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==History==
===Evolution===
According to historian [[Richard Hough]], "It is obviously impossible to distinguish between the designers of [[sports car]]s and [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] machines during the pre-1914 period. The late [[Georges Faroux]] contended that sports-car racing was not born until the [[24 Hours of Le Mans|first 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1923]], and while as a joint-creator of that race he may have been prejudiced in his opinion, it is certainly true that sports-car racing as it was known after 1919 did not exist before the First World War."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A History of the World's Sports Cars|last=Hough|first=Richard Alexander|publisher=
[[File:1926 Bentley Le Mans 3 Litre.jpg|thumb|1926 [[Bentley 3 Litre]] Le Mans]]
In the 1920s, the cars used in [[Endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance racing]] and [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] were still basically identical, with fenders and two seats, to carry a mechanic if necessary or permitted. Cars such as the [[Bugatti Type 35]] were almost equally at home in Grands Prix and endurance events, but specialisation gradually started to differentiate the sports-racer from the Grand Prix car. The legendary [[Alfa Romeo Tipo A]] [[Monoposto]] started the evolution of the true single-seater in the early 1930s; the Grand Prix racer and its miniature [[voiturette]] offspring rapidly evolved into high performance single seaters optimised for relatively short races, by dropping fenders and the second seat. During the later 1930s, French constructors, unable to keep up with the progress of the [[Mercedes-Benz]] and [[Auto-Union]] cars in GP racing, withdrew into primarily domestic competition with large-capacity sports cars – marques such as [[Delahaye]], [[Talbot]] and the later Bugattis were locally prominent.
Similarly, through the 1920s and 1930s the road-going sports/GT car started to emerge as distinct from fast tourers (Le Mans had originally been a race for [[touring car racing|touring cars]]) and sports cars, whether descended from primarily road-going vehicles or developed from pure-bred racing cars came to dominate races such as Le Mans and the [[Mille Miglia]].
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In the US, imported Italian, German and British cars battled local hybrids, with initially very distinct East and West Coast scenes; these gradually converged and a number of classic races and important teams emerged including [[Camoradi]], [[Briggs Cunningham]] and so on. The US scene tended to feature small [[MG (car)|MG]] and [[Porsche]] cars in the smaller classes, and imported Jaguar, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, [[Allard Motor Company|Allard]] and Ferrari cars in the larger classes.
[[File:1971 McLaren M8E Laguna Seca.jpg|thumb|The McLaren M8E that was driven by [[Vic Elford]] in the [[1971 Canadian-American Challenge Cup]]
A breed of powerful hybrids appeared in the 50s and 60s and raced on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring European chassis and large American engines – from the early [[Allard Motor Company|Allard]] cars via hybrids such as [[Lotus 19]]s fitted with large engines through to the [[AC Cobra]]. The combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the popular and spectacular [[Can-Am]] series in the 1960s and 1970s.
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===International championships===
*[[Porsche Supercup]] – One-make series for Porsche Carrera Cup cars, serving as a support series for the Formula One world championship.
*[[24H Series|24H Series –]] Endurance series for GT and Touring cars.
====Defunct====
*[[American Le Mans Series]] – Based on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Run in the United States and Canada, although held events elsewhere, as far away as Australia. Emerged from the IMSA GT split, and essentially replaced IMSA GT.
*[[Intercontinental Le Mans Cup]] – International championship, starting in 2010 and ending in 2011. Despite its international status, it was not considered an official World Championship because it was not organised by the FIA.
===Regional championships===
====North America====
*[[WeatherTech SportsCar Championship]]
*[[GT World Challenge America]] – GT and [[Touring Car Racing]] series in the US and Canada
*[[Michelin Pilot Challenge]] – support/feeder series to the Rolex Sports Car Series and its successor WeatherTech SportsCar Championship; mixes GT and touring cars
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====Asia-Pacific====
*[[Asian Le Mans Series]] – Series running [[Le Mans Prototype#LMP2|LMP2]], [[Le Mans Prototype#LMP3|LMP3]] and [[Group GT3|GT3]] cars.
*[[GT World Challenge Asia]] – Asian GT3 Championship founded in 2009, that replaced the [[Asia GT Challenge]] and [[GT Asia]].
*[[Super GT]] – Japan-based sports car racing championship; previously known as the Japan GT Championship (JGTC).
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* [[Norbert Singer]], "24:16" – his role in Porsche's Le Mans wins.
* [[John Horsman]], "Racing in the Rain", an account of his engineering career with Aston Martin, John Wyer and Mirage.
* Curami/Vergnano, {{"'}}La Sport' e i suoi artigiani" – Italian domestic sports car competition from the 1930s–1960s and the 'specials' that competed in it.
* [[J. A. Martin]] & [[Ken Wells]], "[[Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series]]" – team by team account of various racing teams and manufacturers that competed in the top flight IMSA series.
* [[Mike Fuller]] & [[J. A. Martin]], "Inside IMSA's Legendary GTP Race Cars: The Prototype Experience", {{ISBN|0-7603-3069-7}}, Motorbooks International, 25 April 2008. Technical and historical overview of IMSA GTP racers.
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