Racing colors
Racing colors are the colors that were prescribed by the FIA to mark racing cars at international events until 1970 . Red was mandatory for Italian cars ( Rosso Corsa ) and green for British cars ( British Racing Green ). Usually the nationality of the designer was decisive; under certain circumstances (private drivers) also those of the driver.
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme made appropriate color specifications for international motorcycle racing events until the mid-1970s.
Racing colors have nothing to do with the national colors or national colors; they are the motorsport equivalent of the jersey colors in team sports.
history
The Gordon Bennett Cup was an annual race from 1900 to 1905, in which only cars that had gone through all stages of production in a particular country were allowed to participate. Three vehicles per nation were registered. Participating countries were Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and the USA.
The respective winner should be the host next year, today comparable to the Eurovision Song Contest . In 1902 Selwyn Edge won with a Napier & Son car, so Great Britain was the host in 1903. Since a car race was not approved by the legislature, they turned to Ireland .
At the same time, complaints had been raised that the previously gray bodies had been difficult to distinguish, and so the national teams decided to give their cars a uniform color. The Americans initially chose red. This was contested by the Italians in the 1920s and is still Italy's national body color today. Since then, the American color has been white with two vertical blue stripes.
Other colors were also later changed: German brands initially appeared in white, after 1934 in silver.
The color scheme for Great Britain was final: In accordance with Irish “home law”, the bodies were green.
When the Grand Prix was introduced and the F1 in 1950 , the colors applied to the corresponding racing cars. Prototypes and touring cars were also painted accordingly.
In the late 1960s, when sponsors became more important, manufacturers urged the FIA to relax the national color code. Since then, the racing colors are only semi-official, but are still recognized by the public and usually assigned correctly. Car manufacturers, above all Ferrari, maintain the tradition and paint at least parts of their production in the racing colors.
The racing colors were also used in motorcycle racing. Here it was mainly the helmet that wore the appropriate colors. But the colors were also used for one or the other team jersey. In contrast to the color of the vehicles, the US team uses blue helmets with white stripes.
List of colors
- Italy: red
- United Kingdom: green
- Germany: white (later silver): helmet design: white with black stripes, (GDR helmet design: white with black edges and white-gold-blue ADMV badge)
- Belgium: yellow
- France: Blue (start numbers white on blue)
- Austria: blue (start numbers black on white) - helmet design: light red-black
- Switzerland: red with white hoods / elements
After the establishment of racing, there was a need for many other nations who wanted to mark their products or teams. The following list is incomplete and applies to the period immediately before 1970. A complete version can be found under web links. The list also applies to touring cars.
- Australia: Green with a golden cap
- Brazil: light yellow with green rims
- Ireland: Helmet design: green-orange
- Japan: white with red sun on the hood
- Canada: Helmet design: green and white
- Netherlands: orange
- Spain: Helmet design: yellow-red
- Sweden: Helmet design: blue-yellow
- South Africa: gold with a green cap
- Czechoslovakia: Helmet design: blue with red-white-blue stripes on the edges
- United States: in addition to the above-mentioned white with two blue vertical stripes, some series and manufacturers preferred an inverted version: blue with two white vertical stripes; Helmet design: blue with two white vertical stripes
Individual evidence
- ↑ Program ISDT 1975 p. 47: National Colors ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Roland Löwisch: It's so green. In: welt.de . January 31, 2009, accessed October 7, 2018 .
