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==Beginning of organised racing==
===Early races===
The [[Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally]] was held in 1895 and was the first real motor race as all competitors started together. The winner was [[Émile Levassor]] in his [[Panhard-Levassor]] 1205 cc model.  He completed the course in 48 hours and 47 minutes, finishing nearly six hours before the runner-up.  The race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the ''I Grand Prix de l'ACF''.<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/upto1903/1895.html 1895 Grand Prix and Paris Races]</ref>  The significance of the event was that it proved that cars and their drivers could travel very long distances in a reasonable time.  It gave an enormous boost to the motor industry and the enthusiastic public interest in the event ensured the lasting popularity of motor racing as a sport.  Subsequently, in November of the same year, several French motoring pioneers formed the [[Automobile Club de France]] (ACF), which thereafter governed most of the major races in France.

In 1896, the next major event was the [[Paris-Marseille-Paris Trail]], held over 1710 km from 24 September to 3 October and won by [[Émile Mayade]] driving a [[Panhard-Levassor]] 8 hp model in a time of 67:42:58.  This race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the ''II Grand Prix de l'ACF''.<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/upto1903/1896.html 1896 Grand Prix and Paris Races].</ref>

The [[Paris-Amsterdam-Paris Trail]] was run during 7–13 July 1898 over 1431 km and won by [[Fernand Charron]] driving a [[Panhard-Levassor]] in a time of 33:04:34.  This race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the ''III Grand Prix de l'ACF''.<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/upto1903/1898.html 1898 Grand Prix and Paris Races].</ref>  A year later, the [[Tour de France Trail]] was held during 16–24 July 1899 over a distance of 2172.5 km.  The winner was [[René de Knyff]] driving a [[Panhard-Levassor]] in a time of 44:43:39. The race is sometimes referred to in retrospect as the ''IV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F''.<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/upto1903/1899.html 1899 Grand Prix and Paris Races].</ref>  In 1900, the [[Paris-Toulouse-Paris Trail]] was run on 25–28 July over 1347 km and won by [[Alfred Velghe]] (France) driving a [[Mors (automobile)|Mors]] in a time of 20:50:09.  This race is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the ''V Grand Prix de l'ACF''.<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/upto1903/1900.html 1900 Grand Prix and Paris Races].</ref>

On 24 May 1903, the fact that motor racing is an extremely dangerous sport was realised for perhaps the first time when the [[Paris-Madrid Trail]] ended in disaster.  Retrospectively referred to as the ''VIII Grand Prix de l'ACF'',<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/upto1903/1903.html 1903 Grand Prix and Paris Races]</ref> the race had a scheduled distance of 1014 km but it caused at least eight deaths, including those of drivers [[Marcel Renault]] and Claude Barrow, before it was stopped by the authorities at [[Bordeaux]].  As a result, open road racing was banned and the legacy of the event was the introduction of closed circuits, the first being opened at [[Le Mans]] in 1906 for the inaugural official [[French Grand Prix]], organised by the ACF.

===Gordon Bennett Cup===
It was in 1900 that [[James Gordon Bennett junior]], owner of the ''[[New York Herald]]'' newspaper and the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', established the [[Gordon Bennett Cup]]. He hoped that the creation of an international event would drive automobile manufacturers to improve their cars.<ref name="cheqflag4">{{cite book |last=Rendall |first=Ivan |title=The Chequered Flag |year=1995 |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=0-297-83550-5 |pages=26}}</ref> Each country was allowed to enter up to three cars, which had to be fully built in the country that they represented and entered by that country's automotive governing body.<ref name="cheqflag4" /> The 1900 Gordon Bennett Cup race, from Paris to [[Lyon]] was won by [[Fernand Charron]] (France) driving a [[Panhard & Levassor]].

The 1903 race saw international racing colours formally adopted with Italy taking red, Germany white, France blue and Great Britain taking its [[British racing green]] (BRG) for the first time.  The British choice of green was partly due to the 1903 event being held in Ireland, which at the time was part of the UK, and to precedent as the winning British Napier of 1902 had been painted olive green.

