An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars , stock cars , and touring cars , which have their wheels below the body or inside fenders . Open-wheel cars are built both for road racing and oval track racing . Open-wheel cars licensed for use on public roads ( street legal ), such as the Ariel Atom , are uncommon, as they are often impractical for everyday use.
43-463: Superleague Formula was an open wheel single seater motor racing formula , which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It used the slogan 'The Beautiful Race: Football at 300 km/h'. By 2011 the link with football was fading with more than half the teams no longer associated with football teams. It
86-580: A protection system to the cockpit called the "halo" , a wishbone-shaped frame aimed to deflect debris away from a driver's head. Despite initial criticism, including for the reason of obstructing the driver's vision, it gained some praise in the Formula 2 sprint race in Catalunya when Nirei Fukuzumi spun and had the back of his car land on fellow countryman Tadasuke Makino 's halo. In the 2018 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix , McLaren driver Fernando Alonso
129-479: A reverse grid with the slowest given the advantage at the front. In 2009 began the running of a third race, a 'Super Final', at the end of certain weekends, however no points were awarded this race. As a result, the maximum number of points any football club/driver could score in one round during 2008 or 2009 was 100, by winning both main races. This feat wasn't achieved although Sébastien Bourdais , Craig Dolby , Robert Doornbos and Max Wissel all scored 90 points in
172-479: A revolutionary concept which would become the originator and forefather of the single-seater (i.e. monoposto) racecar design. Harroun has also been credited by some as pioneering the rear-view mirror which appeared on his 1911 Indianapolis 500 winning car, though he himself claimed he got the idea from seeing a mirror used for a similar purpose on a horse-drawn vehicle in 1904. Prior to World War II , street automobiles generally had wheels that protruded beyond
215-695: A weekend by finishing either 2nd and 2nd or 1st and 3rd. In 2010 however, with the Super Final also counting for points and 6 points going to the winner, the maximum points haul was now 106, achieved by winning all three races during the weekend. The record was 92 points, held by Craig Dolby from the 2010 Silverstone Superleague Formula round . Each Superleague Formula car represented a football club or national team. Twenty-three football clubs and ten country-represented cars started at least one race in Superleague Formula, and all are listed in
258-580: Is 1,500 kilograms (3,200 lb). Open-wheeled racing is among the fastest in the world. Formula One cars can reach speeds in excess of 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). At Autodromo Nazionale Monza , Antônio Pizzonia of BMW Williams F1 team recorded a top speed of 369.9 kilometres per hour (229.8 mph) (over 102 m/s) in the 2004 Italian Grand Prix . Since the end of the V10 era in 2006, such high speeds have not been reached, with later vehicles reaching around 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). It
301-748: Is difficult to give precise figures for the absolute top speeds of Formula One cars as the data are not generally released by teams. The 'speed traps' on fast circuits such as Monza give a good indication, but are not necessarily located at the point on the track where the car is travelling at its fastest. BAR Honda team recorded an average top speed of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in 2006 at Bonneville Salt Flats , with unofficial top speed reaching 413 kilometres per hour (257 mph) using their modified BAR 007 Formula One car. Speeds on ovals can range in constant excess of 210–220 miles per hour (340–350 km/h), and at Indianapolis in excess of 230 miles per hour (370 km/h). In 2000, Gil de Ferran set
344-474: Is expected in covered-wheel racing, as for example in NASCAR. Open-wheeled drivers must be extremely precise to avoid contact. Regulations tend to permit much lower open-wheel car weights than in categories that more closely resemble street-legal vehicles, such as sports , touring , and stock cars . For instance, a Formula One car must weigh at least 798 kilograms (1,759 lb); the minimum weight for NASCAR
387-642: Is not always the case; some open-wheel categories raced primarily as development or amateur categories, such as Formula Ford or Formula Vee , do not permit the use of wings or ground effect aerodynamics. Some major races, such as the Singapore Grand Prix , Monaco Grand Prix (sanctioned by Formula One) and the Long Beach Grand Prix (sanctioned by IndyCar), are held on temporary street circuits . However, most open-wheel races are on dedicated road courses , such as Watkins Glen in
430-495: The Champ Car series, as well as cars for other championships. The chassis was built with a two-metre wide track, using under-body aerodynamics to create the needed conditions for increased overtaking opportunities. The cars were subjected to the lengthy FIA safety tests during development stages in 2007. At Magny-Cours in 2009 , the best qualifying time for a Superleague Formula car was 1:26.391, almost 11.5 seconds slower than
