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78-664: Paul Alexandre Belmondo (born 23 April 1963) is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt , Hauts-de-Seine , the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo . Around 1981, Paul gained publicity for becoming the lover of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco . Through 1987, he participated in Formula 3 and Formula 3000 , although he

156-406: A transformative shift, echoing past pivots. The industry, much like the cars it champions , has had to navigate through a global pandemic and a persistent chip shortage, each threatening to derail production schedules . At the same time, a new course is being charted towards an electric future, a dramatic change in direction that is challenging the old guard of gasoline engines. There is also

234-618: A "manufacturer's" logo and "vehicle name", yet use components produced by another automobile manufacturer. There are also other stock car governing bodies, most notably the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". UK Stock car racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s. Events take place on shale or tarmac tracks – usually around 1/4 mile long. There are around 35 tracks in

312-509: A 10- franc entrance fee. The first American automobile race is generally considered to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895. Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile. The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily , Italy near the island's capital of Palermo . Founded in 1906 , it

390-416: A 92 mile (148 km) circuit, totaling 276 miles (444 km), traversing through winding bends and multiple hairpin curves on treacherous mountain roads, with around 2,000 corners per lap and over 3,600 feet (1,100 m) of elevation change, at heights where severe changes in climate frequently occurred. Alessandro Cagno won the inaugural 1906 race in nine hours, averaging 30 miles per hour (50 km/h). By

468-403: A group of spectators, killing one. There were several other accidents during practice in which a total of seven spectators sustained injuries. The event was won by a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR as the prototypes such as Jacky Ickx 's Ferrari suffered crashes or other troubles. The Targa's international demise was compounded by widespread concern about the organizers' inability to properly maintain

546-656: A growing number of events for electric racing cars, such as the Formula E , the Eco Grand Prix or the Electric GT Championship . In single-seater ( open-wheel ) racing, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track. The most popular varieties of open-wheel road racing are Formula One (F1), the IndyCar Series and Super Formula . In Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing

624-693: A lap at 388 km/h (241 mph). The series' biggest race is the Indianapolis 500 , which is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" due to being the longest continuously run race in the series and having the largest crowd for a single-day sporting event (350,000+). The other major international single-seater racing series is Formula 2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and GP2 Series ). Regional series include Super Formula and Formula V6 Asia (specifically in Asia), Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as

702-657: A lot wider in the late 1960's thanks to the development of the Autostrade motorways all over Italy. The challenge of the Targa was unprecedented in its difficulty and the driving experience of any of the course variants was unlike any other circuit in the world other than perhaps that of the Nurburgring in Germany and (for motorcycles) and the much faster but similar Snaefell Mountain Course on

780-472: A much easier time following and passing than in open-wheel racing . It often features full-contact racing with subtle bumping and nudging due to the small speed differentials and large grids. The major touring car championships conducted worldwide are the Supercars Championship (Australia), British Touring Car Championship , Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), World Touring Car Championship and

858-410: A road car- if there was little to no traffic. To even finish this punishing race required a very reliable car- and it being a slow, twisty circuit it was very hard on the gearbox, brakes and the suspension of a car. Some manufacturers and entrants, particularly non-Italian ones would sometimes outright skip the Targa because of the difficulty of learning the layout and were unsure if their cars could stand

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936-426: A small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of the current top drivers began their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents the most popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts. The series is still the preferred option, as it has introduced an aero package and slicks, allowing the junior drivers to gain experience in a race car with dynamics closer to F1. The Star Mazda Series

1014-549: A special version named Targa Florio to commemorate victory by journalist-rallyist Evan Green on a Special Stage of the 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally which was held on the Targa Florio course. Since 1992 the event has lent its name to a modern recreation, staged half-a-world away in the form of the famous road rally Targa Tasmania held on the island state of Tasmania, off the Southern coast of Australia. There are also

1092-470: A worldly event not to be missed. Renowned artists, such as Alexandre Charpentier and Leonardo Bistolfi , were commissioned to design medals. A magazine was initiated, Rapiditas , which aimed to enhance, with graphic and photographic reproductions of the race, the myth of the car and the typical character of modern life, speed. One of the toughest competitions in Europe, the first Targa Florio covered 3 laps of

