Mythical Motorsport Competitions

Normally when we talk about motorsport competitions the first that comes to mind is the so-called queen competition, Formula 1, however it is not the only one that has countless followers around the world and therefore, today, we will talk about the rest of mythical competitions.

The 24 hours of Le Mans

This may be one of the most popular and popular endurance tests. The objective of the competition is very simple, we are talking about 24 hours of motoring, 24 hours in which the teams, with several drivers who do relays, have to circle around a circuit.

The race is held annually in June at the Circuit de la Sartre, near Le Mans, France. The competition is organized by the Automobile Club de I’Ouest.

Le Mans began to be held in 1923, since then it has been an appointment to be noted on the calendar of all motor racing fans, with the exception of 1940 and 1948 on the occasion of the Second World War.

Normally there are 50 cars that compete at the same time, they do so in different classes of Sport Prototypes and Gran Turismo.

In this competition, the winner will be the one who has managed to cover a greater distance in 24 hours continuously.

500 Miles from Indianapolis

This is a competition which in Europe does not have many followers, however in the American territory it is quite a show and a must for fans.

Although it seems that thanks to the participation of Fernando Alonso in it last season, it seems that this competition has begun to gain followers on the other side of the pond, but we will see what it consists of.

The Indi is a speed motorsport race in which you participate in single-seaters. It has a fixed date on the calendar, it is always celebrated during the last weekend of May.

One of the elements that attracts the most attention and that is a challenge for the pilots is the oval in which the race takes place. It is 2.5 miles long, 200 laps will be made, thus completing the 500 miles that give the competition its name.

For cars to gain speed, the curves are banked, in technical terms this means that the curves are given a certain cross slope to compensate for the inertia of the vehicle. That is to say, the curves have a certain inclination, an issue that was given a lot of importance when Alonso decided to race there, since it is something that the Spanish driver was not used to, with this it is intended that the cars reach minimum speeds that are above 250 km / h.

Unlike in other competitions, the weather is very important since if it rains the race is not disputed, and if this happens when the race has started in the event that 75% of it has been disputed, it is considered terminated, if not resumed on Monday.

Daytona

Let’s talk about the other great endurance competition in motorsports. Although it cannot unseat Le Mans, since this is the one with the most prestige, Daytona is not far behind and offers a show that brings together thousands of people.

Daytona shares the basic principles of Le Mans, it is a competition that takes place for 24 hours with different cars and with teams of more than two drivers, however this is where the differences begin.

The American route is shorter than the French one. Technique is not as important as in Le Mans and the speed of the cars is lower.

The race takes place at Daytona International Speedway , a track that is best known for its 500 opening miles for NASCAR. This competition has been held since 1962, is located in Daytona Beach, Florida and has different parts: the oval, the motorcycle and the road.

It is in the latter that the 500 miles are celebrated. The track is 5,729 kilometers long, so most of the oval is used, but with a chicane in the middle of the straight causing the cars to exit from the inside and after six turns, the participants return to the first corner of the oval.

Dakar

The Dakar Rally or as it was formerly known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, is an annual rally competition which is organized by the ASO. It has been held since December 26, 1 978 and has a fixed date during the first weeks of January, although on some occasions it has started during the last week of December to end the following year.

The layout that we currently know is not the same as the original, since it has changed over the years. Its beginning has varied between different European cities in Spain or Portugal.

The part of the route that takes place on the African continent has also been modified several times, both due to political problems and security problems.

The competition has a total of 8,000 km, during which the participants will have to face the challenge of the competition with all their skills, among which we find: against the vehicle, mental strength, orientation ability, vehicle repair ability , physical resistance…

This competition is divided into four categories: motorcycle (motorcycles and 2-wheel vehicles), quadricycles (four-wheel buggies), Auto (four-wheel vehicles) and truck.

In turn, the rally is also divided into two classes: production class (unmodified commercial vehicles) and super production class (modified commercial vehicles and race cars)

In this competition, the participants not only compete to be the leader of the general ranking but also for the leadership of each category and class.