1.
European Le Mans Series
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The European Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de lOuest. The European Le Mans Series is similar to the American Le Mans Series based in the United States and Canada that was running with ACO, ELMS team champions and runners-up receive an automatic entry to the following years 24 Hours of Le Mans. Originally titled the Le Mans Endurance Series before becoming simply the Le Mans Series in 2006, the aged IMSA GT Championship was taken over and became the new American Le Mans Series, and met with much success in 1999. Europe had lacked a major sports prototype series since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship in 1992, following the success of the ALMS, Panoz attempting to bring sports prototype racing back to Europe. This led to the 2000 American Le Mans Series season, which included two races in Europe as the Nürburgring and Silverstone Circuit, as well as a round in Australia and these races would serve as a precursor to what would become the separate European Le Mans Series in 2001. To aid in the development of the ELMS, the 2001 season shared some races between both ALMS and ELMS, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, normally ALMS races, were considered optional races for ELMS teams. At the same time, the ELMS races at Donington Park and this allowed for the possibility of boosting the draw from international teams to either series. For the ELMS events that included ALMS teams, very few teams actually bothered to make the trip across the Atlantic to participate in races that appeared to have very few serious competitors. Thus the entry lists for each race fell from 25 at the beginning of the season to a mere 14 at seasons end, with some classes only having one or two competitors. With a lack of involvement from teams, and less interest from the due to the lack of teams. Seeing the success of the American Le Mans Series, the ACO decided that a run by themselves would be a better alternative for Europe. The ACO would instead attempt to attract factory backed teams with longer endurance races than ALMS, the series would also be European based instead of international, thus it could be closer to the factories of a large number of sportscar teams to help attract them to the series. Winners of the LMES championship would go on to earn automatic entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, similar to the American Le Mans Series. The series was previewed in an open race run under the LMES banner in 2003 at the 1000km of Le Mans. For the 2004 Le Mans Series, the participated in four events, including resurrecting classic races like the 1000km Monza, 1000km Nürburgring,1000 km Silverstone. A large number of turned out, making the racing very exciting. 2005 saw the series expand to a five race format with the addition of the Istanbul Racing Circuit, in 2007, the LMS held its first and single overseas race with Mil Milhas Brasil as the sixth round. For 2013 a twenty-nine car field has been announced including eleven LMP2 cars, in 2016 the GTC class featuring GT3-spec cars was dropped from the series
2.
Silverstone Circuit
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Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side, the Northamptonshire towns of Towcester and Brackley and Buckinghamshire town of Buckingham are close by, and the nearest large towns are Northampton and Milton Keynes. Silverstone is the current home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created World Championship of Drivers. The race rotated between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch from 1955 to 1986, but relocated permanently to Silverstone in 1987, the circuit also hosts the British round of the MotoGP series. However, the Donington Park leaseholders suffered economic problems resulting in the BRDC signing a 17-year deal with Ecclestone to hold the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Silverstone is built on the site of a World War II Royal Air Force bomber station, RAF Silverstone, the airfields three runways, in classic WWII triangle format, lie within the outline of the present track. Silverstone was first used for motorsport by an ad hoc group of friends who set up a race in September 1947. One of their members, Maurice Geoghegan, lived in nearby Silverstone village and was aware that the airfield was deserted and he and eleven other drivers raced over a two-mile circuit, during the course of which Geoghegan himself ran over a sheep that had wandered onto the airfield. The sheep was killed and the car written off, and in the aftermath of this event the race became known as the Mutton Grand Prix. The next year the Royal Automobile Club took a lease on the airfield and their first two races were held on the runways themselves, with long straights separated by tight hairpin corners, the track demarcated by hay bales. However, for the 1949 International Trophy meeting, it was decided to switch to the perimeter track and this arrangement was used for the 1950 and 1951 Grands Prix. In 1952 the start line was moved from the Farm Straight to the straight linking Woodcote and Copse corners, for the 1975 meeting a chicane was introduced to try to tame speeds through the mighty Woodcote Corner, and Bridge Corner was subtly rerouted in 1987. The track underwent a major redesign between the 1990 and 1991 races, transforming the ultra-fast track into a technical track. The reshaped tracks first F1 race was perhaps the most memorable of recent years, following the deaths of Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modified in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety. As a consequence of this the entry from Hangar Straight into Stowe Corner was modified in 1995 so as to make its entry less dangerous, in addition, the flat-out Abbey kink was modified to a chicane in just 19 days before the 1994 GP. Parts of the circuit, such as the grid, are 17 metres wide. After a new pit building, the Silverstone Wing, was completed in time for the 2011 race, almost flat out, the right-hander of Abbey leads immediately into the left-hander of Farm before cars brake heavily into the second gear, right-handed turn three, Village Corner. Turn 6, the left hander of Brooklands, is taken by drivers in second gear and leads immediately into Luffield, another second gear curve, a right-hand hairpin
3.
Algarve International Circuit
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The 100,000 capacity Algarve International Circuit, commonly referred to as Portimao Circuit, is a 4.692 km race circuit located in Portimão, Portugal. With a total cost of million, the project includes a karting track, technology park, five-star hotel, sports complex. Construction was finished in October 2008 and the circuit was homologated by both the FIM on 11 October 2008 and the FIA two days later, the circuit was designed by Ricardo Pina, Arquitectos. In October 2010 the teams agreed to add the Portimao Circuit to the Formula One testing roster along with Bahrain, the sale was forced by the debts accumulated by Parkalgar Serviços, believed to be approximately 160 million Euros. The circuit hosted the final round of the World Superbike Championship on 2 November 2008, on 9 June, the track was confirmed to host a round of the 2008-09 A1 Grand Prix season. The race was set for the weekend of 12 April 2009, on 10 October 2008, the Le Mans Series announced a 1000 km night race to be held at Algarve on 2 August 2009. On 5 November 2008, the FIA GT Championship announced and 7th round of the 2009 season will be held at Algarve on 13 September 2009, a Formula One test session, with the McLaren and Honda teams participating, was scheduled for 15–17 December 2008. Toyota also tested at the circuit on 20 January 2009 in the first outing of their new TF109 chassis, the circuit will also host the final round of the 2009 GP2 Series season in September 2009. From 2010 it will host a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the circuit resembles old Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps, mainly because of its constantly undulating nature. A1 Team Portugals driver Filipe Albuquerque observed that there are big downhill slopes and he also commented that the track is good for overtaking because the circuit width. A1 Team New Zealands driver Earl Bamber observed that there are many special turns with personality and he commented that the new circuit is a little bit dangerous like the old school circuits with a roller coaster ride. A1 Team Frances driver Nicolas Prost commented that the asphalt is new and it has been confirmed that one of the corners of the circuit was named after former World Supersport rider Craig Jones who was killed in a motorcycle crash at Brands Hatch in 2008. This monument is a sculpture, representing the main straight of a racing circuit. This large-scale artistic intervention serves to frame the statue but will also be useful as an access that will allow pedestrian approach to the statue. The owner of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and Parkalgar racing team, Paulo Pinheiro, declared and this tribute will keep alive the admiration and respect for the work of Craig in the motorcycling world. This monument will ensure that Craig Jones will never be forgotten, the inauguration of the marble and stainless steel statue was expected to occur in 2010. If completed in 2011, this will be the stone statue in the world representing a motorbike
4.
