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Car Rally Racing also recognized as rally racing is a type of auto racing on private or public roads that are customized with specially built cars that are legal for the roads. This sport is characterized by not driving on a circuit, but in a point-to-point arrangement where the co-drivers and their participants drive amongst special stages, allowing regular intervals after one or more starting points. The rallies can be won by unadulterated speed within the phases or alternating driving to a prearranged journey time.

History - Pre-war Era

"Rally" is a term, as a motorsport unit, probably has dated back from the very first Monte Carlo Rally that was run in January 1911. Very few, if any at all used the term "rally" again until the late 1920's. The sport of rallying can be traced to 1894 Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition. Prizes were given to the automobiles by a jury according on the findings of the spectators who were passengers in each car. The winning award went to Albert Lemaitre who drove a 3 hp Peugeot. However, Comte de Dion finished first but was disqualified because his vehicle was powered by steam.

This occasion led to an era of city-to-city road races that took place in France as well as other European countries which initiated several of the types of racing in later car rally racing. Some of the new features added were cars racing against the clock instead of a head-to-head car race, entry time controls and exit points.

The Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race was the first of these types of exciting races. The race was won by Paul Koechlin in June 1895. He drove a Peugeot, in spite of arriving 11 hours after Emile Levassor who drove a PanhardetLevassor. Levassor's time for the 1,178 race, who ran without a break took over 48 hours. The average speed was 24 km/h. Eight years after that, in the Paris-Madrid race the Mors of Fernand Gabriel raced the same roads and took under 5 ¼ hours for the 550 km race to Bordeaux. Races had surpassed the limits of safety of dusty highways that were filled with spectators, not to mention the open traffic. Hence, numerous crashes involving animals and people caused severe injuries and eight deaths. Because of that, the French government halted the racing and prohibited the events.