page_title: Road racing
section_title: Race course evolution
hierarchical_section_title: Road racing / History of road racing / Race course evolution
caption_attribution_description: English: Nordschleife sector Fuchsroehre. Original description: "Germany’s Nurburgring test track - the true measure of a performance vehicle."
context_page_description: Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surfaces. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on public roads however, public safety concerns eventually led to most races being held on purpose built racing circuits.
  Road racing's origins were centered in Western Europe and Great Britain as motor vehicles became more common in the early 20th century. After the Second World War, automobile road races were organized into a series called the Formula One world championship sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile while, motorcycle road races were organized into the Grand Prix motorcycle racing series now called MotoGP and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. The success and popularity of road racing has seen the sport spread across the globe with Grand Prix road races having been held on six continents. Other variations of road racing include; sports car racing, touring car racing, stock car racing, superbike racing, truck racing, kart racing and endurance racing.
context_section_description: 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 93 miles (150 km) of Sicilian roads), the 75 miles (121 km) German Kaiserpreis circuit in the Taunus mountains, the 48 miles (77 km) 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 Montlhéray 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. Donington Park was the first permanent park circuit in the United Kingdom and held its first motorcycle race in 1931. 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. The Mille Miglia was a notable exception which was allowed to continue until 1957.
  After the First World War, automobile and motorcycle road racing competitions in Europe and in North America went in different directions. Automobile racing in the United States was typically oval track racing on tracks such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile track while, pre-war American motorcycle racers raced mostly on dirt tracks using widely available horse racing circuits. American racing also branched out into stock car racing and drag racing.
  Road racing traditions in Europe, South America, Great Britain and the British Commonwealth nations grew around races held on paved, public roads such as the Circuit de la Sarthe circuit near the town of Le Mans, France, the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium and the Mount Panorama Circuit in Australia. Certain European race circuits were situated in mountainous regions where the topography meant that the roads featured numerous curves and elevation changes, allowing the creation of sinuous and undulating race courses such as the Nurburgring in the Eifel mountains of Germany and the Circuit de Charade in the Chaîne des Puys in the Massif Central of France. These circuits presented such a challenge that they were both feared and respected by racers. The 20.8 km (12.9 mi) 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 wore open face helmets just in case.
caption: A section of the Nurburgring
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