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{{Short description|Type of motorsport road racing}}
{{Inline citations needed|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox sport
| name = Sports car racing
| image = United Autosport's Ligier JS P217 Gibson and Dempsey Proton Racing's Porsche 991 RSR.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| union = [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest|ACO]] (
| nickname =
| first =
| registered =
| clubs =
| contact = Yes
| team = Yes
| mgender = Yes
| category = Outdoor
| equipment =
| venue = Road and street courses (
| olympic =
}}
'''Sports car racing''' is a form of [[motorsport]] [[road racing]] which utilises [[sports car]]s that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built [[Sports prototype|prototypes]] or [[grand tourer]]s based on road-going models. Sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit [[auto racing]], alongside [[open-wheel racing]] (such as [[Formula One]]), [[touring car racing]] (such as the [[British Touring Car Championship]], which is based on 'saloon cars' as opposed to the 'exotics' seen in sports cars) and [[stock car racing]] (such as [[NASCAR]]). Sports car races are often, though not always, [[Endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance races]] that are run over particularly long distances or large amounts of time, resulting in a larger emphasis on the reliability and efficiency of the car and its drivers as opposed to outright car performance or driver skills. The [[FIA World Endurance Championship]] is an example of one of the best known sports car racing series.
A type of hybrid between the purism of [[open-wheeler]]s and the familiarity of
The prestige of storied marques such as [[Porsche]], [[Audi]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.audi.com/en/audisport/history.html|title=Audi Sport|access-date=2017-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030831/http://www.audi.com/en/audisport/history.html|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Chevrolet
The [[12 Hours of Sebring]], [[24 Hours of Daytona]], and 24 Hours of Le Mans
==History==
===Evolution===
According to historian [[Richard Hough]], "It is obviously impossible to distinguish between the designers of [[
[[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
In open-road endurance races across Europe such as the [[Mille Miglia]], [[Tour de France automobile|Tour de France]] and [[Targa Florio]], which were often run on dusty roads, the need for fenders and a mechanic or navigator was still there. As mainly Italian cars and races defined the genre, the category came to be known as [[Grand tourer|Gran Turismo]] (particularly in the 1950s),<ref>"A newer concept altogether is the modern "Gran Turismo" class, which was in effect unknown before [[World War II]]; sustained high-speed motoring from relatively modest engine size and compact closed coachwork"--''The Sports Car, Development and Design''; p.179; Stanford, John; B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1957.</ref> as long distances had to be travelled, rather than running around on short circuits only. Reliability and some basic comfort were necessary in order to endure the task.
===Post-war revival===
[[File:Jaguar XKD 606 1956.jpg|thumb|The [[1957 24 Hours of Le Mans]] was won in a [[Jaguar XKD]].]]
After the [[Second World War]], sports car racing emerged as a distinct form of racing with its own classic races, and, from 1953, its own [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] sanctioned [[World Sportscar Championship]]. In the 1950s, sports car racing was regarded as almost as important as Grand Prix competition, with major marques like [[Ferrari]], [[Maserati]], [[Jaguar (car)|Jaguar]] and [[Aston Martin]] investing much effort in their works programmes and supplying cars to customers; sports racers lost their close relationship to road-going sports cars in the 1950s and the major races were contested by dedicated competition cars such as the Jaguar C and D types, the Mercedes 300SLR, Maserati 300S, Aston Martin DBR1 and assorted Ferraris including the first Testa Rossas. Top Grand Prix drivers also competed regularly in sports car racing. After major accidents at the [[1955 24 Hours of Le Mans]] and the [[1957 Mille Miglia]] the power of sports cars was curbed with a 3-litre engine capacity limit applied to them in the World Championship from 1958. From 1962 sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars with the FIA replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers.<ref>Denis Jenkinson, Automobile Year Book
===Growth at a national level===
In national rather than international racing, sports car competition in the 1950s and early 1960s tended to reflect what was locally popular, with the cars that were successful locally often influencing each nation's approach to competing on the international stage.
In the
[[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.
