Sports-car Racing

sports-car racing, form of motor racing involving cars built to combine aspects of racing and touring cars. Although there are many conflicting definitions of sports cars, it is usually conceded that in normal production form they do not resemble Grand Prix (Formula One) racing machines. Whereas the latter is a single-seat design carrying spartan cockpit furnishings and utterly functional equipment throughout, the sports car is usually a two-seater, sometimes a four-seater, characterized by its nimble abilities (if not speed and power) together with general suitability for high-speed touring on ordinary roads. Unlike a Grand Prix car, it is usually series-produced, seldom handmade. Some manufacturers of Grand Prix machines, such as Ferrari and Lotus, also make sports cars. Other makes include MG, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Austin-Healey, Triumph, Porsche, Lancia, Morgan, and Chevrolet Corvette. Although not usually designed exclusively for racing, sports cars are, nevertheless, able racing machines and are often entered in competitions with others of their class. Most of the world’s sports-car racing is conducted for amateur drivers by local and regional organizations. Some of the world’s most famous professional races are sports-car events, however, and may even be designated as Grand Prix. (When the term Grand Prix is used in this context, it does not refer to the type of car used but rather to the race’s being a major automotive event of the nation in which it is held.) The development of sports cars for racing, especially in such commercially important events as the 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans, where the reputations of participating manufacturers are very much at stake, brought about some prototype sports cars that are, in reality, little different in their power and speed potentials from Formula One machines. A world sports-car championship was awarded from 1953 to 1961. It was replaced in 1962 by a manufacturer’s championship, for which grand touring and prototype cars also compete, awarded annually to the make of car that achieves the best record in a specified series of races.