Road racing

Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily closed public roads. The objective is to complete a set number of laps in the least time, or to accumulate the most circuit laps within a set time. Road racing emerged in the early 20th century, centered in Western Europe and Great Britain, as motor vehicles became more common. 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 (FIA); motorcycle road races were organized into the Grand Prix motorcycle racing series and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Road races, originally held almost entirely on public roads, were largely moved to closed-circuit tracks to increase safety. The sport has spread across the globe; Grand Prix road races have been held on six continents. Variations of road racing include open-wheel racing, sports car racing, touring car racing, stock car racing, superbike racing, truck racing, kart racing and endurance racing.