Motorsport

Racetracks are primarily designed for competition through speed, featuring defined start/finish lines/posts, and sometimes even defined timing points. Some sports merely measure endurance, or how long a competitor can race. Racetracks can host individual or team sports. Racetracks can feature rolling starts, or fixed starts, with associated equipment (starting blocks, cages, wheel traps etc.) They invariably feature a pitlane, and usually timing equipment.
editTrack Layout
Some racetracks are of an oval shape, often bankedcitation needed, which allows almost universal spectator views or high speed racing (cycling, stock cars), but are often criticised for lack of excitement; these predominate in North America. A famous one is Nardo where high-speed manufacturer testing often takes place, and of course Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Some oval tracks are variations on an oval shape, for practical reasons or to introduce varying difficulties such as Talladega (a tri-oval). Most racetracks have meandering circuits with many curves, chicanes and changes in height, to allow for a challenge in skill to the competitors, notably motocross and touring car racing - these tend to predominate throughout most of the world, but especially in Europe.


Space photograph of Nardò Ring in Italy. It is 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) long and is perfectly round – the image was taken at an angle making it appear elliptical.
editRoad Circuits
Main article: Street circuit
Flatter meandering motorsport courses are sometimes called 'road circuits', originating in the fact that the earliest road racing circuits were simply closed-off public roads. True road circuits are still in use, e.g. the Australian GP has been run in Adelaide and continues to be in Melbourne on regular city streets. The most famous of these are the Monaco GP, and the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Some racetracks are specifically configured in a long straight, namely drag racing. Some races will be held only over the straight portion of a track (some horse racing and sprint athletics).
editConverted Airfields
The boom in motorsport flared after WW2, when many airfields particularly in Great Britain were left without further use. The most famous British track - Silverstone - is one after being a WW2 Class A Airfield. The long runways were perfect for drag strips, and circuit layout usually creatively combined parts of the runways and the surrounding perimeter taxiway.