1170-788: Is NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). NASCAR's premier series is the NASCAR Cup Series , its most famous races being the Daytona 500 , the Southern 500 , the Coca-Cola 600 , and the Brickyard 400 . NASCAR also runs several feeder series, including the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series). The series conduct races across the entire continental United States . NASCAR also sanctions series outside of

1248-687: Is a worldwide series that runs only street circuit and race tracks . These cars are heavily based on technology and their aerodynamics. The speed record was set in 2005 by Juan Pablo Montoya hitting 373 km/h (232 mph). Some of the most prominent races are the Monaco Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix , and the British Grand Prix . The season ends with the crowning of the World Championship for drivers and constructors. In

1326-640: Is another entry-level series. Indy Lights represent the last step on the Road to Indy , being less powerful and lighter than an IndyCar racer. Students at colleges and universities can also take part in single-seater racing through the Formula SAE competition, which involves designing and building a single-seater car in a multidisciplinary team and racing it at the competition. This also develops other soft skills, such as teamwork, while promoting motorsport and engineering. The world's first all-female Formula racing team

1404-594: Is commonly referred to as 'Formula', with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the 'Formula' terminology is not followed (with the exception of F1). The sport is usually arranged to follow an international format (such as F1), a regional format (such as the Formula 3 Euro Series), and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format (such as the German Formula 3 championship, or the British Formula Ford). F1

1482-460: Is now a TV chef and broadcaster. The couple have three children including Victor , an actor. In June 2024, Luana and Paul announced that they have separated in January and that they have filed for divorce. Racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing , motor racing , or automobile racing ) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America,

1560-542: Is relatively small compared to other open road races, like the Mille Miglia , where over a period of 30 years and 24 races, 56 people lost their lives and the Carrera Panamericana , where over a period of 5 years and 5 races, 25 people were killed. This is probably due to the fact that the mountain roads used were extremely slow and twisty, and average lap speeds never reached even 80 mph (130 km/h) even up to

1638-870: Is the FIA World Endurance Championship . The main series for GT car racing is the GT World Challenge Europe , divided into two separate championships: the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup . This series has formed after the folding of the various FIA GT championships. The prevailing classes of GT cars are GT3 , GT4 and GT2 class cars. GT2 cars have powerful engines, often exceeding 600 horsepower. However, they have less downforce than GT3 cars and also have less driver aids. GT3 cars are far and away

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1716-522: Is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory-derived vehicles on various local circuits. In sports car racing, production-derived versions of two-seat sports cars , also known as grand tourers (GTs), and purpose-built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits. The premier championship series of sports car racing

1794-620: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , the Rolex 24 at Daytona , 24 Hours of Spa -Franchorchamps, the 12 Hours of Sebring , the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen , and the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta . There is also the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on the famed Nordschleife track and the Dubai 24 Hour , which is aimed at GT3 and below cars with a mixture of professional and pro-am drivers. Production-car racing, otherwise known as "showroom stock" in

1872-535: The Isle of Man . All of the variants had 18 to 23 corners per mile (11 to 14 corners per kilometer)- the original Grande 146 km (91 mi) circuit had in the realm of 2,000 corners per lap, the 108 km (67 mi) Medio had about 1,300-1,400 corners per lap and the final iteration of the course, the 72 km (45 mi) Piccolo circuit had about 800-900 corners per lap. To put that into perspective, most purpose-built circuits have between 12 and 18 corners, and

1950-635: The Targa New Zealand since 1995, the Targa Newfoundland since 2002 and Targa Great Barrier Reef since 2018 where it is held in the Far North section of Queensland . 2017 will celebrate the 101st Anniversary of the Targa Florio and the first time the event has left Italy. This is an amazing attraction for Victoria, Australia and all car enthusiasts. The event, tours Victoria’s coast and countryside from November 29 to December 3 and features over 150 of

2028-539: The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2014. These races are often conducted over long distances, at least 1,000 km (621 mi), and cars are driven by teams of two or more drivers, switching every few hours. Due to the performance difference between production-based sports cars and purpose-built sports prototypes, one race usually involves several racing classes, each fighting for its own championship. Famous sports car races include

2106-637: The World Touring Car Cup . The European Touring Car Cup is a one-day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships. While Super GT traces its lineage to the now-defunct JGTC , the cars are much more similar to GT3 race cars than proper touring cars, and also have much more aggressive aerodynamics. The Sports Car Club of America 's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America. America's historic Trans-Am Series