In Britain 2-litre sports cars were initially popular (the Bristol engine being readily available and cheap), subsequently 1100 cc sports racers became a very popular category for young drivers (effectively supplanting 500 cc F3), with [[Lola Cars|Lola]], [[Team Lotus|Lotus]], [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] and others being very competitive, although at the other end of the scale in the early to mid-1960s the national sports racing scene also attracted sophisticated GTs and later a crop of large-engined "big bangers" the technology of which largely gave rise to [[Can-Am]] but soon died out. [[Clubmans]] provided much entertainment at club-racing level from the 1960s into the 1990s and John Webb revived interest in big sports prototypes with [[Thundersports]] in the 1980s. There was even enough interest in [[Group C]] to sustain a C2 championship for a few years; at 'club' level Modified Sports Car ("ModSports") and Production Sports Car ("ProdSports") races remained a feature of most British race meetings into the 1980s, evolving into a "Special GT" series that was essentially [[Formula Libre]] for sports or saloon cars. After a relative period of decline in the 1980s a [[British GT Championship]] emerged in the mid-90s.
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As the French car industry switched from making large powerful cars to small utilitarian ones, French sports cars of the 1950s and early 1960s tended to be small-capacity and highly aerodynamic (often based on [[Panhard]] or [[Renault]] components), aimed at winning the "Index of Performance" at Le Mans and Reims and triumphing in handicap races. Between the late 1960s and late 1970s, [[Matra]] and [[Renault]] made significant and successful efforts to win at Le Mans.
In Germany, domestic production based racing was largely dominated by [[BMW]], [[Porsche]] and [[Mercedes-Benz]], although sports car/GT racing gradually became eclipsed by touring cars and the initially sports car based [[Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft]] gradually evolved into the [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft]]. Porsche started to evolve a line of sports prototypes from the late 1950s; noted for their toughness and reliability they started to win in races of attrition such as the [[Targa Florio]] and as they grew bigger (via the [[Porsche 910]] to the [[Porsche 908]] and finally the [[Porsche 917]]) the Stuttgart marque became first a competitor for overall wins and then came to dominate sports car racing – both they and Mercedes have made intermittent returns to the top level of the sport through the 1970s, 80s, 90s and
Sports car racing has intermittently been popular in Japan – in the 1960s small-capacity sports racers and even a local version of the Group 7 cars as raced in the [[Canadian-American Challenge Cup]] were popular; a healthy local sports prototype championship ran until the early 1990s and now the [[Super GT]] series provides high-budget exposure to manufacturers, with many international drivers appearing. The Japanese manufacturers have also been frequent visitors to the US sports car scene ([[Nissan]] and [[Toyota]] in particular during the heyday of IMSA) and to the European scene, in particular Le Mans, where despite many years of trying by all the main Japanese marques the only victory to have been scored by a Japanese marque was by [[Mazda]] in 1991, until 2018 when Toyota scored a first and second-place finish. Toyota followed this with another 1-2 finish in 2019.
{{anchor|Prototype}}
===1960s and 1970s – Evolution, rise, and decline===
[[Image:2006FOS 1970Porsche917KGulf.jpg|thumb|right|An iconic 1970 [[Porsche 917]] at the 2006 [[Goodwood Festival of Speed]]]]
Powerful prototypes (effectively pure-bred two-seater racing cars with no real link to production vehicles) started to appear as the 1960s progressed, with worldwide battles between Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Lotus, Alfa Romeo and [[Matra]] as well as other more specialist marques running on into the early 1970s. The competition at Le Mans even made it to the movie screens, with [[Steve McQueen (actor)|Steve McQueen]]'s film [[Le Mans (film)|Le Mans]]. This era was seen by many as the highpoint of sports car racing, with the technology and performance of the cars comfortably in excess of what was seen in Formula 1. [[Homologation]] saw many out-and-out racing cars produced in sufficient quantities to see them classed as production vehicles; the FIA responded by placing more restrictions on even the allegedly production-based cars and placed draconian limits on the power available to prototypes – these prototypes of the late 1960s/early 1970s were comfortably quicker than contemporary Grand Prix machinery and for 1972 they were constrained to run much smaller engines to F1 rules, often
A peculiarly American form of sports car racing was the [[Can-Am]] series, in which virtually unlimited sports prototypes competed in relatively short races. This series ran from 1966 to 1974 and was an expansion of the [[United States Road Racing Championship|USRRC]] that conformed to [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] Group 7 rules. The original [[Can-Am]] fell victim to rising costs and the [[1973 energy crisis|energy crisis]].