Le Mans Prototype
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Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de lOuest. The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car, while not as fast as open-wheel Formula One cars, LMPs are the fastest closed-wheel racing cars used in circuit racing. Le Mans Prototypes are considered a class above production-based grand tourer cars, modern LMP designs include hybrid cars that use electric motors to assist acceleration. Le Mans Prototypes have used various names depending on the series in which they compete, the FIAs equivalent cars were referred to as Sports Racers or Sports Racing Prototypes. The American IMSA GT Championship termed their cars World Sports Cars, since 2004, most series have switched to referring to these cars as Le Mans Prototypes. The American Le Mans Series, the successor to the IMSA GT Championship, an LMP is commonly referred to as a Le Mans car in the media. The first use of what would become Le Mans Prototypes was at the 199224 Hours of Le Mans. In an attempt to increase the number of entrants beyond the field of Group C competitors that the World Sportscar Championship had to offer, older Porsche 962s were allowed entry in Category 3. To further increase the size of the field, small open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines which were raced in national championships, were allowed in Category 4. Only three cars were entered, with all failing to run more than a few hours. With Group C being phased out, the ACO chose to allow production-based race cars to enter for the first time in many years, the cars continued to use the same formula as they had in 1992. Later, ACO announced their intentions to replace the Group C cars with Le Mans Prototypes in 1994. Both classes were required to have open cockpits and this formula continued up to 1996, with many manufacturers embracing the LMP and WSC classes, including Ferrari, Porsche, and Mazda. In 1997, the first European series based around Le Mans Prototypes was launched, to differ from IMSAS WSC class, the USRRC named their open-cockpit prototypes Can-Am in an attempt to resurrect the sportscar championship of the 1970s. However the USRRC collapsed before the end of 1999, with the series becoming the Rolex Sports Car Series who chose to use the FIAs SR1,1998 saw a great expansion for the ACOs LMP classes. Following the cancellation of the IMSA GT Championship at the end of 1998 and this series used the same class structure as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning it was the first championship to use the LMP name. At the same time, the ACO greatly altered their LMP classes, the smaller LMP2 class were briefly eliminated, while a new class of closed-cockpit prototypes were allowed in, known as LMGTP. These cars were evolutions of production-based road cars that the ACO considered too advanced and too fast to fall under the GT class regulations, in 2000, changes were made to the LMP regulations, as the ACO once again split the open-cockpit LMP class
5.
Dallara
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Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula Three since 1993. In recent years the activities have expanded considerably, both in terms of the racing cars and high performance road cars. In 2012 the company opened a center in Speedway, Indiana. The same building houses an entertainment center, where visitors can learn how a racing car is manufactured. Dallara designed his first Formula Three car for Walter Wolf Racing in 1978, Dallara also had a brief involvement in Formula 3000 in the mid-1980s. The first F3 car under the Dallara name came in 1981, since 1985 Dallara drivers have taken the Italian Formula Three Championship every year except 1990. The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw Dallara make inroads into the German and French markets, winning the German title in 1987,1993 was the first year that Dallaras were entered in the British Formula Three Championship and was the beginning of the companys dominance of Formula Three. The new F393 featured major aerodynamic changes compared to its predecessor, TOMS would win the Japanese championship with its own cars in 1993 and 1994 before switching to Dallara chassis. From then on Dallara would dominate the Formula Three market, although Martini had some success in France and Germany in the late 1990s, including Sébastien Bourdais winning the French title in 1999. Since then Dallara have won every major Formula Three title, although Ho-Pin Tung won the 2006 Recaro F3 Cup in a Lola against a field that included several current Dallaras, Dallaras have won the Macau Grand Prix since 1993. In 1988 the company became a Formula One constructor, after being hired by BMS Scuderia Italia to build their chassis, the Constructors Championship results were, no classification in 1988, 8th in 1989, 15th in 1990, 8th in 1991 and 10th in 1992 by Pierluigi Martini. Dallara returned briefly to F1 in 1999, building the test-chassis for Hondas planned and aborted return to the series, during 2004, Dallara recruited ex-Jordan, Stewart and Jaguar F1 designer Gary Anderson, leading to speculation that the Italian company was working on another F1 project. Late in 2004 the nascent Midland team announced that Dallara would be designing and building their Formula One chassis which was due to be entered for the 2006 season. Following Midlands purchase of the Jordan team for entry to F1 in 2005. However, the relationship fizzled out as Midland focussed its resources on developing the existing Jordan infrastructure, Dallara built the cars for the Hispania Racing F1 Teams entry in the 2010 Formula One season. The car was used in all 2010 races without any development except the graphics and they had only one aerodynamic configuration, used for all races, including Monte Carlo and Monza. On 15 April 2014 Gene Haas confirmed his new Formula One team, on 21 February 2016, the Haas VF-16 was officially unveiled. Dallara was one of the three chassis constructors when the Indy Racing League debuted its own chassis formula in the 1997 season
6.
Ligier
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Ligier is a French automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier, specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Championship between 1976 and 1996, in collaboration with Automobiles Martini, the Ligier-Martini entity offered sports prototypes used in endurance or hillclimbing. After the announcement of the creation of the new category LMP3 by the ACO, Ligier and Martini associated with Onroak Automotive to offer a full range of prototypes. The firm entered the business with the Ligier JS2, a mid-engined sports car for the road initially powered by a Ford V6. The JS2 was considered by many as a car with a very good power-to-weight ratio. The Ligier motorcars were all designated with the prefix JS in honour of Ligiers great friend, the final SMs were also produced in the Ligier factory in Vichy. The 1973 energy crisis caused such a decline in the market for the JS2 that production ceased soon after, One of the worlds first experimental prototypes of automatic parallel parking was developed on a Ligier electric car at INRIA in the mid-1990s. In September 2008, Ligier Automobiles completed its acquisition of Beneteau Groups Microcar division, phillipe Ligier, son of the companys founder, remains as CEO. The Ligier and Microcar brands are to retain their separate identities, the merger creates Europes second largest microcar manufacturer, and largest manufacturer of drivers license-exempt vehicles. The Ligier model line currently consists of the Ixo line of cars, the X-Pro line of small commercial vehicles. The company also produces a line of bikes and off-road utility vehicles sold as the Be Pro, Be Four. Ixo or Ambra is about two and a half long and has two seats. Power units include two 2-cylinder four-stroke diesels of about half a liter displacement and an all-electric drive, Ligier is best known for its Formula One team that operated from 1976 to 1996. Ligier entered Formula One in 1976 with a Matra V12-powered car, Ligier also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1970 to 1975. Official website Pictures of Microcars made by Ligier
7.
