993 Ferrari 333 SP static, on track, from the front left The Ferrari 333 SP was a sports prototype car originally built by Michelotto to World Sports Car regulations. ... Riley Technologies, formerly known as Riley & Scott, is a company providing chassis for sportscar racing. ...

The US series evolved into the American Le Mans Series; the European races into the Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs; the FIA remains more interested in its own GT and GT3 championships, with the ACO's rules the basis for the LMS and ALMS. Further splits in the American scene saw the Grand-Am series becoming a separate series with its own GT and prototype rules. The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) is a series of automobile races. ... The Le Mans Endurance Series or LMES is a European sports car racing series created as a support series to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans race. ... The Grand American Road Racing Association or Grand-Am is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize endurance road racing competitions in North America. ...

Since the demise of Group C (where Japan and Germany both had successful series of their own) Japan has largely gone its own way in sports car racing; the Super GT series is for very highly modified production-based cars, though prototypes are slowly returning to Japanese racing in the Japan Le Mans Challenge, although many of these 'prototypes' are little more than rebodied Formula 3 cars. The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC (全日本GT選手権, Zen Nihon GT Sensyuken), is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association (GT-A), authorized by the Japan Automobile Federation and recognized by the FIA. Super GT racer in... The Japan Le Mans Challenge (JLMC) is an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. ...

Types of cars

There are many kinds of sports cars that race but they can be broadly broken down into two main categories: Sports-prototype and Grand Touring (GT). These two categories are often mixed together in a single race, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. ... The 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) is the worlds most famous sports car endurance race, held annually at Circuit de la Sarthe near Le Mans, France, in the French Sarthe département. ...

Sports-Prototype

Sports-Prototype is the name given to a type of car used in sports car racing and is effectively the next automotive design and technological step up from road-going supercars and are, along with open-wheel cars, the pinnacle of racing-car design. Supercar is a term used for a high end sports car, typically an exotic or rare one, whose performance is highly superior to that of its contemporaries. ...

The highest level in sports car racing these cars are purpose-built racing cars with enclosed wheels, and either open or closed cockpits. Since the World Sportscar Championship was conceived there have been various regulations regarding bodywork, engine style and size, tyres and aerodynamics to which these cars must be built. Sports-prototypes may be (and often are) one-of-a-kind machines, and need bear no relation to any road-going vehicle, although during the 1990s some manufacturers exploited a loophole in the FIA and ACO rules which meant cars racing in the GT category were actually true sports-prototypes and sired some road-going versions for homologation purposes. The Dauer-Porsche 962LM, Porsche 911 GT1-98, Mercedes CLK-GTR and Toyota GT-One were prime examples. The World Sportscar Championship was a series run by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. ... The Porsche 956 was a sports car built by Porsche. ... The Porsche 911 GT1 was a racing car designed for competition in the GT1 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and sold as a road car for homologation purposes. ...

In simplistic terms, sports-prototypes are 2-seat racing cars with bodywork covering their wheels, and are as technically advanced and, depending on the regulations they are built to, as quick as or quicker than their single-seat counterparts. Although not widely known sports-prototypes (along with Formula 1 cars) are responsible for introducing the most numbers of new technologies and ideas to motorsport, including rear-wings, ground effect 'venturi' tunnels, fan-assisted aerodynamics and dual-shift gearboxes. Some of these technologies eventually filter down to road cars.

In the ACO regulations, two categories of sports-prototypes are recognized: P1 and P2. Cars competing in the P1 category must weigh no less than 900kg and are limited to 6000cc naturally aspirated and 4000cc turbocharged engines. 5500cc turbo-Diesel engines are also permitted in P1 - Audi scored a Le Mans victory with such a car in 2006 and Peugeot are returning to racing in 2007 with a car with a similar powerplant. P2 cars can weigh much less — 750kg — but are restricted to 3400cc normally-aspirated or 2000cc turbocharged powerplants. On paper, the P2 cars are able to challenge the supposedly faster P1 cars due to their lighter weight, at the expense of less power. However, as of recent years the P2 cars entered have raced with debilitating reliability problems and in 2005 actually finished behind the slower GT1 class at Le Mans; the first P2 to look like a serious challenge to the P1 class in the ALMS is the new Porsche RS Spyder, which has proved dominant on the shorter (often street) circuits common in that series. The Automobile Club de lOuest (Automobile Club of the West - referring to the western region of France), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. ... A naturally-aspirated engine (NA - aspiration meaning breathing) refers to an internal combustion engine (normally petrol or diesel powered) that is neither turbocharged nor supercharged. ... Turbocharger Cut-away A turbocharger is a device used in internal-combustion engines to increase the power output of the engine by increasing the mass of oxygen and fuel entering the engine. ... Diesel or diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ... Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer with headquarters in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, and has been an almost wholly owned (99. ... Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën. ... The RS Spyder (type 9R6) is a LMP2 class race car built by Porsche. ...

