Guide to Motor Sports Betting
Introduction to Motor Sports
If you want a different, fun, and exciting betting experience, then motorsports betting might just be a perfect choice. Fortunately, many gambling sites today offer a range of markets for players that would love to bet on motorsports.
Whether it’s the high-tech racing arena of F1 or exciting races of NASCAR and MotoGP, motorsports betting comes with great winning opportunities and exciting strategies.
If you want to start motor sports betting, we’ve included tips, tricks, and even crucial betting strategies in this guide to help you.
Before you start online motor sports betting, you need to understand the basics. Motorsports is a term used to encompass all sports that make use of motorized vehicles. Under motorsport, there are four-wheeled events, F1 and NASCAR, and two-wheeled events such as MotoGP.
There’s now air racing in motorsports, including drone racing, aircraft racing, and the likes. There’s also hovercraft racing, which involves racing on water, land, mud, and other surfaces.
Main Rules
One of the essential areas you need to understand before you begin to bet on various motorsports is the rules. Note that each motorsport has its unique set of rules, and some of the race tracks have their own regulations.
There’s also a general safety rule that covers all motorsports events that you have to leave space. When trying to overtake, both the attacker and defender must ensure that there is racing space between them at all times.
Below, we highlight some of the main rules of motorsports that we believe you should keep in mind.
Charging of cars in Formula E (since they use electric cars) during the qualifying round, main race, parc ferme, scrutineering and is forbidden. However, teams are allowed to charge the vehicles during sessions and practice.
Each driver cannot use more than four new rear tires and four front tires for all the events. As a result, the drivers can use only two sets of tires from the Shakedown (the trial or test phase) to the end of the race.
All drivers, officials, and competitors participating in any competitions under motorsports must hold a recognized license. For instance, to be eligible for the F1 championship, they need to have the FIA super license. Additionally, applications for the FIA super license must be made annually through the applicant’s ASN (the French acronym for National Sporting Authorities).
Any driver during a race that makes unnecessary contact, harassment, or uses any driving tactic deemed illegal and dangerous by the authorities of the events will be fined. That driver would not be allowed to participate until the fine is paid.
The minimum age of eligibility across the various major motorsport competitions is 18, and the maximum age of competing is 50. But, some lower-tier competition like Moto2 and Moto3 have their minimum set at 16.
Main Competitions
In motorsports, there are many competitions every year, and this is not surprising because of the many sub sports. As it stands, Formula 1 remains the number one motorsport, followed closely by MotoGP and NASCAR. This section discusses these three major motor racing sports from the history to rules, formats, and other interesting aspects.
Formula One or F1 is an example of global auto racing. It’s regulated by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile or the International Automobile Federation (FIA). The name ‘Formula’ is from the different rules that participating drivers and cars must follow.
The goal of any F1 competition is to have a clear winner of any race. This is the racer who first gets to the end of the line after concluding a predetermined set of turns.
The sport originated in Europe between the 1920 and ’30s. FIA standardized racing regulations in 1946 and 1950 saw the first Formula One World Drivers’ championship.
Since the sport’s inception, F1 cars have maintained the same fundamental designs and specs. A standard F1 car is an open-cockpit, open-wheel, single-seat race car. Vehicles are usually equipped with double wings, front and rear, and an engine stored behind the driver.
Race tracks, which are called circuits, are specifically built for F1 races. But in some cases, the races are conducted on different closed public roads.
Except for the Monaco GP (260 km), the required length of a Formula One race must be 305 km. Additionally, the duration of any race in F1 must not go beyond 2 hours. Once the 2 hours are exceeded, the race ends as soon as the current lap is completed.
MotoGP or Grand Prix motorcycle racing is a top-class competition regulated by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FMI). Since the beginning of the 20th century, many independent races have been hosted, and the larger events have the title Grand Prix.
Before it was renamed MotoGP in 2002, the top division of the sport was called 500cc. The championship is currently divided into four different classes; MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, and MotoE. The first three use four-stroke engines, but the MotoE class makes use of electric motorcycles.