Oreca
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ORECA is a French racing team, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. In the 2000s, Oreca assisted Renault Sport in building the new Megane V6 for the Renault Eurocup Megane Sport, also for 2006 Oreca ran the Saleen S7R in the Le Mans Series. The Oreca Saleen S7R had already won the 2006 Spa-Francorchamps Le Mans race, Oreca worked closely with Dodge on the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, producing well over 100 customer cars in the period 2006–2007 to GT3 specification. In 2011, Oreca won the 12 Hours of Sebring race despite still using a 2010-spec car versus the new for 2011 Peugeot 908s, in 2012 Oreca was selected to run the Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1 car with support from Toyota Motorsport GmbH in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The car showed promising speed but did not finish at Le Mans due to a crash involving one car. In 2008 Oreca became a sports manufacturer, producing the Oreca 01. The 01 was made for the LMP1 category and was first raced at the 20091000 km of Spa with two entries, during 2009 Oreca started producing the Formula Le Mans FLM09. The idea was to give a platform for smaller teams to get into endurance racing. The Oreca 03 was launched to accommodate the new LMP2 regulations for 2011, in 2015, the Oreca 05 was unveiled, winning the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Oreca was selected as one of the four 2017 LMP2 manufacturers, and launched the Oreca 07
8.
Riley Technologies
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For the British automotive marque, see Riley. In 2001, Bob Riley and son Bill, formerly of Riley & Scott formed Riley Technologies, the company moved their headquarters to Mooresville, NC in late 2006. Riley Technologies was the constructor of the Daytona Prototype chassis for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. The Riley chassis was dominant in terms of numbers of cars on the grid and results. The 2009 race was won by a Brumos Racing Porsche powered Riley, in the 2010 race, another Porsche-powered Mark XI from Action Express Racing won. The 2011 race was won by Chip Ganassi Racing, this time with a BMW engine. When the United SportsCar Championship was created in 2014, Riley continued as Daytona Prototype supplier, the company supplied the Ganassi, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings, Shank and Starworks teams. Ganassi became the only team in 2015, and no full-time entry used Riley chassis in 2016. In 2017, Riley will become one of the four LMP2, the car was developed in partnership with Multimatic. The DPi entry will be Mazda branded, Riley developed the Mazda RX-8 chassis that won the GT class in the 2008 race. Also unveiled in 2008 was the BMW M6 GT race car, Riley Technologies built and raced a GT2-class Chevrolet Corvette in the 2008 American Le Mans Series. The car also raced at the 2009 Petit Le Mans, where it beat both Corvette Racing factory cars in qualifying. In 2012, the SRT Viper debuted at the American Le Mans Series GT class, with drivers Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tommy Kendall, Jonathan Bomarito, in the 2013 ALMS, the team finished 3rd in the GT class championship. The car made its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013, in 2014, the team entered the IMSA SportsCar Championship GTLM class, winning the teams championship and drivers championship by Kuno Wittmer. Following the end of the 2014 season, Chrysler discontinued the program by SRT Motorsports. The Viper GT3-R was also developed by SRT Motorsports and Riley Technologies. It competed in the IMSA GTD class, the Pirelli World Challenge GT class, in 2017, Riley will compete in the IMSA GTD class with two customer Mercedes-AMG GT GT3s with drivers Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Cooper MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette. A derivative of the Riley Daytona Prototype chassis is also raced in the GT300 class of SuperGT as the Mooncraft Shiden, in April 2008 Riley Technologies announced plans to build a track day car to meet the growing demand for high-performance vehicles for use at private track facilities
9.
Multimatic
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Multimatic Inc. is a privately held Canadian corporation supplying engineered components, systems and services to the global automotive industry. Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Multimatic has manufacturing divisions and engineering facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia, in addition, Multimatic delivers niche vehicle design, development, and production for road and race car applications. Multimatic was ranked 79 on the 2015 Automotive News Top 100 North American Suppliers list, Multimatic engineered and constructed the carbon chassis and suspension systems for the RUF CTR3 and Aston Martin One-77, and is Fords build partner for the 2017 Ford GT. The company has provided engineering input on the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, Aston Martin CC100. Multimatic Motorsports designs, engineers, builds, supports and campaigns racing cars in North America, the company also markets the patented Multimatic DSSV damper through its Dynamic Suspensions brand. DSSV dampers are characterized by the use of valves in place of conventional flexible shims. S. F2000 National Championship from 2011, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft from 2012, Indy Lights from 2015, DSSV dampers were also supplied for Red Bull Racings four consecutive Formula One titles from 2010-2013, and has equipped nearly half the field at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Official website 2011 Automotive News Top 100 North American Suppliers Automotive News 100 Cool Things Automotive News PACE Awards
10.
