Motor sport or car racing competitions continue to gain popularity among sports enthusiasts in Singapore, with NASCAR and Formula 1 as the two most celebrated events worldwide. This sport has also attracted the attention of bettors who follow car racing series, as many bookmakers offer ample and varied betting options/odd lines for different car racing events.
Appropriately, before engaging in this type of sports betting market, punters and bettors alike must learn the basics of motor racing, from the basic concepts and rules to the different auto racing types and betting markets.
Motor Racing Basics
As it is with other sports, punters must also understand the basics of motor racing before partaking in betting events. Knowing the most basic concepts and rules can enable bettors to make informed betting decisions.
In motor racing, drivers have two goals: (1) to reach the finish line after the stipulated number of laps and (2) to collect the most points throughout the season and win the championship.
Car racing competitions have preliminary/qualifying rounds where drivers can be awarded points or lose points at the end of each race. The collective totals of points enable organisers to identify which driver or team will win the different drivers’ and constructors’ titles.
For instance, Formula1 gives points to the top 10 race finishers, with the top three acquiring 25, 18, and 15 points accordingly. A driver can also garner 1 point for achieving the fastest lap, but with the condition that they are within the top 10 finishers.
Types of Car Racing
Motor sport is not just limited to cars racing around a track. In fact, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Car racing in this modern era is categorised into six major types:
Open-Wheel Racing
Open-wheel racing is a type of motor racing where cars run on street circuits and race tracks that are not uniform. Open-wheel cars are characterised by the engine’s position in the back of the car and the uncovered wheels outside the car’s body.
The two most recognisable open-wheel racing series are the European-based Formula 1 series and the American-based IndyCar series.
Stock Car Racing
Stock car racing uses cars with normal or stock appearances with customised specifications that allow the vehicle to travel at speeds over 200 mph. This type of race is usually exclusively held on oval race tracks where drivers are pushed to drive at maximum speeds and accomplish the required race laps.
This type of motor race is prevalent in the United States, with National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or NASCAR being the most distinct stock car race series in the stock car racing industry.
Sports Car Racing
This type of car racing differs from open-wheel and stock racing as drivers use two types of sports cars: Grand Touring (GT) and sports prototype.
GT is the most common sports car classification, and it is again categorized into two – GT1, sports cars with everything underneath customised, and GT2, which are two-seat production vehicles built by companies like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ford.
Sports prototypes are non-production and purpose-built cars designed for competing in closed-circuit races. These have two distinctions: P1 cars, which have an engine size of 6,000 cc, and P2 vehicles, which have an engine size limited to 3,400 cc.
In sports car racing, the most popular racing series are:
- FIA World Endurance Championship
- International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)
- SUPER GT
- European Le Mans
- Asian Le Mans
- GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
- Endurance
- Le Mans
Touring Car
Touring car racing competitions vary from short distances (sprints) to long distances that take three hours or more (endurances). Touring cars are based on road-going production vehicles with similar performance specifications but are heavily modified for racing purposes.
This type of motor sport is most prevalent in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. Accordingly, the most popular touring car racing series include British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), Supercars Championship (SC), and World Touring Car Cup (WTCC).
Rally Racing
Rally racing events are timed relays with drivers taking off at different intervals along the pavement or off-road tracks. In this type of motor sport, multiple stages or events happen during a race, and teams must attempt to get from one point to the next in the fastest possible time possible – as the winner of the race is determined based on the collective time of a team.
Further differences between rally races and other motor races are: (1) that rally race drivers do not race against other cars as much as the clock, and (2) each driver has a co-driver.
In terms of the type of vehicles used in rally racing, racers typically drive production-based car models that are redesigned to improve performance for racing purposes. Moreover, as several stages in a rally race occur on public roads, rally cars must still be street legal, meaning it should be running at normal driving speeds and has a license plate.
Drag Racing
Drag races are head-to-head races in which the objective is to accelerate as fast as possible to reach the end of the straight track. Cars involved in drag racing can range from production-model vehicles to purposely built dragsters.
Most drag races run head-to-head with a standard of two cars at a time, but in some events, races can also have four or more vehicles racing. Conversely, in big drag racing events, races may run elimination style. The standard track length for most drag racing events is 0.25 miles (402 m), but other racing tracks are shortened to 0.125 (201 m) or 0.189 miles (304 m) to improve safety.
Several drag racing leagues organise events worldwide. Among the big drag racing leagues include:
- American Drag Racing League (ADRL)
- Australian Drag Racing Association (ADRA)
- European Drag Racing Summit (EDRS)
- International Hot Rod Association (IHRA)
- National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA)
- National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)
- Nostalgia Drag Racing League (NDRL)
- The National Auto Sport Association (NASA)
- The New Zealand Hot Rod Association (NZHRA)
Motor Sports Betting Markets
As there is so much action in every racing event, bookmakers for online sport betting Singapore are given the opportunity to offer a more varied betting market option. Here are some of the available motorsport betting markets:
Race Winner – Driver – A bet that guesses which driver will win the race.
Race Winner – Team – A wager type allows bettors to guess which team will win the race.
To Qualify in Pole – Driver – A bet that guesses which driver will qualify for the pole position.
Fastest Lap – A wager type that guesses which driver will have the fastest race lap.
Dual Forecast – A bet that enables bettors to wager on a pair of named drivers they think will finish in the top two race positions.
Head to Head (HTH) – Driver (Race) – A bet which enables bettors to guess which driver will have the higher finishing position or completes the most race laps.
Head to Head (HTH) – Team (Race) – This type of wager guesses which team will have the better-placed Classified driver.
Head to Head (HTH) – Driver (Qualifying) – A bet that guesses which driver will have the higher finishing position at the end of the qualifying session.
Head to Head (HTH) – Team (Qualifying) – This type of bet allows bettors to guess which team will have the highest finishing position driver at the end of the qualifying session.
Where can you start betting on motor racing?
88ProAsia is the leading online betting platform in Singapore and Malaysia. We aim to provide our clients and the online gaming community with an incomparable betting experience by providing high payouts, bonuses, rewards promotions, and the best odds that match SG Pools odds. Register for an account at www.88proasia.com to get started with your motor sport betting journey.