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===1980s – Group C and IMSA GTP===
In Europe, the FIA adopted the ACO GTP rules virtually unchanged and sanctioned the [[Group C]]
[[File:Gtp sports cars.jpg|thumb|1991 IMSA GTP]]
The FIA attempted to make Group C into a virtual "two seater Grand Prix" format in the early 1990s, with engine rules in common with F1, short race distances, and a schedule dovetailing with that of the F1 rounds. This drove up costs and drove away entrants and crowds, and by 1993 prototype racing was dead in Europe, with the [[Peugeot]], Jaguar, [[Toyota]] and Mercedes-Benz teams all having withdrawn.
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===2000s – Resurgence in the US===
[[File:1 and 2 Audi R8.jpg|thumb|[[2005 Grand Prix of Atlanta]]]]
The debut of the [[Speed (TV channel)|SpeedVision]] television network brought a resurgence of interest in sports car racing in the US, with the network originally showing a large amount of sports car racing and sports
The IMSA GT Series evolved into the [[American Le Mans Series]]; the European races eventually became the closely related [[Le Mans Series]], both of which mix prototypes and GTs; the FIA remains more interested in its own GT and GT3 championships, with the ACO's rules the basis for the LMS and ALMS. The [[Le Mans Prototype]] is somewhat reminiscent of the old Can Am prototype.
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===2010s – Reformatting===
[[File:PLM 2011 Pace Lap.jpg|thumb|[[2011 Petit Le Mans]]]]
The 2010s have seen a major overhaul of sports car racing in the United States. The Pirelli World Challenge reformatted in 2010 to have a showroom stock touring car group comparable to that of the Continental Challenge's Grand Sport class, promoting its other touring car class to "GTS". This came after several years of the old TC class being an Acura-BMW-[[Mazda]] affair. For 2012, the series
2010 also saw the introduction of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) by the ACO, featuring events in America, Asia and Europe. This in turn led the ACO & FIA to come together to create the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) starting in 2012. This new series replaced the ILMC and was a spiritual successor to the former FIA World Sportscar Championship.
▲The 2010s have seen a major overhaul of sports car racing in the United States. The Pirelli World Challenge reformatted in 2010 to have a showroom stock touring car group comparable to that of the Continental Challenge's Grand Sport class, promoting its other touring car class to "GTS". This came after several years of the old TC class being an Acura-BMW-[[Mazda]] affair. For 2012, the series will be adopting a "B-spec" touring car class comparable to that of the Continental Challenge's Street Tuner class.
[[File:DP 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Scott Pruett Memo Rojas Road America 2012.jpg|thumb|The [[Scott Pruett]] / Memo Rojas BMW Riley of [[Chip Ganassi Racing]] at [[Road America]] during a [[2012 Rolex Sports Car Series]] race]]
▲Meanwhile, the Rolex Sports Car Series has overhauled its Daytona Prototype class for 2012, allowing for production-based designs. Already planned is a Corvette-based prototype.
The ALMS's new LMP/LMC format, however, has not held up. The prototype classes split again in 2011, with LMP1 having three cars and LMP2 having one. A new "GT Pro Am" class was added. Initially, this format was only to be used in endurance races, but was eventually applied to all races. For 2012, only a handful of LMPs are being entered, with almost all of them being powered by Japanese manufacturers ([[Nissan]], [[Honda]], etc.). The British manufacturer [[Morgan (automobile)|Morgan]] has entered a [[Judd (engine)|Judd]]-powered LMP. [[Aston Martin Racing]], who for several years had entered an LMP, has returned to GT for 2012.