Gibson Technology
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Gibson Technology is an automotive and motorsport company founded by Bill Gibson at Zytek in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group had two divisions, Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire, and Zytek Engineering. In 2014, Zytek Automotive was sold to German engineering company Continental AG, Zytek Automotive is a specialist powertrain and vehicle engineering enterprise. It designs, develops, and integrates electric motors into a range of cars, the current family of electric MOTORS ranges up to 170 kW. The UK facility can accommodate up to 6,000 E-Drive integrations a year in batches as low as 100, with a total cost of £9m, the research and development project allowed the consortium to develop a prototype that was unveiled at the Royal Automobile Club in June 2011. The T.27 road debut was held in November 2011 at the RAC Future Car Challenge, gordon Murray Design is negotiating with three possible manufacturers for production of the T.27. Zytek Motorsport is the name used for the Zytek Groups motorsport product range. In 1987, Zytek bought the British Alan Smith Racing outfit in order to expand its motorsports involvement, the team initially supported the Jordan Grand Prix team in Formula 3000 before the team eventually chose to concentrate on engine development. Zytek Engineering continues to campaign in the Le Mans Series as well as in the American Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2002, Zytek bought some of the remains of the defunct Reynard Motorsport from International Racing Management. These assets included the rights to the Reynard 02S Le Mans Prototype, Zytek already supplied an engine to the existing chassis, and would therefore built further copies under the name Zytek 04S, offering both the chassis and engine as a complete package. Due to changes in the regulations in 2006, Zytek upgraded one of their existing 04S chassis while building a third all-new car. Further regulation changes in 2007 required the team to build a new car, the Zytek-07s. Zyteks GZ09S proved a success in 2009, taking the LMP2 Le Mans Series Team Championship with Quifel-ASM. In 2009 Zytek Engineering became the first manufacturer to score a podium with a hybrid LMP, the car, run by Corsa Motorsports, finished on the podium on its debut at Lime Rock. The Zytek Q10 Hybrid is a parallel hybrid system, consisting of a motor-generator, battery. Its purpose is to recover energy normally wasted during deceleration and subsequently use this energy to assist the combustion engine during acceleration. The Z11SN has also won the LMP2 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 2011 and 2014, and the Le Mans Series in 2011, in the hands of Greaves Motorsport, in 2017 the rebranded company became the supplier of a 4
11.
V8 engine
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A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V configuration engine with the cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two sets of four, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft. Most banks are set at an angle to each other, some at a narrower angle, with 45°, 60°. In its simplest form, the V8 is basically two parallel inline-four engines sharing a common crankshaft, since the 1920s, most V8s have used the somewhat more complex crossplane crankshaft with heavy counterweights to eliminate the vibrations. This results in an engine that is smoother than a V6, most racing V8s continue to use the single plane crankshaft because it allows faster acceleration and more efficient exhaust system designs. In 1902, Léon Levavasseur took out a patent on a light and he called it the Antoinette after the young daughter of his financial backer. From 1904 he installed this engine in a number of competition speedboats, the aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont saw one of these boats in Côte dAzur and decided to try it on his 14-bis aircraft. Its early 24 hp at 1400 rpm version with only 55 kg of weight was interesting, Santos-Dumont ordered a larger and more powerful version from Levavasseur. He changed its dimensions from the original 80 mm stroke and 80 mm bore to 105 mm stroke and 110 mm bore, obtaining 50 hp with 86 kg of weight and its power-to-weight ratio was not surpassed for 25 years. Levavasseur eventually produced its own line of V8 equipped aircraft, named Antoinette I to VIII, hubert Latham piloted the V8 powered Antoinette IV and Antoinette VII in July 1909 on two failed attempts to cross the English Channel. However, in 1910, Latham used the VII with the engine to become the first in the world to reach an altitude of 3600 feet. Voisin constructed pusher biplanes with Antoinette engines, also, notably the one first flown successfully by Henry Farman in 1908, the V8 engine configuration became popular in France from 1904 onward, and was used in a number of aircraft engines introduced by Renault, and Buchet among others. Some of these found their way into automobiles in small quantities. In 1905, Darracq built a car to beat the world speed record. They came up with two racing car built on a common crankcase and camshaft. The result was monstrous engine with a displacement of 1,551 cu in, victor Hemery fixed that record on 30 December 1905 with a speed of 109.65 mph. Rolls-Royce built a 3,535 cc V8 car from 1905 to 1906, in 1907 The Hewitt Motor Company built a large 5 passenger Touring Car. It was equipped with a hefty V8 engine that developed 50/60 horsepower and had a bore of 4 inches, the Hewitt was the first American Automobile to be equipped with a V8 engine. De Dion-Bouton introduced a 7,773 cc automobile V8 in 1910 and it was produced only in small quantities, but inspired a number of manufacturers to follow suit
12.
Horsepower
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Horsepower is a unit of measurement of power. There are many different standards and types of horsepower, two common definitions being used today are the mechanical horsepower, which is approximately 746 watts, and the metric horsepower, which is approximately 735.5 watts. The term was adopted in the late 18th century by Scottish engineer James Watt to compare the output of engines with the power of draft horses. It was later expanded to include the power of other types of piston engines, as well as turbines, electric motors. The definition of the unit varied among geographical regions, most countries now use the SI unit watt for measurement of power. With the implementation of the EU Directive 80/181/EEC on January 1,2010, units called horsepower have differing definitions, The mechanical horsepower, also known as imperial horsepower equals approximately 745.7 watts. It was defined originally as exactly 550 foot-pounds per second [745.7 N. m/s), the metric horsepower equals approximately 735.5 watts. It was defined originally as 75 kgf-m per second is approximately equivalent to 735.5 watts, the Pferdestärke PS is a name for a group of similar power measurements used in Germany around the end of the 19th century, all of about one metric horsepower in size. The boiler horsepower equals 9809.5 watts and it was used for rating steam boilers and is equivalent to 34.5 pounds of water evaporated per hour at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. One horsepower for rating electric motors is equal to 746 watts, one horsepower for rating Continental European electric motors is equal to 735 watts. Continental European electric motors used to have dual ratings, one British Royal Automobile Club horsepower can equal a range of values based on estimates of several engine dimensions. It is one of the tax horsepower systems adopted around Europe, the development of the steam engine provided a reason to compare the output of horses with that of the engines that could replace them. He had previously agreed to take royalties of one third of the savings in coal from the older Newcomen steam engines and this royalty scheme did not work with customers who did not have existing steam engines but used horses instead. Watt determined that a horse could turn a mill wheel 144 times in an hour, the wheel was 12 feet in radius, therefore, the horse travelled 2.4 × 2π ×12 feet in one minute. Watt judged that the horse could pull with a force of 180 pounds-force. So, P = W t = F d t =180 l b f ×2.4 ×2 π ×12 f t 1 m i n =32,572 f t ⋅ l b f m i n. Watt defined and calculated the horsepower as 32,572 ft·lbf/min, Watt determined that a pony could lift an average 220 lbf 100 ft per minute over a four-hour working shift. Watt then judged a horse was 50% more powerful than a pony, engineering in History recounts that John Smeaton initially estimated that a horse could produce 22,916 foot-pounds per minute
13.
