Group C
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Group C was a category of
sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...
introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...
'' for
touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...
s and ''
Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...
'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touring prototypes like
Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 is a race car that was developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 (930), 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ...
) and Group 6 two-seat racing cars (open-top sportscar prototypes like Porsche 936). Group C was used in the FIA's World Endurance Championship (1982–1985), World Sports-Prototype Championship (1986–1990), World Sportscar Championship (1991–1992) and in the European Endurance Championship (1983 only). It was also used for other sports car racing series around the globe (
All Japan Sports Prototype Championship The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japan Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP Sports prototype, prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racin ...
, Supercup, Interserie). The final year for the class came in 1993. Broadly similar rules were used in the North American
IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
Grand Touring Prototype series ( GTP).


History

The roots of the Group C category lie in both FIA Group 6 and particularly in the GTP category introduced by the ACO at
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
in the mid-1970s. GTP was a class for roofed prototypes with certain dimensional restrictions, but instead of the more usual limits on engine capacity, it placed limits on fuel consumption. The FIA applied the same concept in its Group C rules. It limited cars to a minimum weight of 800 kg and a maximum fuel capacity of 100 litres. With competitors restricted to five refueling stops within a 1000 kilometer distance, the cars were effectively allowed 600 litres per 1000 kilometers. The FIA hoped this would prevent manufacturers from concentrating solely on engine development; in the late 1970s, a few manufacturers (especially
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
and
Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...
) had dominated sports car racing by simply increasing
turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into th ...
boost pressure, especially in qualifying trim — the 3.2 L Porsche 935 was capable of more than 800 hp. Engines had to be from a recognized manufacturer which had cars homologated in the FIA's Group A Touring Car or Group B GT Car categories. While the consumption requirement meant that cars needed to conserve fuel early in the race, manufacturer support for the new regulations grew steadily with each make adding to the diversity of the series. With the new rules, it was theoretically possible for large naturally aspirated engines to compete with small forced induction engines. In addition, all races were to be contested over at least 1000 km — usually lasting more than six hours — so it was possible to emphasize the "endurance" aspect of the competition as well. Ford (with the C100) and Porsche (with the
956 Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (''Domestic o ...
) were the first constructors to join the series. The traditional turbocharged boxer engine in the 956 was already tested in the 1981 version of the Group 6 936. Eventually, several other makes joined the series, including Lancia,
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
, Mercedes,
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
,
Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...
and
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...
. Many of these also took part in the
IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
championship, as its GTP class had similar regulations. With costs increasing, the FIA introduced a new Group C Junior class for 1983. This was intended for privateer teams and small manufacturers and it limited cars to a minimum weight of 700 kg and a maximum fuel capacity of 55 liters. With competitors limited to five refueling stops within a 1000 kilometer distance, the cars were effectively allowed 330 liters per 1000 kilometers. As in Group C, engines had to be from a recognized manufacturer which had cars homologated in Group A or Group B. Although it was originally expected that C Junior cars would use two-litre normally aspirated engines, in practice most cars used either the 3.5l
BMW M1 The BMW M1 (model code E26) is a Mid-engine design, mid-engined sports car produced by German automotive manufacturer BMW from 1978 until 1981. In the late 1970s, Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to ...
engine or the new 3.3l Cosworth DFL, but, like in the main class, a variety of solutions was employed by each individual manufacturer. Alba with a small, lightweight turbo, Tiga,
Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
and
Ecurie Ecosse Ecurie may refer to: * Écurie, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in France * Several car racing teams (compare '' scuderias'') : ** Ecurie Belge ** Ecurie Bleue ** Ecurie Bonnier ** Ecurie Ecosse, a former motor racing team from ...
with Austin-Rover and later Cosworth-powered cars were among the most competitive in this class. The low cost of these cars even led to the notion of their use in national championships, such as the short-lived British BRDC C2 Championship. Group C Junior was formally renamed Group C2 for 1984.


Rise and fall

By 1989, the Group C series popularity was nearly as great as
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
. When C1 cars were found to be breaking over the 400 kilometres per hour mark at
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
'
Mulsanne Straight The Mulsanne Straight (, "Straight Line of Les Hunaudières") is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is interrup ...
— the WM-
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
recorded the highest during the 1988 event — the FIA revolutionized the class by attempting to turn it into a formula series to replace the C2 category (after they proved to be unreliable at endurance races). The new formula restricted the performance of cars built to the original rules (such as the
Porsche 962 The Porsche 962 is a sports prototype racing car designed and built by Porsche. Created to replace the Porsche 956, 962 was introduced at the end of 1984 and replaced the 956 in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA's IMSA GT Champio ...
used by many privateers) and benefited teams using F1-sourced 3.5 L engines — these latter teams being effectively the large manufacturers alone, as the new formula cars were more expensive than the C1 cars. What followed was the quick downfall of Group C, as the new engines were unaffordable for privateer teams like Spice and ADA. A lack of entries meant the 1993 Championship was canceled before the start of the first race. However, the ACO still allowed the Group C cars to compete (albeit with restrictions) at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nevertheless, the race still witnessed protests against the new state of affairs, as spectators placed cloth banners in fences expressing their feelings. The 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans was the last one in which Group C cars were permitted. A new category formed especially by race organizers also saw modified Group C cars without roofs. In fact, a former C1 car disguised as a road-legal GT car which was entered in the GT1 category, the Dauer 962 Le Mans, and won the race after transmission problems by a leading Toyota 94C-V. The 962 was subsequently banned; the Toyota was later given a special dispensation to race in the Suzuka 1000km, and a few C1 racers were allowed to compete in the newly formed Japanese GT Championship — this would be its final year of competition. Many of the modified open top Group C cars continued to compete until they were crashed, broke, or retired out of competitiveness; notable among these was the Porsche WSC-95 which won the and Le Mans races, using the monocoque of the Jaguar XJR-14 and Porsche 962 mechanicals (engine, transmission, etc.).


Group C series

The FIA's Group C formula was designed primarily for the World Endurance Championship which included the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, several smaller series also adapted the Group C regulations. The
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as ''German Racing Championship'') or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany's top national series. Hi ...
allowed Group C cars to compete alongside various other types of cars from the 1982 season until 1985, when the series was reformed as the ADAC Supercup. Under the new Supercup series, only Group C cars would be allowed to compete. This series lasted until 1989. In Great Britain, the
Thundersports The Thundersports Series was a domestic championship which took place in mainly at Brands Hatch ran circuits, for prototype sports cars and also featured cars that were eligible for Can-Am and Group C2 racing. To bring some real excitement, noise ...
championship combined a variety of cars with the C Junior (later C2) class of cars. This too was later replaced with a C2 only series known as the BRDC C2 Championship, and lasted until 1990. The European
Interserie Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series. Created in 1970 by German Gerhard Här ...
championship also allowed Group C cars to compete, although they did not use the same class structure. In Japan, the
All Japan Sports Prototype Championship The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japan Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP Sports prototype, prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racin ...
was created in 1983, while the Fuji Long Distance Series also began allowing Group C cars for the first time. It was not until 1989 however that the series concentrated solely on the Group C formula. Both championships lasted until 1992, when they were cancelled along with the World Sportscar Championship.


List of cars


References

{{Class of Auto racing Sports car racing Racing car classes Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile