Early road racing The first organized automobile race was held on July 22, 1894, from
Paris to
Rouen, France. The first held in the United States was a 54-mile competition from
Chicago to
Evanston, Illinois and return, held on November 27, 1895. By 1905, the
Gordon Bennett Cup, organized by the
Automobile Club de France, was considered the most important race in the world. In 1904, the
Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus was formed by several European automobile clubs. In 1904 the FIM created the international cup for motorcycles. The first international motorcycle road race took place in 1905 at
Dourdan, France. During the 1910s, the
Elgin National Road Races held on public roads around
Elgin, Illinois attracted competitors from around the country and drew large crowds of spectators. The first
24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race was held in 1923. The Automobile Racing Club of America was founded in 1933 and became the
Sports Car Club of America in 1944.
Race course evolution The great majority of road races were run over a lengthy circuit of closed public roads, not purpose-built racing circuits. This was true of the Le Mans circuit of the 1906 French Grand Prix, as well as the
Targa Florio (run on of Sicilian roads), the German
Kaiserpreis circuit in the
Taunus mountains, the French circuit at Dieppe, used for the
1907 Grand Prix and, the
Isle of Man TT motorcycle road circuit first used in 1907. The exceptions were the steeply banked egg-shaped near oval circuit of
Brooklands in
England, completed in 1906, the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the oval, banked speedways constructed in Europe at
Monza in 1922 and at
Montlhéry in 1924. Road racing on public roads was banned in Great Britain in 1925 when a spectator was injured at the
Kop Hill Climb event. The
Royal Automobile Club (R.A.C.) and the
Auto-Cycle Union (A.C.U.) stopped issuing permits for races on public roads, a policy that has not changed to this day. As automobile and motorcycle technology improved, racers began to achieve higher speeds that caused an increasing number of accidents on roads not designed for motorized vehicles. Public safety concerns ultimately caused the number of road racing events on public roads in Europe to decrease over the years. After the First World War, automobile and motorcycle road racing competitions in Europe and in North America went in different directions. Automobile and motorcycle racing in the United States was typically
oval track racing on paved tracks such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the
Milwaukee Mile track, or on
dirt tracks using widely available horse racing circuits. These circuits presented such a challenge that they were both feared and respected by racers. The long Nurburgring with more than 300 metres (1,000 feet) of elevation change from its lowest to highest points, was nicknamed "The Green Hell" by
Jackie Stewart, due to its challenging nature. The sinuous track layout of the Charade circuit caused some drivers like Jochen Rindt in the
1969 French Grand Prix to complain of
motion sickness, and wear open face helmets just in case. With the exception of the Monza circuit, all the Grand Prix races were held on
street circuits. The Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus was renamed the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile in 1946 and, plans were developed for a road racing world championship. In
1950, the FIA created the Formula One world championship, a competition of seven rounds that included the Indianapolis 500. A Formula I manufacturers' championship was begun in 1955. The success of American racers such as
Phil Hill and
Dan Gurney in Formula One in the late 1950s sparked to a renewal of interest in road racing in the United States and, led to the construction of new road racing circuits such as
Riverside International Raceway,
Road America and
Laguna Seca.
Racing hazards and safety The dangers associated with the increasing speeds at road races were highlighted by the
1955 Le Mans disaster. With spectators seated near the edges of the circuit, two race cars came into contact causing one of the vehicles to crash into the embankment, where it exploded in a ball of flames and then plowed through the crowd of spectators. However, due to a law passed in May 2022, on June 1 2026, Swiss Motorsport will finally be legalised. The Formula One championship experienced its worst tragedy during the
1961 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, when driver
Wolfgang von Trips lost control of his
Ferrari and crashed into a stand full of spectators, killing 15 and himself. In 1970,
Jochen Rindt won the
Formula One drivers' championship posthumously, the only man to do so, underlining the continuing risks associated with road racing. Once the most prestigious race of the year, the event was increasingly boycotted by the top riders, and in 1976, the Isle of Man TT finally succumbed to pressure for increased safety in racing events and had its world championship status revoked by the FIM. After the von Trips accident in 1961, the Monza Circuit had been lined with steel barriers as a result of demands by automobile racers. Most auto racers believed steel barriers would improve safety for auto racers and spectators, but they had the opposite effect for motorcyclists and proved fatal for Saarinen and Pasolini. The dangers of street circuits was further exposed at the
1975 Spanish Grand Prix held on the twisty, tree-lined
Montjuich circuit in Barcelona. The racing drivers found that the circuit's safety barriers had been shoddily installed and threatened to strike if the barriers were not brought up to standard. Although events held on closed public roads such as the Isle of Man TT, lost their world championship status due to their considerable safety risk, their popularity continued to flourish leading to a branch of road racing known as
Traditional Road Racing. Traditional road racing on closed public roads is popular in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and parts of Europe. The
Duke Road Racing Rankings was established in 2002 to establish rider classifications in traditional road racing events such as the
North West 200 and the
Ulster Grand Prix. In Formula One, street circuits have made a comeback with the
Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit,
Las Vegas Grand Prix, and the
Baku City Circuit joining the Circuit de Monaco as part of the world championship. There are no street circuits being used in MotoGP racing.. In North America, racing on public streets takes place at the
Grand Prix of Long Beach, the
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the
Detroit Grand Prix, and the
Honda Indy Toronto. ==Road racing proliferation==