Cosworth
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Cosworth is a high-performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing and mainstream automotive industries. Cosworth is based in Northampton, England, with North American facilities in Indianapolis and Mooresville, Cosworth has collected 176 wins in Formula One as engine supplier, ranking second with most wins behind Ferrari. The company was founded as a British racing internal combustion engine maker in 1958 by Mike Costin, both of the co-founders being former employees of Lotus Engineering Ltd. Cosworth initially maintained a relationship with Colin Chapman and the initial revenues of the company came almost exclusively from Lotus. When the company was founded in 1958, Duckworth left Lotus, the first Cosworth-designed cylinder head was for SCA series with a SOHC reverse-flow configuration similar to the Coventry Climax FWE engine. This resulted in the DFV, which dominated Formula One for many years, from this time on, Cosworth was supported by Ford for many years, and many of the Cosworth designs were owned by Ford and named as Ford engines under similar contracts. Another success by the BD series in the 1970s put Cosworth on a growing track, the company went through a number of ownership changes. In 1998, Vickers sold Cosworth and Pi Research to Ford, in September,2004 Ford announced that it was selling Cosworth and Pi Research, along with Cosworth Racing Ltd and its Jaguar Formula One team. On 15 November 2004, the sale of Cosworth was completed, to Champ Car World Series owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, Cosworth Technology was then renamed as MAHLE Powertrain on 1 July 2005. Since 2006, Cosworth has diversified to provide engineering consultancy, high performance electronics, Cosworth supplied engines to one F1 team in 2013, the Marussia F1 Team. The following is the list of products with cylinder heads modified. In addition to the above, Cosworth designed and provided the work for Lotus Elan Special Equipment optional road engines with special camshafts. The final model of the initial series was the MAE in 1965. MAE used one barrel of a two barrel Weber IDA downdraft carburetor with the other barrel blanked off, the domination of this engine was absolute as long as these regulations lasted until 1968. As Cosworth had a serious difficulty meeting the demand, the MAE was mainly sold as a kit and this experience led to the later FVA/DFV contract to be drawn where the responsibility of development rested with Cosworth, and the manufacturing right and responsibility rested with Ford. There also were some specially cast iron heads with similar dimensions to these brazed heads with Titanium alloy valve spring retainers called the Screamer Head for MAE in later years, a year before the introduction of the MAE, the single overhead cam two valve SCA was introduced. Cylinder head to block sealing was by a head gasket incorporating Cooper Rings, the SCA initially had two 40DCM2 Weber twin-choke downdraft sand-cast carburetors mounted on top to produce 115 hp, which was replaced by Lucas fuel injection in 1966, eventually reaching 140 hp. Longer stroke SCB was built to compare against 1498 cc Mk and it was the results of this four valve development work that formed the basis for many of the Cosworth engines that followed
14.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
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The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it is the worlds third purpose-built motor racing circuit after those of Brooklands, the circuits biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix. With the exception of 1980, the race has been hosted there since the seriess inception, the circuit is generally flat, but has a gradual gradient from the second Lesmos to the Variante Ascari. Since both maximum power and minimal drag are keys for speed on the straights, only competitors with enough power or aerodynamic efficiency at their disposal are able to challenge for the top places. In addition to Formula One, the hosts a endurance event, the 1000 km Monza, which has been run as part of the World Sportscar Championship. Current major events are races of the World Touring Car Championship, the Monza circuit has been the site of many fatal accidents, especially in the early years of the Formula One world championship, and has claimed the lives of 52 drivers and 35 spectators. The first track was built from May to July 1922 by 3,500 workers, the initial form was a 3.4 square kilometres site with 10 kilometres of macadamised road – comprising a 4.5 kilometres loop track, and a 5.5 kilometres road track. The track was opened on 3 September 1922, with the maiden race the second Italian Grand Prix held on 10 September 1922. In 1928, the most serious Italian racing accident to date ended in the death of driver Emilio Materassi and 27 spectators at that years Grand Prix, the accident led to further Grand Prix races confinement to the high-speed loop until 1932. The 1933 race was marked by the deaths of three drivers and the Grand Prix layout was changed, with two chicanes added and the longer straights removed. There was major rebuilding in 1938–39, constructing new stands and entrances, resurfacing the track, moving portions of the track, the resulting layout gave a Grand Prix lap of 6.300 kilometres, in use until 1954. The outbreak of World War II meant racing at the track was suspended until 1948, Monza was renovated over a period of two months at the beginning of 1948 and a Grand Prix was held on 17 October 1948. In 1954, work began to revamp the circuit, resulting in a 5.750 kilometres course. The two circuits could be combined to re-create the former 10 kilometres long circuit, with cars running parallel on the main straight, the track infrastructure was also updated and improved to better accommodate the teams and spectators. The Automobile Club of Italy held 500-mile Race of Two Worlds exhibition competitions, intended to pit United States Auto Club IndyCars against European Formula One and sports cars. The races were held on the oval at the end of June in 1957 and 1958, ecurie Ecosses three Jaguar D-type sports cars used their Le Mans-specification tyres with no ill-effects, but were completely out paced. Two heats in 1957 were won by Jimmy Bryan in his Kuzma-Offenhauser Dean Van Lines Special, Formula One used the 10 kilometres high speed track in the 1955,1956,1960 and 1961 Grands Prix. Stirling Moss and Phil Hill both won twice in this period, with Hills win at Monza making him the first American to win a Formula One race
15.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
16.
1000 km Monza
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The 1000 kilometres of Monza (also called from 1966 Trofeo Luigi Caracciolo was an endurance race mainly for sports cars held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy. The Coppa Inter-Europa was first held in 1949, on the 6. 3-kilometre circuit, the race expanded to 1000 kilometres in 1954, and moved to the 10-kilometre circuit in 1956. The event was shortened and returned to the 6. 3-km track the next year, in 1960 and 1961, the race was a part of the FIA GT Cup. In 1963, the race was held as an event for production-based cars in the World Sportscar Championship before being expanded to a 1000-kilometer distance in 1965. A lap was 10.1 kilometers long, yielding a distance of 1010 km after 100 laps. From 1970 to 2008, the shorter Grand Prix circuit has used for 173 laps. The Monzas race was valid for the second, both in 1976 and 1977, in 1978 the WorldSport car Championship was cancelled and the Race was arranged on 320 km and valid for European Sportscar Championship. In 1979, cancelled the European Championship the race was only for Italian Championship. In 1989 the race was cancelled due financial problem of Automobil Club of Milan and for the rebuilding of boxes and paddock facilities. Since 1992, the race has used on and off by various series, most notably, the BPR Global GT Series. The FIA Sportscar Championship also held a running of the 1000 km in 2001. In 1995 and 1996 the race was valid for the BPR Global GT Series, reserved to GT cars, after a 1997 without the race, the 1998 edition was not valid for any international championship, returning to the 1000 km format and open also to sportscars. In 1999 the race return to be valid for an internatiomal championship, the SportsRacing World Cup. with distance reduced to 500 km. In 2000 the race was held on the 500 km distance but was called 1000km due the fact in the day on the morning. In 2001 the race valid for the FIA Sportscar Championship return to a reral 1000 km format, after a year without race, in 2003 the race return to the 500 km format. In 2004, the race, again on 1000 km, were resumed as a part of the Le Mans Series, a race for 2006 was planned by the Le Mans Series, but had to be cancelled due to protests over the noise pollution caused by the event. Agreements were later reached to allow the event to return in 2007, after 2008, the race was not held again until 2017 when a 4 hours is scheduled as part of 2017 European Le Mans Series. The record of most wins belongs to Jacky Ickx, who has won the race in 1972,1973 and 1976
17.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
18.
