Italy was home to two of the most famous road races of the 20th century: the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia. From their very inception, these city to city road races were linked with both glamour and mortality, as racers lost their lives in pursuit of pace. The Targa, for example, was set on the mountain roads of Sicily and featured hairpin bends and dramatic changes of elevation. The Mille Miglia, on the other hand, made legends of marques like Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche.

Once the dominant force in motor-racing, after the Second World War Alfa Romeo’s star began to wane. The Italian marque had come to define motorsport in the first half of the twentieth century, but growing competition from Germany, Britain, and France -- plus homegrown challengers in the form of Ferrari -- meant that Alfa’s years at the top were all too brief. Racing Files explores the rise and fall of Alfa Romeo in motorsports.

Talking of motorsport without speaking of France is impossible. France is home to the first motor-race to be called a grand prix, host of several of history’s most iconic racetracks like Le Mans or Paul Ricard, and a pioneer of city-to-city road racing, France was critical in the development of motorsport as we know it today. Racing Files takes a look at the French history of motorsports.

From 1934 onwards Germany was the preeminent force in global motor-racing. The Silver Arrows, the name given to the two racing teams run by Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, dominated grand prix racing throughout the 1930s, while setting and breaking land speed records across Europe and the world. To this day, the silver arrows are the pre-eminent force in German motorsports.

One of Britain’s best known racing drivers, Sir Jackie Stewart is as respected for his work to improve driver safety standards as he is for his three world championships. Stewart’s career encompassed some of the most dangerous years in the history of Formula One, and the Scottish driver’s 27 impressive F1 wins pale into insignificance when compared with the number of lives he has helped to save.

Designer, engineer, and team boss, Colin Chapman was one of the driving forces behind Formula One throughout the 1960s and ‘70s. A man whose name became synonymous with motorsport innovation, Chapman’s racing career began with an unimpressive start behind the wheel before the Briton came to realize that his real talents lay elsewhere