Different types of races and different type of race cars
Here we will see all the motor sport disciplines in the world recognized by the F.I.A. (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) and we will see the most titled cars in each discipline.
1 - Races
W.E.C. - World Endurance Championship
This type of races gathers four categories where the cars race together on the same racetrack. The differences between all categories are power regulations, dimension regulations, fuel tank capacity, height, width and weight regulations. By the way, I am not a specialist of this type of race, but all you can know from it, is the famous racetrack in the world which is Le Mans (in France). The race is a 24h non-stop race and it required an exellent teamwork here between engineers, pilots, mecanicians and other departements related for the team. If a team wins Le Mans then it means a lot for the automotive industry because it proves that your car is reliable on a 24h race, it can go very fast, it can turn very fast and it can brake very fast into hard turns. However it means a lot back in the days for car brands to develop a corporate image. At the beginning of Le Mans, sometimes, there were no pilot rotation and the pilot had to run the 24h race only by himself which is really dangerous because you always have to speed.
The four categories these days are:
- Hypercar (Formerly Le Mans Prototype 1 (L.M.P.1))
Here is the Peugeot 9X8
This is the highest category. The cars are designed and produced by the car company which engages in the race.
- Le Mans Prototype 2 (L.M.P.2)
here on the left is the SMP Racing BR-01 Nissan
This is an inferior division of "prototypes" because the engine power is lower than the Hypercars.
- Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Professional (L.M.G.T.E. PRO)
In this category, it is private teams but supported by the car brand which it refers to. It is production cars transformed into race cars.
- Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Amateur (L.M.G.T.E.AM)
In this category, you have also private teams, non-professional drivers coming from different ways but you have at least one professional pilot in these teams. you can distinguish both categories by spotting stickers on the cars "PRO" and "AM".
W.R.C. - World Rally Championship
This is my favorite race type in all the motor sport disciplines. These pilots are astonishing. They drive a car from a starting point to an end point between forests, spectators, jumps, animals, mountain roads, hairpins, crossing rivers. Pilots drive these car on asphalt, on gravel and on snow and sometimes both conditions helped by the notes of a co-pilot. Moreover, they drive it on any weather conditions. This is the only racing category to be "street legal" in any countries in the world because these cars have a license plate on it. Therfore, it means that you can drive it on every roads. Cars of this category are produced cars, modified with restrictions with a based produced engine (also modified).
There are four categories running into the championship:
- Rally 1 (WRC1)
The main and the highest category. These cars are hybrid cars since 2022. The combustion engine develops 380 H.P. (horsepower) and the electric motor develops 100 kW (136 H.P.). In total, the addition of the two engines make these cars be powered at 506 H.P. However, the electric engine is used into specific points on stages which are located on cards put on the road.
- Rally 2 and Rally 3 (Formerly R5)
These cars are less extravagant than the Rally 1 cars and it looks like much more at a produced car. The combustion engine power is around 280 horsepower and it is subdivided into two categories which is also like what I wrote previously in the Le Mans G.T.E. "PRO" and "AM". Therefore, Rally 2 are professional pilots and Rally 3 are non-professional (or becoming in the future).
- Rally Junior (or R2).
Finally, the rookies category in which many of them want to become a professional. There is only one car competiting in this category which is the Ford Fiesta R2, and the engine is powered by a 180 H.P. engine.
W.R.X. - World Rallycross Championship
Rallycross was recognized as part of the "official" F.I.A. races in 2014, although, the roots started back in the 70's in the U.K. The race is different than rally because the race takes place on closed circuits mixing dirt and asphalt. the race format is shorter and it is a head-to-head races. It seems to be similar to rally for the structures, cars but it is completely different. the common thing is just the road surfaces
There are two categroies of cars:
- RX1 and RX1e
Such as W.RC., it is produced cars modified into race cars. However, the engine power is not the same. It is almost twice more powered than rally cars and it reaches 600 H.P. The electric vehicules came in 2021 jointed on the RX1 thermic cars. Electric rallycross cars have 500 kW (680 H.P.)
-RX2e (Formerly RX2)
It is the second category of rallycross and it is a less powered category. As in Junior WRC, the pilots drive the same. The power is quite similar in the WRC Rally 1 cars and it is powered by a 270 kW (362 H.P.) electrical engine.
W.2R.C. - World Rally-Raid Championship
I am not a big fan of cross-countries (or rally-raid), but I have to say that it is impressing me. This type of race is runned by governance by the FIA since 2022, even if this existed before FIA came into the game. The famous race in this type is the Dakar (formerly named Paris-Dakar). Due to political crisis on this part of the world in the last decade, it is no more starting at Paris and ending at Dakar.
We are just going to see the automobile categories, because there are also trucks, motos and quads which participate. Just to understand the appellation "T1","T3" and "T4", it is a name to categorize the regulations of these cars. I will not be able to explain a little more on these cars because I do not know about the regulations. However, I guess the pictures are explaining these regulations.
Formula 1 is the flower of motor sports. it is the most up to date in technology and some of the technology in F1 cars are applied on daily cars. However these technologies come ten years later after seen on F1 cars. Formula one is composed of twenty pilots on the grid who are racing for private teams helped by motorists or car brands insterested with F1 and the regulations are very specific. Moreover, the car is a one-seater car. To be honest, it is a very expensive motor sports and most of the pilots came from karting. In fact, these pilots are athletes because they recieve lot of G-force on their body. these car go from 0 pkh to 100 kph in less than 3 seconds, pilots can turn with these at around 150 kph in tight turns. the decelaration between a straight line and a turn can be very shocking. This discipline rans for more than a century now and prizes at the end of races is about millions of Dollars.
The F1 cars are so specific that a pilot has to remember all the trackrace, it is like learn by heart every turn of a racetrack. In my opinion, these pilots are insane and they proving to people that they stretch to the limits machines.
Formula E
Formula E is a new discipline from the twenty-first century with the growing trend on electric vehicules, this discipline is copying Formula one by taking a one-seater car that engineers put an electric motor on it. However, the differences between the two disciplines are the length of the track, the places where it runs, the energy capacity, the shapes of these car and the tyres used for these cars. It appeared for its first time in 2014. the Formula E has twenty-two pilots who are also driving for private teams helped by car companies. Some pilots came from Formula one and it is not beacause they are bad F1 pilots. What I mean here is if a pilot drove a F1 car before that means that he or she is skilled.
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