Bill France Sr created The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR, company in 1948 with its headquarters at Daytona Beach, Florida. Every year, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,500 races on 100+ tracks in 48 states across the US, Mexico, Canada, and Europe.
Some major series sanctioned by NASCAR include the National, International, and Regional Racing Series. These major series are further broken down into subcategories, including the Xfinity Series, Pinty’s Series, and Whelen Modified Tour.
Where to Bet on Motor Sports?
If you’re already familiar with online sports betting, betting on motorsports becomes quite easy as most sites feature events and races. However, if you’re new, you might need to do a bit of research to select the right sportsbook.
With numerous betting sites for motor sports bets, it can take some time for you to find the best. In that case, you can check our list of recommended motor sports betting sites to pick the one that fits your preference.
We look out for certain things before selecting a betting site, including the license, bonuses and promotions, markets offered, odds, and payment options. We can tell if a motor sports betting site will give you a top-notch or a below-par experience with these factors.
- Attractive sports & casino bonuses
- Many betting boosts
- Excellent odds
- Modern website design
- Big welcome bonus
- Great selection of sports
- Great bonus portfolio
- Excellent odds
- Various betting features & boosts
- Trusted and reputable brand
- Excellent sports betting features
- Various markets
- Most trusted brand
- Excellent betting environment
- Cool & useful features
- Excellent sports markets
- Good betting features
- Great casino section
Once you have selected a top online betting site to place bets on motorsports, there are different markets to try out. You need to be familiar with the various betting markets before you can start betting on your favourite motor sports. Some of the most popular betting markets you will find in motorsports betting include Race winner, Drivers Championship, Constructors championships, Finish in top 3, Pole position markets, and Driver vs Driver Match bets. Keep reading if you want to learn more about these various betting markets.
- Race winner
The race-winner market is a straightforward bet where you wager on the driver that you think would eventually win the race. Here, the eligible drivers in the race are listed, and you get to choose based on your intuition. However, you should keep in mind that the odds for each driver to win will vary based on their previous pole position or historical races. In this case, you might want to go with the driver that has the least odds. - Drivers Championship
In the drivers’ championship market, you are to bet on the overall winner of the event. For instance, in the Portuguese GP, you can bet on Hamilton to win in the end. Just like the race-winner market, you can only bet on one driver here. Also, it is most likely the driver with the least odds will end up winning. - Constructors Championship
The constructors’ championship betting market is closely related to the drivers’ championship market. The only difference is that here you are betting on the winning car manufacturer. You can either bet on McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, and any other manufacturers in the events. Before you place your bet, make sure you know who are the top drivers for each manufacturer and how they performed in previous events. - Finish in top 3
You can also bet on the driver that you think would most likely finish on the podium. In the Finish in Top 3 market, you just have to be sure that your pick will finish at least 3rd at the end of the race. Here, you can play it a little bit safer if you already have a pick for the race winner or drivers championship market. Although the odds here are lower than the other two markets, it is a safer bet since your preferred choice might not win but still end up in the top 3. - Pole position markets
As most bookmakers refer to it, the pole position markets or fastest qualifiers are all about predicting who will start at the front of the grid. There is a qualifying round in most motorsports events where the driver finishing with the fastest time gets to start in pole position. In that case, before the event’s qualifying round starts, you need to place your bets on who you think will get to start at the front of the grid when the race begins. - Driver vs Driver Match Bets
Here, you get to bet on a particular driver in his relation to another. Most bookmakers pit top drivers against each other, and whoever finishes higher at the end of the match is the winning bet. For instance, you can have Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton pitted against each other. In this case, it is down to you to place your bet on who you believe would finish first in the race.
Why Bet on Motor Sports?
Before you start to place bets on motorsports events and races, here are a few pros and cons that you might want to keep in mind.