473-719: The Monza Circuit the fastest lap in the 2021 Grand Prix ( Daniel Ricciardo 1:24.812) is more than six seconds per lap faster than the fastest closed-wheel racing car, an LMP1 sports car , and more than 20 seconds per lap faster than the DTM touring car lap record. Driving an open-wheel car is substantially different from driving a car with fenders. Virtually all Formula One and IndyCar drivers spend some time in various open-wheel categories before joining either top series. Open-wheel vehicles, due to their light weight, aerodynamic capabilities, and powerful engines, are often considered
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#1732787917444516-491: The Indy 500. Compared to covered-wheel race cars, open-wheeled cars allow more precise placement of the front wheels on the race course, as the tires are clearly visible to the driver. This allows the maximum potential of the cars to be achieved during cornering and passing. Furthermore, open-wheeled cars are less tolerant of vehicle-to-vehicle contact, which usually results in vehicle damage and retiring, whereas some level of contact
559-806: The Superleague Formula was announced in 2005, receiving the full approval of the FIA in December 2005. The goal was to have a starting grid of twenty teams, each with one car. Much of the sales, marketing and technology work would be handled centrally by the league, thus affording a considerable cost-savings to the teams. The inaugural season, in 2008, was won by Chinese club Beijing Guoan , driven by Italian FIA GT Championship racer, Davide Rigon . The season consisted of six double-headers, featuring 18 clubs, and also brought victories for Liverpool F.C. , A.C. Milan , PSV Eindhoven , F.C. Porto , Sevilla FC , Al Ain and Borussia Dortmund . Superleague Formula's debut race
602-470: The Superleague Formula website, the series was discontinued after just four seasons of racing. Superleague Formula's race format incorporated a Saturday qualification and races on Sunday, one with a reverse grid. For each round, the competing teams competed for prize money, plus points in a yearly championship. Superleague Formula employed a unique qualifying system based on a group stage to knock-out format used in some football tournaments: The championship
645-469: The Superleague Formula website. Video highlights of every race from every weekend were also available for streaming from their website. In June 2009, Robin Webb stated he wanted the formula to eventually increase to 26 cars and a more diverse range of circuits. He expected the formula to attract more big global clubs and was keen to promote the idea that "Superleague Formula combines the passion of football with
688-767: The US, Nürburgring in Germany, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Silverstone in Great Britain. In the United States, some top-level open-wheel events are held on ovals, of both short track and superspeedway variety, with emphasis more on speed and endurance than the maneuverability required for road and street course events. The Whelen Modified Tour is the only opened wheeled race car series endorsed by NASCAR . This series races on most of NASCAR's most famous tracks in
731-570: The United States. Other asphalt modified series race on short tracks in the United States and Canada, such as Wyoming County International Speedway in New York. The best-attended oval race in the world is the annual Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) in Speedway, Indiana , sanctioned by IndyCar; in the United States it is quite common to refer to open-wheel cars as IndyCars, because of their recognizable appearance and widespread popularity across America at
774-696: The Whelen Modified Tour, where the engine is in front of the driver. Depending on the rules of the class, many types of open-wheelers have wings at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as a very low and virtually flat undertray that helps achieve additional aerodynamic downforce pushing the car onto the road. While many other categories of racing cars produce downforce, the top categories of open-wheel racing cars (particularly Formula One and IndyCar ) produce far more downforce relative to their mass than any other racing category, allowing much higher corner speeds on comparable tracks. However, this
817-453: The chance to earn a living from motor sport, something that's not possible in single seater racing outside of Formula 1. After its biggest growth in 2010, 2011 saw a significant contraction with just six football clubs continuing their association into the series fourth season. The remaining cars carried national identities with many more closely associated with the competing drivers rather than any football connection. While an ambitious calendar
860-634: The circuits were existing racetracks except for the Beijing International Street Circuit which was constructed for this competition. Most of the rounds were held in Europe, although rounds were held in China. In total, 21 different circuits from 8 countries have hosted a race weekend. The first to do so was Donington Park , where the first races, at its 2008 round , were held. Only Circuit Zolder hosted races in every season of
903-400: The competition. In July 2010, it was announced that the series would race for the first time outside of Europe by having two events in two successive weekends in China on 3 & 10 October that same year. Robin Webb described the venture as "a significant moment in the championship's history". Fans globally were able to view the championship on national TV channels or via live streaming from