2184-479: The 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations. The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford , England, a distance of 8 mi (13 km). It was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton . Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after

2262-596: The 1932 course saw the first use of the Piccolo course after a road connecting Caltavuturo and Collesano was constructed on the direct orders of Benito Mussolini himself by request of Florio. In 1953, the FIA World Sportscar Championship was introduced. The Targa became part of it in 1955 . Mercedes had to win 1-2 with the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in order to beat Ferrari for the title. They had missed

2340-465: The 1980s and 1990s all over the United States. In North America, stock car racing is the most popular form of auto racing. Primarily raced on oval tracks , stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines that are built to tight specifications and, together with touring cars, also called Silhouette racing cars . The largest stock car racing governing body

2418-462: The 24 hours of Le Mans (held annually since 1923) and in the (European) Le Mans series , Asian Le Mans Series and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . These cars are referred to as LMP (Le Mans prototype) cars with LMH and LMDh cars being run mainly by manufacturers and the slightly less powerful LMP2 cars run by privateer teams. All three Le Mans Series run GT cars in addition to Le Mans Prototypes; these cars have different restrictions than

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2496-488: The 4 days. The inaugural event was a huge success and was repeated in 2018. The 3rd Targa Florio Australian Tribute 2019 will be held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 27 November to 1 December 2019. Races between 1955 and 1973 were part of the World Championship, with the 1957 race not a race but a regularity test following the Mille Miglia accident. The list below includes all car manufacturers who have attained

2574-573: The FIA GT cars. Another prototype and GT racing championship exists in the United States; the Grand-Am , which began in 2000, sanctions its own endurance series, the Rolex Sports Car Series , which consists of slower and lower-cost Daytona Prototype race cars compared to LMP and FIA GT cars. The Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series announced a merger between the two series forming

2652-658: The UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic divisions – distinguished by the rules regarding car contact during racing. The most famous championship are the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars . Full-contact formulas include Bangers , Bombers, and Rookie Bangers – and racing features Demolition Derbies, Figure of Eight, and Oval Racing. Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2, and Superstox – where bumpers are used tactically. Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods, and Lightning Rods. Targa Florio After 1973, it

2730-595: The UK, the major club series are the Monoposto Racing Club , BRSCC F3 (formerly ClubF3, formerly ARP F3), Formula Vee and Club Formula Ford. Each series caters to a section of the market, with some primarily providing low-cost racing, while others aim for an authentic experience using the same regulations as the professional series (BRSCC F3). The SCCA is also responsible for sanctioning single-seater racing in much of North America. There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing , which employs

2808-493: The US, is an economical and rules-restricted version of touring-car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars. Most series, with a few exceptions, follow the Group N regulation. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA 's Firehawk Series, which ran in

2886-533: The United States, including the NASCAR Canada Series , NASCAR Mexico Series , NASCAR Whelen Euro Series , and NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race . NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series, such as the Whelen Modified Tour . Modified cars are best described as open-wheel cars. Modified cars have no parts related to the stock vehicle for which they are named after. A number of modified cars display

2964-438: The United States, the most popular series is the IndyCar Series . The cars have traditionally been similar to, though less technologically sophisticated than, F1 cars , with more restrictions on technology aimed at controlling costs. While these cars are not as technologically advanced, they are faster, in part due to their lower downforce compared to F1 cars, and also because they compete on oval race tracks, being able to average

3042-660: The World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan ), Formula Three , Formula Palmer Audi and Formula Atlantic . In 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship brought about the revival of the F2 series. Domestic, or country-specific, series include Formula Three and Formula Renault, with the leading introductory series being Formula Ford . Single-seater racing is not limited merely to professional teams and drivers. There exist many amateur racing clubs. In

3120-634: The best Ferrari and secured the title. In 1958 the race again became a round in the Championship replacing the discontinued Mille Miglia as the Italian round of the Championship. Several versions of the track were used. It started with a single lap of a 148 km (92 mi) circuit from 1906-1911 and 1931. From 1912 to 1914 a tour around the perimeter of Sicily was used, with a single lap of 975 kilometres (606 mi), lengthened to 1,080 kilometres (670 mi) from 1948 to 1950. The 146 km "Grande" circuit

