grand prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in france as far back as 1894. it quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding , but because the races were held on open roads there were frequent accidents with the resulting fatalities to both drivers and spectators. grand prix motor racing eventually evolved into formula racing, and formula one can be seen as its direct descendant. each event of the formula one world championships is still called a grand prix. formula one is still referred to as grand prix racing. == origins of organized racing ==  motor racing was started in france, as a direct result of the enthusiasm with which the french public embraced the motor car. manufacturers were enthusiastic due to the possibility of using motor racing as a shop window for their cars. the first motoring contest took place on july 22, 1894 and was organised by le petit journal, a parisian newspaper. the 1894 parisârouen race was  from porte maillot in paris, through the bois de boulogne to rouen. count jules-albert de dion was first into rouen after 6 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of . he finished 3â30â ahead of albert lemaÃ®tre (peugeot), followed by doriot (peugeot) at 16â30â, renÃ© panhard (panhard) at 33â30ââ and Ãmile levassor (panhard) at 55â30â. the official winners were peugeot and panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics, and de dion's steam car needed a stoker which the judges deemed to be outside of their objectives. in 1900, james gordon bennett, jr., the owner of the new york herald newspaper and the international herald tribune, established the gordon bennett cup. he hoped that the creation of an international event would drive automobile manufacturers to improve their cars.{{cite book |last=rendall |first=ivan |title=the cheque
Auto_racing_by_type Formula_One