Sports-Car Racing 101

Every Thing You Need to Know to Start Your Obsession.
 

- Preston Lerner

AFTER DECADES OF PUBLIC SQUABBLING and political infighting, sanctioning bodies have agreed on rules that allow a dizzying array of cars to race together in series all over the world. We’re talking about Lamborghinis scrapping with Camaros. Bucolic road courses and gritty street circuits. Elite professionals mixing with well heeled amateurs. Diversity and coexistence amid cutthroat competition. But if you’re tuning in to the sport for the first time, it can be hard to see the beauty in the bedlam. Even knowledgeable fans can get lost in the many classes, series, and regulations—not to mention a Pentagon dossier’s worth of initialisms. Figuring it all out feels suspiciously like studying. Luckily, we’ve done the homework for you. Here’s your cheat sheet.

THE LEXICON

ENDURANCE RACING 

A hallmark of sports-car racing, these longer events typically last from six to 24 hours. Multiple drivers share duties behind the wheel. The ultimate test of a car’s reliability.

SPRINT RACES 

Usually between one and three hours. The driving is manic, team strategy more urgent.

PROTOTYPES 

Purpose-built racing thoroughbreds not based on production cars. The fastest cars on the track. In a multi class race, count on a prototype to take the overall win.

PRODUCTION-BASED RACERS 

Based on cars sold in showrooms. How much these race cars can diverge from their road going brethren varies by series and class.

HOMOLOGATION 

The process of certifying cars for competition. For production-based series, manufacturers must demonstrate to sanctioning bodies that they have built (or plan to build) a minimum number of street cars on which the race cars are based.