The reformatted Trans-Am Series
Other television changes include Speed Channel losing the rights to almost every series. The World Challenge was transferred to Versus, while the ALMS was transferred to an ESPN/ABC partnership. ALMS races are shown live online with a telecast the following day (although Speed still has the rights to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is still televised live). For 2012, some races will be televised live. Speed, having a partnership with NASCAR, still has exclusive rights to the NASCAR-owned Grand Am series.
The ALMS has now introduced "GTE-PRO" and "GTE-AM" for endurance races.
[[File:JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca 07 Petit Le Mans.jpg|thumb|[[Oreca 07]] of JDC-Miller Motorsports in [[2017 Petit Le Mans]] ]]
In 2014, American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series were merged into [[WeatherTech SportsCar Championship|United SportsCar Championship]], with IMSA as its sanctioning body. [[Fox Sports 1]] (successor of Speed Channel) was returned as main broadcaster of the unified series.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/fox-sports-1-to-air-united-sportscar-racing-080913|title=FOX to air United SportsCar Racing|date=2013-08-09|work=FOX Sports|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816095153/http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/fox-sports-1-to-air-united-sportscar-racing-080913|archive-date=2013-08-16|url-status=live}}</ref>
Daytona Prototype was replaced in 2017 by Daytona Prototype International (DPi), which based on the four [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest|ACO]] homologated [[LMP2]] chassis made by [[Dallara]], [[Onroak Automotive|Onroak (Ligier)]], [[Oreca]], and [[Riley Technologies|Riley]]-[[Multimatic Motorsports|Multimatic]], with brand bodywork and homologated engines. Manufacturers are asked to partner with a privateer team, and each car will sport manufacturer bodywork, corresponding to their brand-identity. These rules are made to both control costs and attract manufacturers to the series.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://sportscar365.com/industry/inside-imsas-dpi-regulations-pt-1/|title=Inside IMSA's 2017 DPi Regulations, Pt. 1 – Sportscar365|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001635/https://sportscar365.com/industry/inside-imsas-dpi-regulations-pt-1/|archive-date=2018-10-19|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2018, [[Stéphane Ratel Organisation|SRO Motorsports Group]] has taken over the management of [[Pirelli World Challenge]], with [[United States Auto Club|USAC]] as its sanctioning body since 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sportscar365.com/world-challenge/sro-becomes-majority-shareholder-of-pwc/|title=SRO Becomes Majority Shareholder of PWC – Sportscar365|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718084136/https://sportscar365.com/world-challenge/sro-becomes-majority-shareholder-of-pwc/|archive-date=2018-07-18|url-status=live}}</ref>
Beginning in 2019, [[NBC Sports]] will be replacing Fox Sports as main broadcaster of [[WeatherTech SportsCar Championship]] with six-year broadcasting rights.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://racer.com/2018/04/30/imsa-moving-to-nbc-sports-in-2019/|title=IMSA moving to NBC Sports in 2019|date=2018-04-30|work=RACER|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508225712/http://racer.com/2018/04/30/imsa-moving-to-nbc-sports-in-2019/|archive-date=2018-05-08|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/imsa-moves-to-nbc-sports-in-new-six-year-tv-deal/|title=IMSA Moves to NBC Sports in New Six-Year TV Deal – Sportscar365|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016081339/https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/imsa-moves-to-nbc-sports-in-new-six-year-tv-deal/|archive-date=2018-10-16|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Types of cars==
There are many kinds of sports cars that compete, but they can be broadly broken down into two main categories: [[Sports prototype]]s and [[Grand tourer|Grand Touring]] (GT) cars. These two categories (or "classes") are often mixed together in a single race, such as in the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]]. In mixed-class races, an overall winner is awarded,
===Sports prototype===
[[Image:ALMS Prototypes.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A group of modern [[Le Mans
Sports prototype is the name given to a type of car used in sports car racing and is effectively the next automotive design and technological step
The highest level in sports car racing, these cars are purpose-built racing cars with enclosed wheels, and either open or closed cockpits.
In simplistic terms, sports
In the [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest|ACO]] regulations, two categories of sports
Prototype rules for 2010 and beyond will encourage production-based engines (GT1 engines in LMP1, GT2 engines in LMP2) and rules to equalise the performance of petrol and diesel LMP1s are also being addressed.