Monza
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Monza listen is a city and comune on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about 15 kilometres north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza, Monza is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which hosts the Formula One Italian Grand Prix. On 11 June 2004 Monza was designated the capital of the new province of Monza and Brianza, the new administrative arrangement came fully into effect in summer 2009, previously, Monza was a comune within the province of Milan. Monza is the third-largest city of Lombardy and is the most important economic, industrial and administrative centre of the Brianza area, supporting a textile industry, Monza also hosts a Department of the University of Milan Bicocca, a Court of Justice and several offices of regional administration. Monza Park is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, Monza is located in the high plains of Lombardy, between Brianza and Milan, at an altitude of 162 metres above sea level. It is 15 kilometres from the centre of the capital, although when considering the cities borders. Monza is about 40 km from Lecco and Como, Monza shares its position with Milan in the same metro area, and is a big part of its new province. Monza is crossed north to south by the River Lambro. The river enters Monza from the north, between Via Aliprandi and Via Zanzi streets and this is an artificial fork of the river, created for defensive purposes in the early decades of the 14th century. The fork is known as Lambretto and it rejoins the main course of the Lambro as it exits to the south, another artificial stream is the Canale Villoresi, which was constructed in the late 19th century. Precipitation is abundant, with most occurring in the autumn and the least in winter and summer, despite this, during the Roman Empire, Monza was known as Modicia. During the 3rd century BCE, the Romans subdued the Insubres, a Gallo-Celtic tribe, perhaps the Insubres themselves, founded a village on the Lambro. The ruins of a Roman bridge named Ponte dArena can be seen near todays Ponte dei Leoni, Theodelinda, daughter of Garibald I of Bavaria and wife of the Lombard king Authari, chose Monza as her summer residence. Here in 595 she founded an oraculum dedicated to St. John the Baptist, according to this legend, the medieval name of Monza, Modoetia, is derived from these two words. She also had a palace built here, berengar I of Italy located his headquarters in Monza. A fortified castrum was constructed to resist the incursions of the Hungarians, under Berengars reign, Monza enjoyed a certain degree of independence, it had its own system of weights and measures, and could also seize property and mark the deeds with their signatures. Berengar was very evident by the donation of numerous works to the Monza Cathedral, including the famous cross. In 980 Monza hosted Emperor Otto II inside the walled city, the Glossary of Monza, one of the earliest examples of the evolution of Italian language, probably dates to the early 10th century
19.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
20.
Red Bull Ring
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The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport circuit in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years and it was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring, and it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from 1997 to 2003. When Formula One outgrew the circuit, a plan was drawn up to extend the layout, renamed the Red Bull Ring the track was reopened on 15 May 2011 and subsequently hosted a round of the 2011 DTM season and a round of the 2011 F2 championship. Formula One returned to the circuit in the 2014 season, originally built in 1969 to replace the bland and bumpy Zeltweg Airfield circuit, the Österreichring track was situated in the Styrian mountains and it was a spectacular, scenic and unique circuit. Like most fast circuits it was a circuit on engines but more difficult on tires. At the time it was only in F1 average speed to Keke Rosbergs 160.9 mph pole lap of the Silverstone Circuit set during the 1985 British Grand Prix. Interestingly, both times were set using a turbocharged Williams-Honda, american driver Mark Donohue died after crashing at the Vost-Hugel Kurve in 1975. Triple World Champion and long time hero of the home crowd Niki Lauda is the only Austrian driver to win his home Grand Prix and he won the 1984 Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring driving a McLaren-TAG Porsche. Lauda went on to win his third and final championship in 1984, beating his team mate Alain Prost by the smallest margin in F1 history and he announced his permanent retirement from driving at the circuit before the 1985 race. The Österreichrings safety concerns had reached a head in the mid 1990s and its length was shortened from 5.942 km to 4.326 km, and the fast sweeping corners were replaced by three tight right-handers, in order to create overtaking opportunities. Its three long straights, as well as a twisty infield section, asked for a setup compromise, as much of the construction work was paid for by the mobile phone provider A1, the track was renamed the A1-Ring. It proceeded to host seven Formula One Austrian Grands Prix between 1997 and 2003, as well as several DTM races and Austrian motorcycle races in 1996 and 1997, the grandstands and pit buildings were demolished in 2004, rendering the track unusable for any motorsport category. In late 2004 and early 2005, there were discussions concerning whether the owner of the circuit, Red Bull, would find another use for the site. There was a circuit extension proposal using part of the old Österreichring, in January 2005, return of motor sports seemed more unlikely than ever, as Dietrich Mateschitz publicly announced that he had no intention of wasting money on a deficient circuit. Throughout 2005 however, there was speculation of the newly founded Red Bull Racing renovating the track to use it as a test venue, in 2006, Austrian racing driver Alexander Wurz claimed he would buy the circuit and have it renovated, but the idea never came to fruition. By 2007, talks involving Red Bull, KTM, Volkswagen and Magna International for a neuer Österreichring failed, the championship has visited the circuit every year since then. In November 2010, F2 announced that Round 6 of the 2011 F2 championship would take place at the Red Bull Ring. The circuit was reopened at an event over the weekend of 15–16 May 2011
21.
Spielberg, Styria
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Spielberg is a city located in the Bezirk Murtal in Styria, Austria. The city of Spielberg, with a population of about 5,000 inhabitants, is located north of the Mur in the east of Aichfeld, the municipal area of Knittelfeld has grown together with a part of the township. From 1986 to 2009 Spielberg was a Marktgemeinde, on October 1,2009 it became a “Stadtgemeinde”. Within the district you can find both municipal and countrified mintages, the township is composed of 9 Katastralgemeinden. Pausendorf is the major Katastralgemeinde with 1500 inhabitants, the Katastralgemeinde Spielberg is only a small part of the township but gives the whole municipality its name. Einhörn Laing Lind Maßweg Pausendorf Sachendorf Schönberg Spielberg Weyern The SPÖ has been the dominant position of the township since 1960 and this was triggered when a number of industrial firms moved to the township, above all the Austria Antriebstechnik AG. Spielberg is home to the Red Bull Ring, from 1970 until 1987 and from 1997 until 2003 the Grand Prix of Austria took place there. In 2014, it returned to the Formula 1 calendar, american film director and producer Steven Spielberg gets his last name from his descent from Hungarian Jews living in 17th-century Spielberg
22.
