Great article Steve, really gets to the essence of Group B. The late Tim Bailey used to invite me down to Continental Cars in Newmarket when the Lancia team were servicing there in the 1980s, so I've been a big fan since.
Insiders of the time also claim that FISA and one B.Ecclestone were not happy that rallying was overtaking F1 in terms of spectators and press coverage…in fact Peugeot sued FISA in '86 as a result of the banning. Not all Gp B cars we banned outright - just Audi S1 E2, Lancia S4, Peugeot T15 E2, RS200 Evo, and international spec Metro 6R4. The others continued to compete in European National championships throughout the rest of the 80s.
I've been lucky to own and use a Lancia 037 Evo II, 1984/5 works car for a number of years and it's an amazing thing. None of us are getting any younger and the cars are getting quite valuable, which is a mixed blessing, but they still get used quite seriously in some events. Check out youtube coverage of Rally Legends 2013 (in San Marino, Italy) - we had 12 037s, 4 S4s, 2 RS200s, 2T16s, and numerous Quattros (some of which were even genuine ones…..). The event was won by Markku Alen in an 037 - not bad for a 63-year old in a 30 year old car!
To see how these cars stand up in a modern context it's worth watching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXgWWNJVdYA. Chris Harris is a good journo and a pretty handy driver himself, so his reaction to the cars is interesting.
BTW, historic rallycross is starting to make a comeback here in the UK, but of course without the Group B cars, or any original ones at least.
Will post a couple of pics of 037 in action.
Rob Whitehouse
Originally Posted by Autopia
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