[[Daytona Prototype]]s are a product of the
===Grand Touring car===
[[
Grand Touring (from the Italian ''[[Grand tourer|Gran Turismo]]'') racing is the most common form of sports car racing, and is found all over the world, in both international and national series. Historically, Grand Touring cars had to be in series production, but in 1976 the class was split into production
For 2011, the ACO split GT2 into two categories, '''GTE-Pro''' (for all-professional teams with current-spec cars) and '''GTE-Am''' (for teams with one amateur and one professional per car using previous-spec cars), as a way to entice rookies to enter one of the three Le Mans Series.
FIA divides GT cars into four categories called GT1 (formerly GT), GT2 (formerly N-GT), GT3 (recently introduced) and GT4. The GT1 and GT2 divisions are very close to the ACO rules outlined above, and again some crossover racing does occur, particularly in the GT2 class. The GT3 class is relatively new and was introduced for 2006. These cars are closer to standard form than in GT2, and in most cases modifications are restricted to those found in one-make cups. GT4 is another new category for
Grand-Am has only one class for Grand Touring cars which allows production-based GT racers at a spec somewhere between FIA GT2 and GT3 in terms of modification (e.g. the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) to compete with purpose-built tube-frame "silhouette" machines reminiscent of the former IMSA GTO/GTU classes. Grand-Am also runs various under-classes more reminiscent of GT4, though closer to factory cars.
{{As of|2012}}, the four GT categories are in mixed health. '''GT1''' has been all but phased out with the removal of the class from the [[FIA GT1 World Championship]]
====Technology escalation and control====
While GT cars are at least in theory based on road-going models, some GT1 cars in the mid to late 1990s were effectively purpose-built sports-prototypes which spawned exotic production cars with [[homologation]] production limits of 25 cars (for small-scale manufacturers, such as [[Saleen]]) or 100 cars (for major manufacturers like [[Daimler AG]]).
The original form of GT1 racing was
This process
===Other divisions===
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In Japan, the [[Super GT]] series divides cars into two classes, called '''GT500''' and '''GT300'''. These cars are less restricted than their European and American counterparts, with cars often sporting tube frame clips and forced induction kits. Teams are also free to change engines with other models made by the manufacturer. The numbers in the classifications refer to the maximum power (in horsepower) available to each class; this is achieved through the use of engine restrictors. Proponents of the series claim that the Super GT cars are the fastest sports cars in the world, while critics deride the cars as being outside the limits of 'acceptable' modifications. In recent years however, rule changes in both GT500 and GT1 (aimed at eventually allowing both classes to compete with each other in the future) have brought the cars closer to each other, although GT500 cars still have a notable advantage in terms of aerodynamics and cornering performance (enough to compensate for GT1 cars greater power).
In Europe, although most national championships ([[British GT Championship|British]], [[FFSA GT Championship|French]], [[ADAC GT Masters|German]] and the
==Notable racing series==
===World championships===
====Current====
*[[FIA World Endurance Championship]] –
====Former====
*[[World Sportscar Championship]] – The long-running former World Championship, which dissolved in 1992. Originally contested in 1953 by Sports
*[[FIA GT1 World Championship]] – A short-lived GT series in the early 2010s created by
===International championships===
*[[Porsche Supercup]] – One
*[[24H Series|24H Series –]] Endurance series for GT and Touring cars. Predominantly races in Europe and the Middle East, but has also gone to the United States.
====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]] –
===Regional championships===
====North America====
*[[WeatherTech SportsCar Championship]]
*[[
*[[
*[[Trans-Am Series]] – Originally a touring car series incorporating some GT elements in later years but remained primarily for touring cars. Gradually evolved into a [[silhouette racing car]] series, mirroring NASCAR trends. Began in the 1960s was hugely popular during the ''Pony car'' era of [[muscle cars]] in the late 60s and early 70s, it folded in 2005. A new Muscle car series evolved in 2009.▼
Defunct
*[[IMSA Prototype Lites]] – Support series for the American Le Mans Series, formerly called "IMSA Lites". Single seat sports cars with motorcycle engines.