Daytona Prototypes are a product of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, and offer a different interpretation of the prototype theme. DPs, as they are often called, are closed-cockpit, purpose-built racing machines which are less expensive and (deliberately) somewhat slower than Le Mans Prototypes. Compared to the LMPs, DPs are sharply limited in terms of approved technology; for instance, they are required to be constructed of steel tube frames with carbon-fiber skins, rather than being carbon-fiber monocoques, and must use production-based engines. The Grand American Road Racing Association or Grand-Am is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize endurance road racing competitions in North America. ...

Grand Touring

No. 35 Maserati MC12 GT1 car running at the Grand Prix of Atlanta

Grand Touring (from the Italian word Gran Turismo) racing is the most common form of sports car racing, and is found all over the world, in both international and national series. Under the ACO rules, Grand Touring cars are divided into two categories, Grand Touring 1 (GT1, formerly GTS) and Grand Touring 2 (GT2, formerly GT). As the name of the class implies, the exterior of the car closely resembles that of the production version, while the internal fittings may differ greatly. GT2 cars are very similar to the FIA GT2 classification, and are 'pure' GT cars; that is production exotic cars with relatively few internal modifications for racing. The Porsche 911 is currently the most popular car in the GT2 class. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3072x2048, 1097 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sports car racing Maserati MC12 Road Atlanta Andrea Bertolini Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3072x2048, 1097 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sports car racing Maserati MC12 Road Atlanta Andrea Bertolini Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from... A 1957 Maserati 200SI at the Scarsdale Concours Maserati Birdcage 1959 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe Maserati Sebring This article is about the automobile manufacturer. ... Gran Turismo is Italian and Spanish for grand touring or grand tourisme. ... Porsche 911 in hillclimb The Porsche 911 (pronounced as nine eleven) is a sports car made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. ...

FIA divides GT cars into four categories called GT1 (formerly GT), GT2 (formerly N-GT), GT3 (recently introduced) and GT4. The GT1 and GT2 divisions are very close to the ACO rules outlined above, and again some crossover racing does occur, particularly in the GT2 class. The GT3 class is new and was introduced for 2006. These cars are closer to standard form than in GT2, and in most cases modifications are restricted to those found in one-make cups. GT4 is another new category for non-professional drivers in production-based cars with very few racing modifications - for example, no aerodynamic aids or body modifications are permitted.

Grand-Am has only one class for Grand Touring cars, somewhere between ACO/FIA GT2 and FIA GT3, with less-powerful Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars allowed, as well as purpose-built tube-frame "silhouette" machines reminiscent of the former IMSA GTO/GTU classes.

Technology Escalation in FIA GT Racing

While GT cars are at least in theory based on road going versions, some GT1 cars in the mid to late 1990s were effectively purpose-built sports-prototypes which spawned exotic production cars with homologation production limits of 25 cars (for small manufacturers, such as Saleen) or 100 cars (for major manufacturers like DaimlerChrysler). The original form of GT1 racing was dropped in 1998 because of rising costs. The GT1 class was for the purebred supercars and purpose-built race cars, such as the McLaren F1 GTR, Ferrari F40, Porsche 911GT1, Mercedes cLK-GTR, Toyota GT-One and Nissan R390 - while the first two were a derivatives of roadgoing sports cars, the German and Japanese contenders were pure-bred racing cars - virtually sports prototypes. Rising costs coupled with declining entries led to the death of this class, and it was replaced by what was then GT2 (FIA, which evolved into the current GT1) and Le Mans Prototype (LMP, by the ACO). Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologos (ομόλογος) for agree, which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority. ... Saleen S281 3-Valve Saleen, Incorporated, commonly known as Saleen, is an American manufacturer of high performance sports cars and high performance automotive parts based in Irvine, California. ... DaimlerChrysler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) is a German car corporation and the worlds fifth largest car manufacturer. ... McLaren F1 Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: 1996 McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a roadcar manufactured by McLaren Cars, a British company. ... “F40” redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Other Divisions

