Depending where you spend your summer, you could find yourself in one of hundreds of locales around the world where motor racing figures prominently.

It could by a major A-listed event featuring the elite of the motor racing scene, or a locally organised recreational rally.

Whichever the case, it can be a fun and entertaining way to spend a few hours or a few days. For those who are not hard-core fans here is an introductory level guide to motor racing. 

Single-seater or open-wheel racing is one of the most popular forms of motorsport, with cars designed specifically for high-speed racing. The wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to enhance adhesion to the track. In Europe and Asia, open wheeled racing is commonly referred to as “Formula”, with numerous suffixes.

Formula One is the best-known variety of single-seater racing, Formula One involves an annual World Championship of around 18 races a year featuring major car and engine manufacturers, and independents such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz (McLaren), Williams, BMW and others.

Formula One is widely considered to be the pinnacle of motor racing.  The sport is one of the top five watched sporting events in the world and is the most expensive sport in the world, with some teams spending in excess of $400 million per year.

Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features exciting, full-contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.

The Sports Car Club of America’s SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America while the venerable British Touring Car Championship continues in the United Kingdom. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory derived vehicles on various local circuits.

Production car racing, known in the US as showroom stock, is an economical and rules restricted version of touring car racing, mainly to restrict costs.  One-make racing or single marque championships often employ production-based cars from a single manufacturer or even a single model from a manufacturer’s range.

Stock car racing, the North American equivalent to touring car racing, is the most-popular form of motor racing (in terms of viewership) on that continent. Usually conducted on ovals, the cars may slightly resemble production cars but are in fact purpose-built racing machines which are built to tight specifications. The largest stock car racing governing body is NASCAR.

British Stock car racing is a form of Short Oval Racing. This takes place on shale or tarmac tracks in either clockwise or anti-clockwise direction depending on the class, some of which allow contact. Races are organized by local promoters and classes depend on the promoter.

Rallying involves two classes of car. The modified Group A, production based cars and the Group N Production cars compete on (closed) public roads or off-road areas run on a point-to-point format. A rally is typically conducted over a number of “special stages” of any terrain, which entrants are often allowed to scout beforehand at reduced speeds, compiling detailed notes as they go.

Competition is based on lowest total elapsed time over the course of an event’s special stages, including penalties.

Targa is a tarmac-based road rally which is run all around the world. There are many races including Targa Tasmania, run annually since 1992. Other events around the world include the Targa Newfoundland based in Canada, Targa West based in Western Australia, Targa New Zealand and other smaller events.

Kart Racing is often seen as the entry point for serious racers into the sport. Karting can be an economical way for amateurs to try racing and is also a fully fledged international sport in its own right. World-famous F1 drivers like Michael Schumacher or Fernando Alonso and most of the typical starting grid of a modern Grand Prix took up the sport at around the age of eight, with some testing from age three.

As one of the cheapest ways to go racing, karting is seeing its popularity grow worldwide. Go-karts, or just “karts” , feature diminutive frames and wheels, but a small engine combined with very light weight make for a quick machine. The tracks are also on a much smaller scale and fans can usually see all or most of the circuit. It is a great spectator event and it’s usually affordable. 

Most forms of motor racing use a set of flags to indicate the general status of a race and to communicate instructions to competitors in a race. While the flags have changed from the first years these are generally accepted for today.

In drag racing, the objective is to complete a given straight-line distance, from a standing start with two cars going head-to-head and the winner proceeding to the next round. The distance is traditionally a quarter of a mile (400 m), or an eighth of a mile (200m). 

Vehicles range from the everyday car to the purpose-built dragster.