ABSTRACT
Because human body movement is limited by anatomical and physiological constraints, the movement of bodies by secondary means has, over time, assumed enormous significance. The practical value of all sorts of conveyances, from animals to machines, is readily apparent; more puzzling is a fascination with speed that has often accompanied such innovations. Competitive racing has, in fact, been part of human existence since the chariot races of Ancient Rome, so contests of speed hardly seem novel. What is different about the modern age, though, is that the pace of human movement has increased exponentially because of advances in technology (Marsh & Collett, 1986, 189). While steam and coal-driven forms of transport were developed during the Industrial Revolution, it was the invention of the internal combustion engine in Germany in 1885 which allowed for the practical possibility of speeds well in excess of those that had been achieved previously.l The motor car was, to use a pun, the experimental vehicle by which powered human movement accelerated. Other motorised conveyances via land, sea, and air followed, but it was the car that sparked the speed revolution. And, like the chariot events of yore, competitive rivalry was central to the development and performance of speed. So the sport - and indeed the business - of motor racing was to be expected.