There are currently three series of sports car races based on the rules in use at Le Mans, the American Le Mans Series in North America, the Le Mans Endurance Series in Europe and the Japan Le Mans Challenge in Japan. However, sports car racing in general extends far beyond these rules, encompassing the Grand-Am professional series in North America as well as amateur road racing classes in the Sports Car Club of America. The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) is a series of automobile races, founded in 1999 by Don Panoz, and sanctioned by IMSA. The American Le Mans Series utilizes the rules and regulations of the Automobile Club de lOuest, which organizes the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, to... The Le Mans Endurance Series or LMES is a European racing series created as a support series to the famed 24 hours of Le Mans race. ... The Japan Le Mans Challenge (JLMC) is an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. ... The Grand American Road Racing Association or Grand-Am is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize endurance road racing competitions in North America. ... Road racing can be a term involving road running, road bicycle races, or automobile races. ... The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rally, and autocross in the United States and was formed in 1944. ...

Amateur sports car racing throughout the United States is sanctioned by clubs such as the Sports Car Club of America. The SCCA's sports-racing classes include C and D Sports Racing, Sports 2000 and Spec Racer Ford, in descending order of speed and sophistication. The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rally, and autocross in the United States and was formed in 1944. ...

In Japan, the Super GT series divides cars into two classes, called GT500 and GT300. These cars are more highly modified than their European and American counterparts, with cars often sporting tube frames and highly divergent engines. The numbers in the classifications refer to the maximum power available to each class; this is achieved through the use of engine restrictors. Proponents of the series claim that the Super GT cars are the fastest sports cars in the world, while critics deride the cars as being outside the limits of 'acceptable' modifications. In recent years however, rule changes in both GT500 and GT1 (aimed at eventually allowing both classes to compete with each other in the future) have brought the cars closer to each other, although GT500 cars still have a notable advantage in aerodynamics (enough to compensate for GT1 cars greater horsepower). All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC is a grand touring car race series authorized by the Japan Automobile Federation. ...

In Europe, most national championships (British, French, and the Spanish-based 'International GT Open' series) run under basically FIA/ACO GT regulations with some modifications to ensure closer racing, although some championships are more open to allow non-homologated GT cars to race. The Belcar series in Belgium allows silhouettes and touring cars to race alongside GTs, while the VdeV Modern Endurance allows small prototypes from national championships such as the Norma, Centenari and Radical to race alongside GT3 class cars. Britcar permits a wide range of touring and GT cars to compete in endurance races, and Britsports permits various kinds of sports racer. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Britcar is an Endurance Motor Racing series formed in 1997 as a result of a discussion in a Nurburgring bar between Willie Moore and James Tucker. ...

Notable sports car racing series

• World Sportscar Championship - The former World Championship, which dissolved in 1993.
• American Le Mans Series - Run in the United States and Canada.
• American V8 Supercar Series - Pro-Am Series in the United States
• Grand-Am - another US sports car series
• Le Mans Series - Sister series to the ALMS, run in Europe (formerly the LMES).
• Japan Le Mans Challenge - Established in 2006, run in Japan.
• FIA GT Championship - A GT racing series in Europe.
• FIA Sportscar Championship - FIA's now-defunct prototype racing series.
• Rolex Sports Car Series - Daytona Prototype and GT racing series
• Super GT - Japan based Sports Car racing championship (formerly the JGTC).
• CanAm - Canadian-American Challenge Cup (ran from 1966 to 1974)
• Interserie - German based series, originally similar to Can-Am
• All Japan Sports Prototype Championship - Japanese series for Gr. C cars, replaced by JGTC in 1993.
• Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft - German series which originally pitted touring cars against GT racers, Gr 6 and then Gr. C was later added.
• Supercup - A Group C only national series in Germany, replaced DRM and ran until 1989.
• Fuji Grand Champion Series - a Japanese series originally for Gr.6 cars, was originally held only in Fuji
• Thundersports - a British series of the 1980s in which pretty much any kind of sports racer or GT was eligible.
• Clubmans - a long-lived British formula which featured sophisticated, quick but economical front-engined/rear wheel drive sports racers well into the 1990s.