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#1732787917444946-423: The end of the 2010 season. The future of the championship was in doubt after the cancellation of over three-quarters of 2011 season events. In April 2012, when most European motor racing started, there had been no news or information regarding the possibility of a 2012 or 2013 season running. The website updates ceased in 2011, and no further seasons were organised. Continuing the concept of Premier 1 Grand Prix ,
989-420: The fastest qualifying time for an F1 car in 2008 of 1:15.024. Both Superleague Formula and Formula One raced at Monza in 2009 where similar dry qualifying conditions meant a better time comparison was possible. The fastest F1 time at the 2009 Italian Grand Prix was a 1:22.955, whereas at the 2009 Monza Superleague Formula round , a month later, the fastest SF time was 1:36.444, 13.5 seconds slower. This makes
1032-492: The fastest racing vehicles available and among the most challenging to master. Wheel-to-wheel contact is dangerous, particularly when the forward edge of one tire contacts the rear of another tire: since the treads are moving in opposite directions (one upward, one downward) at the point of contact, both wheels rapidly decelerate, torquing the chassis of both cars and often causing one or both vehicles to be suddenly and powerfully flung upwards (the rear car tends to pitch forward, and
1075-598: The front car tends to pitch backward.) An example of this is the 2005 Chicagoland crash of Ryan Briscoe and Alex Barron . The lower weight of an open-wheel racecar enables better performance. While the exposure of the wheels to the airstream causes a very high aerodynamic drag at high speeds, it allows improved cooling of the brakes, which is important on road courses with their frequent changes of pace. In 2018, several single seater series such as Formula One, Formula 2 (with their new Dallara F2 2018 chassis), and Formula E (with their new Spark SRT05e chassis) introduced
1118-507: The main body of the car, and thus the open-wheel design became almost exclusively associated with racing vehicles. Formula One cars have almost exclusively used the open-wheel design throughout the history of the championship. The only notable exception was the "Monza body" variation of the Mercedes-Benz W196 racer of 1954–55, which covered the wheels with bodywork for aerodynamic reasons. Modern Formula One regulations mandate
1161-529: The one-lap qualifying record of 241.428 miles per hour (388.541 km/h) at California Speedway . Even on tight non-oval street circuits such as the Grand Prix of Toronto , open-wheel Indy Cars attain speeds of 190 miles per hour (310 km/h). Regardless of top speeds, Formula One open-wheel race cars hold the outright lap record at the circuits where they race due to their combination of top speed, acceleration, and cornering abilities. For example, at
1204-482: The open-wheel configuration. A typical open-wheeler has a minimal cockpit, sufficient only to enclose the driver's body, with the head exposed to the air. In the Whelen Modified Tour and other short track modified series, the driver's head is contained in the car. In modern cars, the engine is often located directly behind the driver and drives the rear wheels; except in asphalt modified cars, such as
1247-437: The season. In a pre-season interview, Superleague Formula's Competition Director Robin Webb said, The new prize fund offers drivers and teams an even greater incentive to top the Superleague Formula table come November. I can't think of anything else in Europe that offers this level of prize money for the winners, not to mention for individual races as in the Super Final's case. All in all, the series really does now offer drivers
1290-594: The speed of Superleague Formula car comparable to the World Series by Renault cars. On 14 January 2010, Menard Competition Technologies received a Motorsport Industry Association's award for Technology and Innovation for its "outstanding design and engineering work undertaken on the Superleague V12 racing engine". A video game for Superleague Formula was made by Media Game and Image Space Incorporated and released for PC on 31 October 2009, although it
1333-708: The start of the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix , Romain Grosjean collided with Daniil Kvyat in which his car broke in two and burst into flames as it split the barrier. The halo helped protect Grosjean from possible decapitation while it allowed him to escape from the fire. Craig Dolby Craig Dolby (born 31 March 1988 in Melton Mowbray , Leicestershire , England ) is a British racing driver . He has raced in Formula Renault series around
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1376-1216: The table below: [REDACTED] CR Flamengo [REDACTED] SC Corinthians [REDACTED] Team Brazil [REDACTED] Al Ain [REDACTED] Beijing Guoan [REDACTED] Team Australia [REDACTED] Team China [REDACTED] Team Japan [REDACTED] Team New Zealand [REDACTED] Team South Korea [REDACTED] A.C. Milan [REDACTED] AC Sparta Prague [REDACTED] A.S. Roma [REDACTED] Atlético Madrid [REDACTED] Borussia Dortmund [REDACTED] FC Basel 1893 [REDACTED] FC Midtjylland [REDACTED] F.C. Porto [REDACTED] Galatasaray S.K. [REDACTED] GD Bordeaux [REDACTED] Liverpool F.C. [REDACTED] Olympiacos CFP [REDACTED] Olympique Lyonnais [REDACTED] PSV Eindhoven [REDACTED] Rangers F.C. [REDACTED] R.S.C. Anderlecht [REDACTED] Sevilla FC [REDACTED] Sporting CP [REDACTED] Team England [REDACTED] Team Luxembourg [REDACTED] Team Netherlands [REDACTED] Team Russia [REDACTED] Tottenham Hotspur All of
