The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest motor racing track in the world, with racing being held there since 1903. It was not purposely built for motor racing, it started as a one-mile (1.6 km) horse racing track in the 19th century.
From 1903 to 1914, a one-mile dirt oval track was run on Brunots Island, just south of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River. Louis Chevrolet won the AAA Champion car in 1905. On September 10, 1907, Rex Reinersten was fatally injured in a crash here. In 1916, Chevrolet won the first Universal Films Trophy at the mile and an eighth Uniontown Speedway board track,. south of Pittsburgh in Hopwood, PA.
A remaining section of the Brook-lands track today.
Brook-lands in Surrey, England, was the first purpose built motor racing venue, opening in June, 1907.It featured a 4.43 km (2.75 mi) concrete track with high-speed banked corners. Brook-lands was also a centre of the aviation industry, with Vickers setting up a factory and aerodrome there during World War I. The racing circuit was closed in 1939 as war-time aircraft production took over. Damage done to the track during World War II meant the track never reopened for racing.
Competition gradually spread to other parts of the British Empire. The first competition in India was held in 1905 by the Motor Union of Western India. It ran from Delhi to Mumbai, a distance of 810 miles (1,300 km) in an attempt to expose India to the automobile and test its suitability for Indian conditions. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy, gave his consent to the event.
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