The World Sportscar Championship was a series run by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. ... The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) is a series of automobile races. ... The Grand American Road Racing Association or Grand-Am is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize endurance road racing competitions in North America. ... The Le Mans Endurance Series or LMES is a European sports car racing series created as a support series to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans race. ... The Japan Le Mans Challenge (JLMC) is an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. ... The FIA GT Championship is a sports car motorsport series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisations (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile (FIA). ... The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile (FIA). ... ... The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC (全日本GT選手権, Zen Nihon GT Sensyuken), is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association (GT-A), authorized by the Japan Automobile Federation and recognized by the FIA. Super GT racer in... Cover of Car and Driver magazine, showing transparent diagram of CanAm racer The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or CanAm, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974. ... Cover of Car and Driver magazine, showing transparent diagram of a Ford G7A CanAm racer The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or CanAm, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974. ... The All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (Japanese name:全日本スポーツプロトタイプ選手権, abbr:JSPC), formed by the Japanese Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier years. ... Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (German Racing Championship) or DRM as it was known as, the precessor of modern DTM, began as a touring car and GT race for A2 (BMW 2002) and A4 (BMW CSL) cars in 1972 in addition to the Rundstreckenmeisterschaft (German endurance saloon car championship), races were ran... Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as German Racing Championship) or simply DRM as it was known as, is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany top national series. ... Fuji Speedway is a race track standing in the foothills of the Mount Fuji, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. ... Thundersports was a variety of sports car racing introduced by John Webb of Brands Hatch fame. ... Clubmans is a variety of sports car racing that originated in Britain in 1965. ...

Bibliography

• Denis Jenkinson, "Automobile Year Book Of Sports Car Racing" (photographic history of sports car racing from the early 1950s to the 1970s)
• Janos Wimpffen, "Time and Two Seats" - 2 vols. Extensive history of World Championship sports car racing from 1952 to the late 1990s.
• Janos Wimpffen, "Open Roads And Front Engines" - a photographic companion to the above, covering the early 50s-early 60s.
• Janos Wimpffen, "Winged Sports Cars and Enduring Innovation" - a sequel to the above covering the early 60s-early 70s.
• John Wyer, "The Certain Sound" - memoirs of Aston Martin and Ford GT40 team manager
• Chris Nixon, "Racing With The David Brown Aston Martins", 2 vols.
• Anthony Pritchard, "Sports Racing Cars" - profiles of 25 sports racers through history.
• Brooklands Books, "Le Mans" - 5 volumes of contemporary race reports
• Brooklands Books, "Mille Miglia" - 2 volumes of contemporary race reports
• Brooklands Books, "Targa Florio" - 5 volumes of contemporary race reports
• Brooklands Books, "Carrera Panamericana" - 1 volume of contemporary race reports
• Ian Briggs, "Endurance Racing 1982-1991" - the Group C and IMSA GTP years, race by race.
• Michael Cotton, "Directory of World Sports Cars" - IMSA and GpC car histories outlined in detail.
• Andrew Whyte, "Jaguar: Sports Racing and Works Competition Cars" - 2 vols. Authoritative history of the marque.
• Ian Bamsey, ed. "Super Sports: The 220mph Le Mans Cars" - technical summary of large-capacity coup&ecute;s.
• Chris Nixon - "Sports Car Heaven" - Aston Martin vs Ferrari
• Karl Ludvigsen - "Quicksilver Century" - competition history of Mercedes-Benz
• Karl Ludvigsen - "Porsche: Excellence Was Expected" (3 vols) - extensive history of Porsche
• Vic Elford, "Reflections on a Golden Era of Motorsport" - covers Vic's rallying, single seater and mostly sports car career in depth.
• Norbert Singer, "24:16" - his role in Porsche's Le Mans wins
• John Horsman, "Racing In The Rain", an account of his engineering career with Aston Martin, John Wyer and Mirage.
• Curami/Vergnano, "'La Sport' e i suoi artigiani" - Italian domestic sports car competition from the 1930s-1960s and the 'specials' that competed in it.
• J. A. Martin & Ken Wells, "Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series" - team by team account of various racing teams and manufacturers that competed in the top flight IMSA series.

Denis S. Jenkinson or Jenks (1921-1997) was a journalist deeply involved in motorsports. ... John Wyer, born Dec. ... Ian Briggs is a television writer who has written for BBC programmes Casualty and Doctor Who. ... Victor Henry Elford (born in London, June 10, 1935) is a former sportscar racing, rallying and Formula One driver from England. ... Norbert Singer (born November 1939, Cheb, Czechoslovakia) has played a key role in every one of Porsche’s 16 overall race victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. ...

See also

• Auto racing
• Grand Touring Cars

“Racing cars” redirects here. ... Gran Turismo is Italian and Spanish for grand touring or grand tourisme. ...

External links

• Racetrack Database Racetrack information and locations.