6 Hours of Castellet
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The 1000km of Castellet is a Blancpain Endurance Series sports car race held at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. The race began in 1970 as a round of the European 2-Litre Sportscar Championship, the race was a French national championship race in the 1980s. It was revived in 1998 by the International Sports Racing Series, in 2015, the event returned to its 1000 km format making it only the second time to use that distance since 1974. Racing Sports Cars, Paul Ricard archive
23.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
24.
Circuit Paul Ricard
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The Circuit Paul Ricard is a motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, near Marseille, in France, with finance from the eccentric pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a highway, opened on 19 April 1970, its innovative facilities made it one of the safest motor racing circuits in the world at the time of its opening. The circuit had three track layout permutations, an industrial park and an airstrip. The combination of facilities, mild winter weather and an airstrip made it popular amongst racing teams for car testing during the annual winter off-season. The original track was dominated by the 1.8 km long Mistral Straight that is followed by the right hand Signes corner. The long main straight and other fast sections made the very hard on engines as they ran at full revs for extended spells. Nigel Mansell crashed at the place in the same weekend during practice. Mansells crash was the result of a puncture in his left rear tyre causing it to explode at over 200 mph. The Honda powered FW10 holds the race lap record for the circuit when Mansells team mate Keke Rosberg recorded a time of 1,39.914 during the 1985 French Grand Prix. This compared to the slowest car in the race, the 550 bhp naturally aspirated Tyrrell-Ford V8 of Stefan Bellof which could only manage 277 km/h, not surprisingly, Bellof qualified 9 seconds slower than Surer and 12 seconds slower than pole winner Rosberg. It opened in 1970 with a 2-litre sports car race, the circuit hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix on many occasions, the first of which was the 1971 French Grand Prix. In 1986, Brabham Formula One driver Elio de Angelis was killed in an accident at the fast first turn. The length of the Mistral Straight was reduced from 1.8 km in length to just over 1 km, and the fast sweeping Verierre curves where de Angelis had crashed were bypassed. Effectively, after the start, instead of heading into the left hand Verierre sweeper, cars now braked hard and this changed the circuit length for a Grand Prix from 5.81 km to just 3.812 km. This also had the effect of cutting lap times from Keke Rosbergs 1985 pole time of 1,32.462 in his Williams-Honda turbo, the last French Grand Prix held at the circuit was in 1990, the event then moved to Magny-Cours where it ran until 2008. Since then there have been discussions towards reviving the French Grand Prix with Paul Ricard one of the believed to be considered as the venue. During its life of hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship, the Long Circuit was used from 1971-1985, with the Club Circuit used from 1986-1990. On six occasions the winner at Paul Ricard went on to win the World Championship in the same year, ronnie Peterson and René Arnoux are the only Ricard winners who never won the championship
25.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
26.
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
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The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, and of the Spa 24 Hours and 1000 km Spa endurance races. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event,25 Hours of Spa and it is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its fast, hilly and twisty nature. Spa is a circuit of many racing drivers and fans. Despite its name, the circuit is not in Spa but lies in the vicinity of the town of Francorchamps within the boundaries of the municipality of Stavelot, with a part in the boundaries of Malmedy. Designed in 1920 by Jules de Thier and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the track was intended to have hosted its inaugural race in August 1921, however this event had to be cancelled as there was only one entrant. The first car race was held at the circuit in 1922, the circuit was first used for Grand Prix racing in 1925. The old Spa circuit was essentially a speed course with drivers managing higher average speeds than on other race tracks, until 2000, it was possible to travel over the race track when it was still a public road. Near Malmedy, the Masta straight began, which was interrupted by the fast Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving at the town of Stavelot. Before 1970, there were no safety modifications of any kind done to the circuit, former Formula One racing driver and team owner Jackie Oliver was quoted as saying if you went off the road, you didnt know what you were going to hit. The old Spa circuit was unique in that speeds were high with hardly any let-up at all for 3–4 minutes. This made it a difficult mental challenge, because most of the corners were taken at 180+ mph and were not quite flat- every corner was as important as the one before it. If a driver lifted just that bit more, then whole seconds. Even the slightest error of any kind was punished very harshly in more ways than one, but this reality also worked inversely- huge advantages could be gained if a driver came out of a corner slightly faster. When Armco crash barriers were added to the track in 1970, deaths became less frequent there but the track was still notorious for other factors. The Ardennes Forest had very unpredictable weather and there were parts where it was raining and the track was wet, and other parts where the sun was shining, in 1969, the Belgian Grand Prix was boycotted by F1 because of the extreme danger of Spa. There had been 10 racing fatalities in total at the track in the 1960s, the drivers demanded changes made to Spa which were not possible on short notice, so the Belgian Grand Prix was dropped that year. Armco was added to the track and sections of it were improved, for the 1971 race, the track owners and authorities had not brought the track up to date with mandatory safety measures, and the race was cancelled. Formula One would not return to Spa until 1983 on the modern track, the Masta Kink was one of the most fearsome sections on any race track in the world, requiring skill and bravery in equal measure to get it right
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Spa, Belgium
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Spa is a Belgian town, located in the Province of Liège, and is the town which gave its name to every spa in the world. The town of Spa is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountains 35 kilometres southeast of Liège and 45 kilometres southwest of Aachen. In 2006, Spa had a population of 10,543, Spa is one of Belgiums main tourist cities. The town of Spa is famous for its natural mineral springs. Nearby Spa, in the village of Francorchamps, the renowned Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is situated, the first beauty pageant in the world was the Concours de Beauté, held in Spa on 19 September 1888. Spa is also the location of the worlds first Casino, Spa hosted the finish of Stage 2 of the 2010 Tour de France on July 5. As the famed site of healing springs, Spa has been frequented as a watering-place since as early as the 14th century. The Spa town grew at that time, in the oldest iron, the ban Spa, was created around 1335 and included two urban concentrations, vilhe of Creppe and vilhe Spas, two kilometers away. The steel industry prior to the exploitation of mineral water developed lines of communication, which made possible the development of the spa town. Pliny the Elder, noted In Tongrie, country of Gaul, there is a source, whose water, while sparkling bubbles. This water purge the body, cures fevers and dispels calculous affections, in 1559 appeared in the famous work of Gilbert Lymborh Fountains acids of the Ardennes forest and primarily those located in Spa. It was translated into Latin, Italian and Spanish, in 1547 already, Agustino, physician to the King of England, Henry VIII, was staying at Spa and helped give knowledge to the world of the value of the Spa water. In July 1565 the gentry of the met in Spa under the pretext of taking the waters. It is in the hotel Aux Armes of England it was agree to oppose the edicts of Philip II which were austere and intolerant, in 1654, the stay of Charles II of England in Spa will brought even greater fame. From 1699, a system is set up between Spa and the outside world. Since the 18th century casinos have also located in the town. During the Great War of 1914-1918, Spa was an important German convalescent hospital town from 1914 to 1917, the general headquarters of Kaiser Wilhelm II was, in 1918, the last place where he resided before his removal due to the German surrender. In 1920, In July 1920 it hosted the Spa Conference, German delegates were invited to this to discuss war reparations
28.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
29.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
30.
