Motor racing (also known as automobile racing, autosport or auto racing) is a sport involving racing automobiles. It is one of the world's most popular spectator sports and perhaps the most thoroughly commercialised. Auto racing began almost immediately after the construction of the first successful petrol-fuelled autos. In 1894, the first contest was organised by Paris magazine Le Petit Journal, a reliability test to determine best performance. A year later the first real race was staged, from Paris, France to Bordeaux, France. First over the line was Emile Levassor but he was disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater. An international competition began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.
The 1930s saw the radical differentiation of racing vehicles from high-priced road cars, with Delage, Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz, Delahaye and Bugatti constructing streamlined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW with the aid of multiple superchargers. From 1928-1930 and again in 1934-1936, the maximum weight permitted was 750 kg, a rule diametrically opposed to current racing regulations. Extensive use of aluminium alloys was required to achieve light weight, and in the case of the Mercedes, the paint was removed to satisfy the weight limitation, producing the famous Silver Arrows.