1419-518: The thrill of auto racing". The cars were built by Panoz Auto Development under the Élan Motorsport Technologies banner and officially named the Panoz DP09 . They are powered by 750 bhp, 4.2 litre, V12 engines designed by US-owned Menard Competition Technologies . The cars complied with the same safety standards as 2008 Formula One cars. Élan previously manufactured the Panoz DP01 for
1462-410: The vehicle's main body, though they were typically covered with mudguards to protect the car body and following traffic from water and mud spray. With the advent of unibody vehicle construction, the desire to maximise interior space, to improve aerodynamics, and aircraft-inspired styling trends of the era, by the end of the 1950s the majority of new road-registerable vehicles had wheels that were under
1505-550: The world for most of his career, winning the Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium championship in 2006. Since 2008 he has raced in the Superleague Formula and has raced for R.S.C. Anderlecht in the 2008 season and Tottenham Hotspur in the 2009 season . As of 2019, Dolby worked as a stunt driver on movie sets on major film productions. He had the opportunity to pursue that career through a contact he met in
1548-605: Was an early pioneer of the concept of a lightweight single-seater, open-wheel "monoposto" racecar. After working as a mechanic in the automotive industry, Harroun began competitive professional racing in 1906, winning the AAA National Championship in 1910. He was then hired by the Marmon Motor Car Company as chief engineer, charged with building a racecar intended to race at the first Indianapolis 500 , which he went on to win. He developed
1591-432: Was announced, several races were cancelled and relocated and as late as September organisers were still seeking to confirm some of its late season races, leaving doubt as to whether the series would have more than half the races of the 2010 season. After the cancellation of the 2011 Chinese rounds, there were no news reports on the 2012 season. With many drivers and teams having joined other series, as well as no updates from
1634-477: Was decided by points, which were awarded according to the position in which a driver classifies at the end of each race, of which there were three per race weekend. The points were allocated as follows: For the first two seasons the driver did not need to finish the race in order to collect points, but did have to start. However, in 2010 a driver needs to start and finish the race in order to score. The same points are awarded for Race 1 as Race 2, despite Race 2 having
1677-419: Was founded by businessmen Alex Andreu and Robin Webb. On 19 May 2010, Andreu stepped down in his role as series president, with Alfredo Brisac named as his successor not many weeks later. The season ran between April and November at the same time as most other European race series. Every team used identical cars and 750-horsepower V-12 engines. The Sonangol Group was the series' title sponsor from June 2009 until
1720-579: Was originally announced to be released in September. Superleague Formula 2009: The Game , released for download by the series' official website, featured 18 clubs and 6 circuits from in the 2009 season , and both single-player and multiplayer modes. During the 2009 Donington round some star drivers tested out the new game and gave it positive feedback. [REDACTED] Media related to Superleague Formula at Wikimedia Commons Open wheel car American racecar driver and constructor Ray Harroun
1763-549: Was seen in 62 countries, and 100,000 people watched the twelve races, with 34,000 fans attending the last race in Jerez , broadcast live in 70 countries. In 2009, the second season was won by English club Liverpool F.C. , driven by Spanish racer Adrián Vallés . The season consisted of six double-headers, featuring 19 clubs, and brought first victories for Tottenham Hotspur , FC Basel 1893 , Rangers F.C. , Olympiacos CFP , Sporting CP , R.S.C. Anderlecht and Galatasaray S.K. This
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1806-654: Was sent airborne after being hit from behind by the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg and struck the halo of Sauber driver Charles Leclerc , thereby saving the Monegasque driver from a visor strike. In 2019 , the newly-formed FIA Formula 3 Championship introduced a halo to their new chassis which was unveiled at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . In 2020 , the IndyCar Series adopted a halo combined with an aeroscreen, built by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. At
1849-432: Was the first season to feature the Super Final format, adding a six car shootout to four of the six rounds. The races were broadcast in 62 countries to a reach of 100 million people. 2010 was the third season and saw the biggest change yet, with the calendar increased from six to twelve race weekends and another increase to both race event and end-of-season prize money. An average of 18 clubs competed at each event throughout
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