List of international auto racing colors

From WOI Encyclopedia Italia

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From the beginning of the 20th century until the late 1960s, before sponsorship liveries came in use, vehicles competing in Formula One, sports car racing, touring car racing and other international auto racing competitions customarily painted their cars in racing colours reflecting the nation of origin of the car or driver. These were often different from the national colours used in other sports or in politics.

Contents 1 History 2 Contemporary usage 3 Historic colours 3.1 Major competitors 3.2 National list 4 See also 5 References

History

The colours most likely have their origin in the national teams competing in the Gordon Bennett Cup, which was held annually in 1900-1905, and were definitely established in the 1920s and 1930s era of Grand Prix motor racing, when blue Bugatti and red Alfa Romeo dominated many races.

Due to the weight limit for GP cars introduced in 1934, German Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams did not apply the traditional white paint in order to save weight, and the bare sheets of metal gave rise to the term Silver Arrows. When aluminium was replaced by fiberglass materials in the 1960s, some German teams (like Porsche and BMW) returned to white paint. Others German manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Audi (Auto Union) used silver paint when they returned to international racing in the 1990s.

In spring of 1968, sponsorship liveries, which already had been used in the United States for years, were allowed in international racing. Team Lotus was the first F1 team not only to paint their cars in a tobacco livery, but also to change the team name accordingly. The British Racing Green vanished soon from the cars of private teams, while the Rosso Corsa used by Italian manufacturers like Ferrari is in continuous use to the present day.

Contemporary usage

Although this colour scheme was abandoned by the FIA for most racing disciplines in the 1970s, it is still informally used, especially by Italian, British and German automakers and teams that want to emphasize their traditions. Often, sponsorship agreements respect this. Many concept cars follow the color scheme, and many amateur racers prefer them as well.

The A1 Grand Prix series instigated in 2005 features national teams, driving identical cars with differing colour schemes. Initially, most schemes were based on the respective national flags; some teams with different traditional sporting colours have since switched, including A1 Team Australia and A1 Team India.

Historic colours

Major competitors

Code	Country	Body	Numbers	Marques/Teams
D	Germany	White	Red	Benz, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche
		Silver (or bare metal (Silver Arrows))	Red	Mercedes-Benz, Auto Union, Veritas, Borgward, EMW, Porsche, Audi
F	France	Blue	White	Bugatti, Talbot, Matra, Gordini, Ligier, Prost
GB	Great Britain	Green (British racing green)	White	Jaguar, Vanwall, Cooper, Lotus, Brabham, BRM, Bentley, Aston Martin
I	Italy	Red (Rosso corsa)	White	Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Ferrari, Abarth, O.S.C.A., Officine Meccaniche
J	Japan	White with red "sun"	Black	Honda, Nissan, Toyota
USA	USA	White, Blue lengthwise stripes ("Cunningham racing stripes"), Blue underframe	Blue	Cunningham, Ford, NART, Shelby, Chaparral
		Blue, White lengthwise stripes, White underframe	White	AAR Eagle, Ford, Shelby, Scarab

National list

The following schemes have been adopted for various countries at various times:

Code	Country	Body	Bonnet	Other Colours	Numbers	Illustrated example
A		Blue			Black on white
ARG		Blue	Yellow	Chassis: Black	Red on white
AUS		Green	Gold	Blue	Black
B		Yellow			Black
BR		Pale yellow		Chassis/Wheels: Green	Black
BUL		Green	White		Red on white
C		Yellow	Black		Black on white
CDN		Traditional colours are white and green parallel stripes		After the Canadian flag was changed in 1965 Red with wide lengthwise white stripes became popular	Black
CH		Red	White		Black
CS	Czech Republic	White	Blue/white	Underframe: Red	Blue
D		White		bare metal (aluminium, "Silver Arrows")	Red
DK		Silver-grey		National flag as a lengthwise stripe on bonnet	Red on white
E		Red	Yellow	Chassis/Springs: Red	Black on yellow or white on red
ET		Pale violet			Red on white
F		Blue			White
FIN		White		Two blue stripes on bonnet shaping a Latin cross	Black on white
GB		Green		Scottish entrant Rob Walker used dark blue with a white noseband and Ecurie Ecosse also used dark blue; the Arrol Johnston team pre-World War 1 used navy tartan	White
GR		Pale Blue		Two white lengthwise stripes on bonnet	Black on white
H		Front: White Rear: Green	Red		Black
HJK		Brown			Black on white
I		Red			White
IRL		Green		Horizontal band of orange all around	White
J		Ivory White		Red disk on bonnet	White on black
L		Tricolor lengthwise stripe (red/white/blue) from front to rear			Black on white
MAS		Yellow		White	Black on white/Black
MC		White		Red lateral stripe around car	Black on white
MEX		Gold		Different designs in royal blue (Not strictly an X on the bonnet)	Black on white (not red on white)
NL		Orange			White
NZ		Green and silver		Black and silver
PHI		Red and Blue		yellow
P		Red		Underframe: White	White
PL		White		Underframe: Red	Red on white
RCH		Red	Blue	Underframe: White	Blue/red or red on white
S		Blue bottom, yellow top, three cross bands of blue on top of bonnet			White
T		Pale blue with yellow horizontal band around body and bonnet		Wheels: Pale yellow	White on blue
U		Pale blue with large red band around the lower part of bonnet			White on black
USA		White with blue lengthwise stripes		Underframe: Blue	Blue on white
ZA		Gold	Green		Black on yellow

See also

• Racing stripe on notes about US racing color.

References

• Motorsport Memorial website - page about country automotive abbreviations and racing colours