3198-409: The brutal pace there. Like a rally event (and events like the Isle of Man TT and the Mille Miglia ), the race cars were started one by one every 15 seconds for a time trial, as a start from a full grid was not possible on the tight and twisty roads. Although the public road circuit used for the Targa was extremely challenging- it was a very different kind of circuit and race from any other race on

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3276-709: The cars raced from Campofelice di Roccella on the Buonfornello straight along the coast, a straight that was even longer than the Mulsanne Straight at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans . The longest version of the circuit went south through Caltavuturo (whereas the shortest version of the open-road circuit went east just before entry into Caltavuturo, through a mountainous section directly to Collesano) through an extended route through elevation changes, and climbed uphill through

3354-583: The construction of the first successful gasoline -fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède , Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. On July 22, 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid

3432-464: The early to mid-1920s, the Targa Florio course had been shortened to 67 miles (108 km) and had become one of Europe's most important races, as neither the 24 Hours of Le Mans nor the Mille Miglia had been established yet. Grand Prix races were still isolated events, not a series like today's F1. The wins of Mercedes (not yet merged with Benz ) in the 1920s made a big impression in Germany, especially that of German Christian Werner in 1924, as he

3510-453: The final years of the race's history, even with the very long straight at the northernmost of the track, whereas most road circuits had average speeds anywhere between 110 mph (180 km/h) and even 160 mph (260 km/h). After winning the race several times, Porsche named the hardtop convertible version of the 911 after the Targa. The name targa means plaque or plate , see targa top . The Australian-made Leyland P76 had

3588-579: The first two of the 6 events, Buenos Aires and the 12 Hours of Sebring , where Ferrari, Jaguar , Maserati and Porsche scored points. Mercedes appeared at and won in the Mille Miglia , then pulled out of Le Mans as a sign of respect for the victims of the 1955 Le Mans disaster , but won the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod . Despite a number of incidents, the Stirling Moss / Peter Collins and Juan Manuel Fangio / Karl Kling cars finished minutes ahead of

3666-763: The last step up to premier GT-class racing. Other major GT championships include the GT World Challenge America , GT World Challenge Asia , Super GT , and the International GT Open . There are minor regional and national GT series using mainly GT4 and GT3 cars featuring both amateur and professional drivers. Sports prototypes, unlike GT cars, do not rely on road-legal cars as a base. They are closed-wheel and often closed-cockpit purpose-built race cars intended mainly for endurance racing. They have much lower weight, more horsepower and more downforce compared to GT cars, making them much faster. They are raced in

3744-415: The late 1960s and early 1970s, race cars with up to 600 hp (450 kW) such as Nino Vaccarella 's Ferrari 512S raced through small mountain villages while spectators sat or stood right next to, or even on, the road. Porsche, on the other hand, did not race its big and powerful 917K , but rather the smaller and nimbler 908/3 Spyders. Due to safety concerns, especially by Helmut Marko , who called

3822-414: The longest purpose-built circuit in the world, the 13-mile Nurburgring, has about 180 corners. So learning any of the Targa Florio courses was extremely difficult and required, like most long circuits, at least 60 laps to learn the course- and unlike the purpose-built Nurburgring, the course had to be learned properly in public traffic, and one lap of even the Piccolo course would take about an hour to do in

3900-442: The most popular class of GT cars, with premier racing series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA both using GT3 as their top class of GT car. GT3 cars have more significant aero than a GT2 car, but also have less horsepower, typically falling in between 500 and 550 horsepower. GT4 class cars have very little aerodynamics and less horsepower than GT3 machinery, typically around 450 horsepower. GT4 typically serves as

3978-401: The nearby towns of Castellana, Sottana, Madonnuzza and Miranti, twisting around mountains up to the highest point- 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) at Geraci Siculo, dropping down 620 metres (2,030 ft) into Castelbuono, twisting around more mountains and passing through Isnello and the village of Mongerrati and then rejoined the most recent version of the track at Collesano. The second version of

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4056-461: The oldest car racing series still active in the world. The first TC competition took place in 1931 with 12 races, each in a different province. Future Formula One star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories. Over the last few years, auto racing has seen

4134-506: The oldest existing purpose-built and still in use automobile race course in the United States is the 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana . It is the largest capacity sports venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257,000+ seated spectators. NASCAR was founded by Bill France Sr. on February 21, 1948, with the help of several other drivers. The first NASCAR " Strictly Stock " race ever

