Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going models.

A type of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans is one of the oldest motor races still in existence. Other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio (1906–1977) and Mille Miglia (1927–1957), and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana (1950-1954). Most top class sports car races emphasize endurance (typically between 2.5-24 hours), reliability, and strategy, over pure speed. Longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes. As a result, sports car racing is seen more as a team endeavor than an individual sport, with team managers such as John Wyer, Tom Walkinshaw, driver-turned-constructor Henri Pescarolo, Peter Sauber and Reinhold Joest becoming almost as famous as some of their drivers.

Sports car

A sports car (sportscar) is a small, usually two seater, two door automobile designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known use of the term was in 1928.

Sports cars may be spartan or luxurious, but high maneuverability and minimum weight are requisite. They may be equipped for racing, "especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds."

Early history

The definition of a sports car is not precise, but from the earliest first automobiles "people have found ways to make them go faster, round corners better, and look more beautiful" than the ordinary models inspiring an "emotional relationship" with a car that is fun to drive and use for the sake of driving. The basis for the sports car is traced to the early 20th century touring cars and roadsters. These raced in early rallys, such as the Herkomer Cup, Prinz Heinrich Fahrt, and Monte Carlo.

Auto racing

Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing or automobile racing) is a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. The main aim of an individual event is to set the fastest time in a set number of laps or time limit. The finishing order is determined by race time, with the fastest time in first place, second-fastest in second place and so on. Any driver failing to complete a race for any reason is deemed "retired", or, more commonly, "out". Retired drivers will have their positions determined by the order in which those retired, with the first to retire finishing last, the next second-last and so on. In most events, a driver's final race position may be classified if he/she completes a certain amount of the race distance, usually just short of completing the full race (for example, in Formula One, a driver's race position is classified if he/she completes 90% of the full race distance). There are numerous different categories of auto racing, each with different rules and regulations, such as compulsory pit stops and car regulations, for all cars and drivers to comply. The continuous exposure of a driver to vibration and G forces in years of automobile racing may have a substantial effect on the high incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.

Motor Trend

Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tagline "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia in 2001. As of 2007, it is published by TEN: The Enthusiast Network (formerly Source Interlink Media). It has a monthly circulation of over one million readers.

Contents and Sections

The contents of Motor Trend magazines are divided up into sections, or departments.

Road Tests

Motor Trend magazine provides its readers with written "road tests" of vehicles. These road tests are published monthly, and are meant to give readers information about the featured vehicle, certain aspects of the vehicle, and what the readers can expect if the featured vehicle is purchased. For example, if Motor Trend road-tested the Cadillac Escalade, the road test article would provide its readers with information about the Cadillac Escalade, and what they could expect if they bought one for themselves.

The World's Greatest

"The World's Greatest" is a song written and recorded by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Ali, and also appeared on bootleg copies of Kelly's unreleased album, Loveland, which later became a bonus disc to Chocolate Factory. It was covered by folk singer Bonnie Prince Billy on his 2007 EP Ask Forgiveness.

Music video

The music video is directed by Bille Woodruff. Kelly is a boxer in this video, playing the part of Muhammad Ali, as this song was originally a tribute to him. There is no color in the video except for red, Kelly's boxing clothes happen to have that color.

Reception and awards

The song reached number 31 on the Billboard R&B chart. Its music video, which portrayed Kelly as a boxer, was in heavy rotation on channels like MTV and BET. In the UK, it peaked at number four.

Track listing

Chart performance

Cover versions

References