Dunlop Tyres
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Dunlop is a brand of tyres owned by various companies around the world. It is owned and operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in North America, Europe, Australia, in India the brand is owned by Dunlop India Ltd. whose parent company is the Ruia Group. In Asia, Africa and Latin America by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, in 1985, Dunlop Rubber Company was acquired by BTR plc, and Sumitomo acquired the rights to manufacture and market Dunlop branded road tyres. Sumitomo did not acquire any Dunlop company, in 1997 Sumitomo gained agreement to use the Dunlop name in its corporate name, and changed the name of its UK subsidiary to Dunlop Tyres Ltd. The company has manufacturing operations throughout the world. With the closure of the Washington plant in 2006, Goodyear Dunlop ceased mainstream car, until May 2014 Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part of the site with their British main office. In the UK, the company operates as an organisation, importing tyres from manufacturing plants around the world, including China, Slovenia. The Goodyear Dunlop joint venture is managed from sites in Luxembourg and Brussels, fort Dunlop was a motorsport manufacturing operation located in a corner of the original Dunlop factory in Erdington, Birmingham, established in 1891 until May 2014. This factory produced specialised vintage, motorcycle and touring car tyres, on 30 May 2014, the Birmingham factory ceased tyre production, ending Dunlop tyre production in the UK. The main Birmingham building has been redeveloped extensively as a residential, office and hotel complex, with a modern shopping facility, car dealerships. It can be observed between junction 5 and 6 of the M6, on the side of the motorway. Dunlop Tyres is the tyre supplier to the British Touring Car Championship, V8 Supercars Championship. It was also the sole supplier for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters from 2000-2010. Dunlop also supplies tyres to the Japanese Super GTs Nakajima Racing, classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Dunlop GP Racer D209 tyre has been chosen repeatedly as a control tyre for the R&G Racing GSX-R Trophy motorcycle race. It has also chosen for the Henderson Harley-Davidson XR1200 Trophy. The History of the Pneumatic Tyre
31.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
32.
Nicolas Lapierre
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Nicolas Lapierre is a French professional racing driver. He stayed there for 2000 and 2001,2001 also seeing two races in Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and he again raced in French Formula Renault in 2002, also driving a full season of 2000 Eurocup and some races of French Formula Three. 2003 saw Lapierre move to Formula Three Euroseries with the Signature team and he stayed in the Euroseries for 2004, also driving two races of British Formula 3. With his reputation increasing and his talent proven, Lapierre was rewarded for his Euroseries performances with a drive in GP2 Series for current champions Arden Motorsport. During 2005 Lapierre drove for A1 Team France in the A1 Grand Prix series helping the team win the championship, nicolas won both the sprint and main race events in Germany and Australia, the main race in Dubai and the sprint in Indonesia. During 2006 he continued with the Arden team in GP2, however his season was interrupted by a spectacular first corner crash in Monaco in which he was a victim of someone elses accident, nicolas received two compressed vertebrae in the crash and missed the British round of the series. Despite this, his points score was higher than the previous seasons tally, Lapierre was announced as a LADA driver for the remainder of the 2015 World Touring Car Championship in August 2015, replacing Jaap van Lagen at the Russian team. Nicolas Lapierre official website Career statistic driverdb. com A1GP Driver Statistics results. a1gp. com
33.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
34.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
35.
Memo Rojas
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Guillermo Memo Rojas, Jr. is a Mexican professional race car driver. Successful in American sports car racing, Rojas is a series champion in the Rolex Sports Car Series. He is the first Mexican driver to win a major American racing championship, Rojas was born in 1981 in Mexico City, Mexico. He is son of the Mexican driver Guillermo Rojas, Sr. Rojas began his career in 1993, racing karts. Heading to the United States in 1997, he joined the Barber Dodge series and he then graduated to the European Formula Renault series with DAMS in 2004, scoring two top-five finishes over the course of the year. In 2005 he returned to the United States, racing in the Toyota Atlantic championship series for a race at the Fundidora park circuit in Monterrey. Switching from open-wheel racing to sports cars in 2007, Rojas joined Chip Ganassi Racing to compete in the Grand American Road Racing Rolex Sports Car Series, as a teammate to Scott Pruett. Claiming his first win in the series in 2007, Rojas won his first 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race the year with co-drivers Pruett, Juan Pablo Montoya. The victory propelled Rojas and Pruett to the Rolex Sports Car Series championship that year, over the course of the year Rojas set another series record for most victories in a season with nine, and finished on the podium eleven times in twelve races. Rojas 2011 season started with a co-victory, partnered with Pruett, Graham Rahal and Joey Hand, in the 24 Hours of Daytona, on the 62nd edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 15,2014 Memo Rojas Jr. A long with his co-drivers Scott Pruett and Marino Franchitti, Rojas Jr. become the first Mexican to achieve a victory in the second most important endurance race in the United States, ♯ Did not complete 30 minutes drive time. Official website Memo Rojas driver statistics at Racing-Reference Memo Rojas career summary at DriverDB. com
36.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Silverstone Circuit
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Red Bull Ring
Circuit Paul Ricard
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Algarve International Circuit
United Autosports[19]
Iradj Alexander[10]
By Speed Factory[20]
Jürgen Krebs[20]
Tristan Viidas[10]
Timur Boguslavskiy[17]
Douglas Lundberg[5]
Alexander Talkanitsa, Jr.[3]
Mikkel Jensen[10]
Andrés Méndez[23]
Ricky Capo[5]
James Dayson[5]
Inter Europol Competition
Salih Yoluc
Ryo Hirakawa
Memo Rojas
Matt Griffin_(2).jpg)