4212-468: The race "totally insane", the last Targa Florio run as an FIA World Sportscar Championship race was in 1973. During the 1973 event, there were an unusually high number of accidents, two of which were fatal; one which privateer Charles Blyth crashed his Lancia Fulvia HF into a trailer at the end of the Buonfornello straight and was killed; and another where an Italian driver crashed his Alpine-Renault into

4290-471: The race on such a massive circuit. There were not enough marshals, most spectators sat too close to the roads, and also the international automotive governing body, the FIA, mandated safety walls on all circuits that hold FIA-mandated events from 1974 onwards. The 72-kilometre (45 mi) length of combined public roads made this impracticable, especially from a financial standpoint. The sport's growing professionalism

4368-554: The reduction of the schedule from 56 to 34 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series , which ran its first season in 1998. The European races eventually became the closely related European Le Mans Series , both of which mix prototypes and GTs. Turismo Carretera (TC) is a popular touring car racing series in Argentina, and one of

4446-480: The road and crashed at the fast curves at the end of the Buonfornello straight after some of the bodywork flew off his BMW-powered Osella prototype. This accident killed 2 spectators and seriously injured 5 others (including Ciuti, who went into a coma, but survived), and effectively sealed the race's fate. After this accident the race was forcibly taken over by local police and was stopped on the 4th lap, and it also saw 2 other drivers having serious accidents; one of them

4524-681: The sport, former Formula 2 champion Jonathan Palmer reopened the F2 category again; most drivers have graduated from the Formula Palmer Audi series. The category is officially registered as the FIA Formula Two championship. Most rounds have two races and are support races to the FIA World Touring Car Championship . Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production-derived four-seat race cars. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have

4602-618: The sportscar calendar. All of the circuit variations of the Targa had so many corners that lap speeds at the Targa never went higher than 80 mph (128 km/h), as opposed to Le Mans in France, where cars would average 150+ mph (240+ km/h) or the Nürburgring, where cars would average 110 mph (176 km/h). Helmut Marko set the lap record in 1972 in an Alfa Romeo 33TT3 at 33 min 41 s at an average of 128.253 km/h (79.693 mph) during an epic charge where he made up 2 minutes on Arturo Merzario and his Ferrari 312PB . The fastest ever

4680-475: The term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials , aimed at proving these new machines were a practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By

4758-481: The track also went south through Caltavuturo and took a shortcut starting right before Castellana to Collesano via the town of Polizzi Generosa . There was a closed circuit called Favorita Park in the Sicilian capital of Palermo used from 1937-1940. All the roads used for all the variations of the circuits are still in use and can be driven on today. Originally a narrow 2-lane country road, the Buonfornello straight became

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4836-474: The wheel of a Chrysler Viper GTS-R . He started his own team, Paul Belmondo Racing , which raced in the FIA GT Championship and Le Mans Endurance Series championship before folding in 2007. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) ( key ) ( key ) Belmondo married Luana Tenca (born Rome, 18 March 1971) in 1990. Luana Belmondo is a former model who

4914-401: The world’s most admirable cars and is expected to attract fans, celebrities and media from across the globe. The Targa Florio Australian Tribute (TFAT - https://www.targaflorioaustralia.com/ ) is a regularity event for classic cars produced in the years between 1906 and 1976. Cars competed over 4 days on Victoria’s open roads at regulated speed. As part of the event there were 56 trials across

4992-466: Was Leo Kinnunen in 1970, lapping in the Porsche 908 /3 at 128.571 km/h (79.890 mph) or 33 min 36 seconds flat. Due to the track's length, drivers practised in the week before the race in public traffic, often with their race cars fitted with license plates. Porsche factory drivers even had to watch onboard videos, a sickening experience for some. The lap record for the 146 km "Grande" circuit

5070-408: Was 2 hours 3 min 54.8 seconds set by Achille Varzi in a Bugatti Type 51 at the 1931 race at an average speed of 70.7 km/h (43.931 mph). The lap record for the 108 km "Medio" circuit was 1 hour 21 min 21.6 seconds set by Varzi in an Alfa Romeo P2 at an average speed of 79.642 km/h (49.487 mph) at the 1930 race. The fastest completion around the short version of the island tour

5148-593: Was a national sports car event until it was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. It has since been run as Targa Florio Rally , a rallying event, and is part of the Italian Rally Championship . The race was created in 1906 by the wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast, Vincenzo Florio , who had started the Coppa Florio race in Brescia , Lombardy in 1900. The Targa also claimed to be