The Gordon Bennett Cup was awarded annually until 1905, after which it was superseded by official [[Grand Prix motor racing]], the inaugural event being organised by the ACF on the [[Circuit de la Sarthe]] at [[Le Mans]] in 1906.

===Vanderbilt Cup===
In 1904, [[William Kissam Vanderbilt II]] launched the [[Vanderbilt Cup]] at a course set out in [[Nassau County, New York]] on [[Long Island, New York|Long Island]].  It created controversy in New York with numerous attempts made, including legal action, to try and prevent it taking place.  The inaugural race was run over a {{convert|30.24|mi|km|1}} course of winding dirt roads through Nassau County.  Several European drivers with experience of the Gordon Bennett Cup took part and the event was a huge commercial success.  The winner was [[George Heath]] (USA) driving a [[Panhard-Levassor]] 70 hp model.  

The Vanderbilt Cup had a chequered career.  It was run almost annually until 1916 and then, having been discontinued because of [[World War One]], saw three resurrections.  The original race was revived in 1936 and 1937, but quickly disappeared again due to lack of interest.  In 1960, the trophy was awarded for a single junior event only.  Then, from 1996, a copy of the trophy was created for the [[Champ Car]] series run by CART and it was contested annually until 2007, after which CART went into liquidation and its races were merged into the IndyCar Series.

The original Vanderbilt Cup is housed in the [[Smithsonian Institution]].

===Start of official Grand Prix racing===
Having been banned from open public roads, motor racing reached a watershed in 1906 when the first ''official'' [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] race was held on 26 June at the [[Circuit de la Sarthe]] near [[Le Mans]].  Organised by the ACF, this was the inaugural [[French Grand Prix]].  Although it was the first Grand Prix race organised as such by the ACF, it is in retrospect sometimes known as the ''IX Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.'' in homage to the pioneering races that preceded it.<ref>[http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1906/1906.html#acf 1906 Grands Prix].</ref>  The winner was [[Ferenc Szisz]] of Hungary, driving a [[Renault|Renault AK 90CV]], who covered the 1238.03 km distance in a time of 12h14m07.

The French Grand Prix was repeated at [[Dieppe]] in 1907 and 1908 but then it could not be staged between 1909 and 1911 when no racing of the highest standard could be held in Europe.  Meanwhile, the [[United States Grand Prix|American Grand Prize]] began in 1908 but, like the Vanderbilt Cup, had a chequered existence with occasional runnings.  It became the United States Grand Prix in 2000.  However, the race is currently (2010) discontinued and its future remains uncertain.

The ACF managed to resurrect the French Grand Prix in 1912 when it was again run at Dieppe over 1535.76 km (76.788 km x 20 laps).  The winner was [[Georges Boillot]] of France driving a [[Peugeot| Peugeot L76]] in 13:58:02.6.  The 1912 race is retrospectively referred to as the ''XII Grand Prix de l´ACF''.  The French Grand Prix ran again in 1913 and 1914 but then major racing in Europe was ended until 1921 by the [[First World War]].

===Inaugural Indy 500 and Monte Carlo Rally===
1911 is a significant year in motor racing history with the inauguration of both the [[Indianapolis 500]] (Indy 500) and the [[Monte Carlo Rally]].  The Monte Carlo Rally took place on 21 January.  It was organised by [[Albert I, Prince of Monaco]] and won by [[Henri Rougier]] driving a [[Turcat-Mery]].  The first Indy 500 was held on 30 May at the [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway]] and was won by [[Ray Harroun]] (USA) driving a [[Marmon Motor Car Company|Marmon "Wasp"]], which was based on Marmon's 1909 Model 32 and incidentally featured the world's first [[rear-view mirror]].

The Indy 500 ran until 1916 and then was discontinued for two years before its revival in 1919 when it was won by [[Howdy Wilcox]] (USA) in a [[Peugeot|Peugeot L45]].