- Pros of Motorsports Betting
- There is a wide range of markets you can choose to bet on.
- Betting on motorsports is not completely based on luck.
- Motorsports betting can be fun and exciting.
- There is a huge chance to win big.
- It gives you the chance to learn more about motor sports.
- Cons of Motorsports Betting
- You can become addicted.
- Bookmakers often have the edge; the house almost always wins.
- It can take a lot of your time as it requires consistent research.
Important Factors to Consider
You need to consider a few important factors before you go ahead to make your predictions and place your bets. Some of these factors include statistics before the game, weather conditions, grid positions, and driver performance on the track.
One of the most important factors you need to take into consideration is the statistics before the game. This will allow you to get a good view of how various drivers performed in previous matches. You can then get the idea of who might end up getting to the finish line first, depending on the kind of bets you want to place.
Another vital factor that you should consider is the proposed weather condition before placing your bet. This is because some drivers and cars perform better than others in certain weather conditions. With this information in mind, you can make better predictions without much stress.
Grid position is another factor that can affect the outcome of a race. Since some cars would be starting ahead of others, their chances of reaching the finish line faster than others are higher. So, you need to pay attention to the grid positions before the start of the race.
You also need to consider the tracks and how each driver performances on that specific track. In this case, it can give you an idea of who is more favoured to win on the particular track where the race will take place.
Interestingly, you can also place in-play bets on motorsports at various betting sites. You simply need to go to the bookie’s in-play section to get started. As the race progresses, you can place different kinds of bets based on what you think would happen.
Motor Sports Facts and History
Competitive motorsports officially started in 1894 when a French newspaper organized a Paris to Rouen and Rouen to Paris race. Then, in 1900, they created the Gordon Bennett Cup. Due to the ban on open road racing on public roads, closed-circuit racing was established as well.
Six years after the Gordon Bennett Cup was created, the first dedicated motor racing track, the Aspendale Racecourse, was commissioned. A few years later, after WW1, countries in Europe put together Grand Prix races on closed courses. However, in the US, dirt track racing was becoming popular.
After WW2, authorities came together to organize a more formal Grand Prix circuit. At that time, Stock Car Racing, NASCAR, and drag racing were firmly established. Ultimately, motorsports were divided by the types of vehicles into events and appropriate organizations.
Motorcycle racing also has a parallel history to car racing. At the start, motorcycle racing was dominated by the de Dion tricycle in 1897. However, after a few years, two-wheelers began to change the course of the sport.
In 1904, FIM created the international cup, which united five nations, Austria, Britain, Denmark, France, and Germany. In Dourdan in 1904, the first international cup took place.
Since the 2000s, motorsports has grown beyond the three major competitions. There are all forms of motor racing sports on land, air, and water.
Conclusion
If you follow Motorsports well enough, you’ll see that there are a lot of exciting changes coming up. If you want to place motorsport bets, there are many markets and betting options to select from.
Since motorsports are very broad, we advise you to tailor it down to one or two competitions so that you can easily place your bets. Also, make sure you have a tested strategy before you proceed to start betting on Motorsports. All in all, online Motor Sports betting is a perfect choice, especially if you’re already familiar with the sport.
FAQs
What are the best markets in motorsport betting?
Many sports betting sites offer a good range of options and markets. It all depends on the competitions you want to bet on, whether it’s F1, NASCAR, MotoGP, or other motorsports. Examples of specific markets include money line, spread betting, race winner and the likes.
Can I bet on motorsports online?
Yes, you can place bets on motorsports online. All you need to do is choose a sports betting site to get started.
Are motorsports betting legal in the US?
Yes, you can place bets on motorsports in states that have legalized sports betting in the US.
How risky is motorsport betting?
Motorsport betting is just as risky as betting on other sports because you cannot truly tell how a race would go or end.
How can I bet on motorsport in the US?
To bet on motorsport in the US, you need first to select a top licensed sportsbook, create an account, deposit, and then go to the motorsports section to start betting.
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