*[[Rolex Sports Car Series]] – Grand-Am's top-level US sports car series, emerged from the USRRC. Lasted from 2000 to 2013, merged into the United SportsCar Championship. Separate classes for Sports cars and GT cars.
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*[[USERA]] – United States Endurance Racing Association – Pro-Am Endurance Championship in the United States
*[[IMSA GT Championship]] – lasted from 1971 to 1998 and replaced by ALMS and the Rolex Series.
*[[United States Road Racing Championship]]
*[[International Race of Champions]]
▲*[[Trans-Am Series]] – Originally a touring car series incorporating some GT elements in later years but remained primarily for touring cars. Gradually evolved into a [[silhouette racing car]] series, mirroring NASCAR trends. Began in the 1960s was hugely popular during the ''Pony car'' era of [[muscle cars]] in the late 60s and early 70s, it folded in 2005. A new Muscle car series evolved in 2009.
▲*[[International Race of Champions]] – The popular IROC one-make series has been run in the United States, in later years predominately on oval for GT and Muscle cars.
====Europe====
*[[European Le Mans Series]] – Sister series to the ALMS, run mostly in Europe (formerly the ELMS).
*[[Michelin Le Mans Cup]]
*[[Blancpain Endurance Series]] – GT3 Endurance racing series, held predominantly in Europe, formed in 2011.▼
*[[
*
▲*[[
*
Defunct
*[[FIA Sportscar Championship]] – FIA's now-defunct European Prototype racing series – most races ended up part of the European Le Mans Series.
*[[FIA GT Championship]] – European Championship
*[[FIA GT3 European Championship]] – GT3 European racing series, predominantly in Europe but some rounds elsewhere.
▲* [[Dutch Supercar Challenge]] - Sportscar series held in Benelux region since 2001.
====Asia-Pacific====
*[[Asian Le Mans Series]] – Series running [[
*[[GT World Challenge Asia]] – Asian GT3 Championship founded in 2009, that replaced the [[Asia GT Challenge]] and [[GT Asia]].
*[[Super GT]] – Japan
Defunct
*[[Japan Le Mans Challenge]] – Established in 2006, ran in Japan and folded in 2007.
*[[All Japan Sports Prototype Championship]] – Japanese series for Gr. C cars, replaced by JGTC in 1993.
*[[Fuji Grand Champion Series]] – a Japanese series originally for Gr. 6 cars
===National and domestic championships===
====Australia====
*[[
*[[Sports Racer Series]] – An amateur series for small, mostly motorcycle-engined sports cars, run for the first time in 2010.▼
*[[Australian Nations Cup Championship]] – A series for GT type cars which ran from
*[[Australian Sports Car Championship]] – A series which ran from
====Germany====
*[[Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft]] – German series which originally pitted touring cars against GT racers, Gr 6 and then Gr. C was later added.▼
*[[ADAC Supercup]] – A Group C only national series in Germany, replaced DRM and ran until 1989. Not to be confused with the various [[Porsche Supercup]] series.▼
*[[ADAC GT Masters]] – ADAC level GT series▼
====United Kingdom====
*[[British GT Championship]] – national level GT series
*[[Sports Prototype Endurance Event Driving|Speed]] – National level endurance car championship run by [[MotorSport Vision|MotorsportVision Racing]]. Sometimes called LMP3 cars.
*[[Thundersports]] – a British series of the 1980s in which pretty much any kind of sports racer, GT and even touring cars were eligible.
*[[Clubmans]] – a long-lived British formula which featured sophisticated, quick but economical front-engined/rear wheel drive sports racers well into the 1990s. Based originally on the popularity of the [[Lotus Seven]].
====
*[[GT World Challenge America]]
▲*[[Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft]] – German series which originally pitted touring cars against GT racers, Gr 6 and then Gr. C was later added.
*[[GT America Series]]
▲*[[Supercup]] – A Group C only national series in Germany, replaced DRM and ran until 1989. Not to be confused with the various [[Porsche Supercup]] series.
