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In 1895 the first true race was held, from Paris to Bordeaux, France, and back, a distance of 1,178 km. The winner made an average speed of 24.15 kph. Organized automobile racing began in the United States with an 87-km race from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois, and back on Thanksgiving Day in 1895. Both early races were sponsored by newspapers for promotional purposes. In Europe, town-to-town races in France, or from France to other countries, became the norm until 1903 when authorities stopped the Paris-to-Madrid race at Bordeaux because of the large number of accidents.