5226-460: Was created in 2006. The group was an assemblage of drivers from different racing disciplines and formed for an MTV reality pilot, which was shot at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . In December 2005, the FIA gave approval to Superleague Formula racing, which debuted in 2008, whereby the racing teams are owned and run by prominent sports clubs such as A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C. After 25 years away from

5304-445: Was critically injured, but survived. Although the Targa Florio was a rally-type race that took place on closed-off public mountain roads with (aside from straw bales and weak guardrails at some of the turns, the latter were installed by the island's government) practically no safety features, only 9 people – including spectators – died at the event over the 71 year and 61 race history using a total of 6 circuit configurations. This number

5382-414: Was done by Giovanni "Ernesto" Ceirano in a SCAT at the 1914 race, completed in 16 hours, 51 minutes and 31.6 seconds from May 24–25, 1914. The fastest completion of the long version of the island tour was by Mario and Franco Bornigia in an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione , completed in 12 hours, 26 minutes and 33 seconds flat at the 1950 race at an average speed of 86.794 km/h (53.931 mph). In

5460-407: Was for 12 hours until teammates Pedro Rodriguez and Richard Attwood found him in a local clinic in Cefalu . Also during this race Alain de Cadenet in a Lola was going down the Buonfornello straight and a piece of bodywork flew off a car in front of him and hit him on the head. He was knocked out cold and the Lola went off the road and crashed into a nearby wall, and caught fire. de Cadenet's life

5538-518: Was held on June 19, 1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida , U.S.. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars , with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. From 1962 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston . The changes that resulted from RJR's involvement, as well as

5616-588: Was never a top 10 championship finisher in either. In 1992, he joined the March F1 team as a pay driver , getting a ninth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix , but only qualifying 4 more times before he ran out of money and was replaced by Emanuele Naspetti . Two years later he became a member of the uncompetitive Pacific Grand Prix team, where he only qualified for two races and was usually behind teammate Bertrand Gachot . Thereafter he concentrated on GT racing, at

5694-491: Was saved not by marshals, but by an active Italian military serviceman watching the race from a location close to de Cadenet's crash, and he pulled him out of the wreck. de Cadenet was taken to the same clinic in Cefalu where Redman was, where he was badly burned and had lost the use of his left eye. The Targa was continued as a national event for some years, before a crash in 1977 where hillclimbing specialist Gabriele Ciuti went off

5772-517: Was something the Targa's organizers simply could not keep up with. One example of this concern was when Briton Brian Redman crashed his Porsche 908/03 during the 1971 event 20 miles into the first lap. The steering on his car broke, and it hit a stone wall and caught fire. Redman had second-degree burns all over his body and it took 45 minutes for any medical help to reach Redman (while he was attended to by spectators who were trying to keep him cool by waving objects). The Porsche team did not know where he

5850-641: Was the first non-Italian winner since 1920. Rudolf Caracciola repeated a similar upset win at the Mille Miglia a couple of years later. In 1926, Eliska Junkova , one of the great female drivers in Grand Prix motor racing history, became the first woman to ever compete in the race. The 1931 race saw a one-off return to the Grande course after roads and bridges specifically unique to the Medio course near Polizzi Generosa had been destroyed by landslides during severe rainstorms;

5928-835: Was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. The oldest surviving sports car racing event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans , begun in 1923. It is run by the Automobile Club of the West (ACO). Team Ferrari won the race in 2023. With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe. Aspendale Racecourse , in Australia,

6006-515: Was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit , opening in January 1906. The pear-shaped track was close to a mile in length, with slightly banked curves and a gravel surface of crushed cement. Brooklands , in Surrey, England, was the first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km (2.75 mi) concrete track with high-speed banked corners. One of

6084-555: Was then shortened twice, the first time to 108 km (67 mi), the version used from 1919-1930, and then to the 72 km (45 mi) circuit used from 1932 to 1936 and 1951 to 1977. From 1951-1958, the long coastal island tour variant was used for a separate event called the Giro di Sicilia ( Lap of Sicily ). The start and finish took place at Cerda . The counter-clockwise lap lead from Caltavuturo and Collesano from an altitude over 600 metres (1,970 ft) down to sea level , where

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