*[[GT4 America Series]]
▲*[[ADAC GT Masters]] – ADAC level GT series
▲*[[Interserie]] – German based series, originally similar to Can-Am.
===
*[[24 Hours of Le Mans]] – A Endurance events organized by [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest]] and sanctioned by [[Federation Internationale de l'Automobile]]
▲*[[Australian GT Championship]] – A series for GT type cars which ran from 1982–1985 (mostly IMSA GTO spec cars as well as Group B Sports Sedans from the then defunct [[Australian Sports Sedan Championship]]), and from 2005 to date. The championship is currently run to FIA GT3 regulations.
*[[24 Hours of Daytona]]
▲*[[Sports Racer Series]] – An amateur series for small, mostly motorcycle-engined sports cars, run for the first time in 2010.
*[[Nürburgring 24 Hours]]
▲*[[Australian Nations Cup Championship]] – A series for GT type cars which ran from 2000–2004. Replaced by the revived Australian GT Championship in 2005 after the series organiser [[Procar Australia]] ceased operation in 2004.
*[[Spa 24 Hours]]
▲*[[Australian Sports Car Championship]] – A series which ran from 1969–1988. It was run for the unique to Australia [[Group A Sports Cars]] regulations from 1969–1975, for [[Group D Production Sports Cars]] from 1976–1981 and again for Group A Sports Cars from 1982–1988.
*[[Bathurst 12 Hour]]
*[[12 Hours of Sebring]]
*[[Suzuka 10 Hours]]
*[[Dubai 24 Hour]]
==See also==
* [[Auto racing]]
* [[Grand tourer|Grand Touring Cars]]
* [[Touring car racing]]
==References==
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==Bibliography==
* [[Denis Jenkinson]], "Automobile Year Book
* [[János Wimpffen]], "Time and Two Seats" – 2 vols. Extensive history of World Championship sports car racing from 1952 to the late 1990s.
* [[János Wimpffen]], "Open Roads And Front Engines" – a photographic companion to the above, covering the early 50s-early 60s.
* [[János Wimpffen]], "Winged Sports Cars and Enduring Innovation" – a sequel to the above covering the early 60s-early 70s.
* [[János Wimpffen]], "Spyders and Silhouettes" – a sequel to the above covering the early 70s-early 80s.
* [[John Wyer]], "The Certain Sound" – memoirs of Aston Martin and Ford GT40 team manager.
* [[Chris Nixon]], "Racing
* [[Anthony Pritchard]], "Sports Racing Cars" – profiles of 25 sports racers through history.
* Brooklands Books, "Le Mans" – 5 volumes of contemporary race reports.
* Brooklands Books, "Mille Miglia" – 2 volumes of contemporary race reports.
* Brooklands Books, "Targa Florio" – 5 volumes of contemporary race reports.
* Brooklands Books, "Carrera Panamericana" – 1 volume of contemporary race reports.
* [[Ian Briggs]], "Endurance Racing 1982–1991" – the Group C and IMSA GTP years, race by race.
* Michael Cotton, "Directory of World Sports Cars" – IMSA and GpC car histories outlined in detail.
* [[Andrew Whyte]], "Jaguar: Sports Racing and Works Competition Cars" – 2 vols. Authoritative history of the marque.
* [[Ian Bamsey]], ed. "Super Sports: The {{convert|220|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} Le Mans Cars" – technical summary of large-capacity coupés.
* [[Chris Nixon]] – "Sports Car Heaven" – Aston Martin vs Ferrari.
* [[Karl Ludvigsen]] – "Quicksilver Century" – competition history of Mercedes-Benz.
* [[Karl Ludvigsen]] – "Porsche: Excellence Was Expected" (3 vols) – extensive history of Porsche.
* [[Vic Elford]], "Reflections on a Golden Era of Motorsport" – covers Vic's rallying, single seater and mostly sports car career in depth.
* [[Norbert Singer]], "24:16" – his role in Porsche's Le Mans wins.
* [[John Horsman]], "Racing
* 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.
{{Class of Auto racing}}
{{Automobile endurance races}}
{{Racing}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Sports car racing| ]]
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