Group C Sports Cars, the thunder of the '80s

What would prove to be the final ever world championship sports car race contested on the grand old Nordschleife circuit at the Nurburgring, the 14 mile loop through the forest otherwise known as “the green hell”.  The third race of the 1983 World Endurance Championship will be the last ever race around the world’s most famous and demanding racing circuit.  The Nurburgring.

Brian Kreisky has the qualifying, and race call, and Derek Bell takes us on a lap of the Nurburgring, describing it in full.  This is a true classic.  Enjoy.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1983-world-sports-car-nurburgring/2989

A 1990 story in the Los Angeles Times about the sole American entry in that year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A Little Yankee Ingenuity Goes Off To Le Mans

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-06-14/news/vw-467_1_le-mans

The finale of the 1983 World Sports Car Championship, the Kyalami 1,000 Kilometers in South Africa.  Derek Bell, at the beginning of the broadcast, takes you for a lap around the track.  To win the World Endurance Championship for drivers, Derek Bell must win at Kyalami and Jacky Ickx must finish outside of the top four. For his part, to beat Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx has to finish within the top four places to be the world champ. Descriptors of this race include “nerve wracking” and “exciting”.  Sit back, grab a cold beverage, and enjoy this one, as we join Brian Kreisky in the commentary box for the race call.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1983-world-sports-car-kyalami/2987

We move ahead in the 1983 season, the debut season for Group C, to the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England, and the Brands Hatch 1,000 Kilometers, joining my main man, Brian Kreisky, the producer and commentator for Videovision Broadcast International and many of the Group C races, for all the action.

The Brands Hatch 1,000 Kilometer race on the 18th of September, 1983, attracted the world’s best sports car teams for a race that was both unpredictable and exciting.  Brian Kreisky is on the microphone for the play-by-play for this motor race.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1983-world-sports-car-brands-hatch/2986

When Group C sports car racing began to truly get serious.  This is the opening event of the 1983 season, the Monza 1,000 Kilometers at the legendary Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy.  Brian Kreisky is your race commentator, as we begin a new era of sports car racing, and we begin what has come to be the title of this very blog, Group C sports car racing… the thunder of the ’80s.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1983-world-sports-car-monza/2985

An episode of the Legends of Motorsport TV show on the old SPEED Channel, highlighting the 1986 Brands Hatch 1,000 Kilometers, hosted by David Hobbs.

The penultimate round of the World Sports Prototype Championship sees the teams title with Silk Cut Jaguar.  But, the driver’s championship duel between Mercedes man Jean Louis Schlesser and Jaguar’s Martin Brundle continues here at spectacular Mount Fuji.  Let’s join Brian Kreisky for the race call.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1988-world-sports-car-fuji/2984

The sad tale of how one of the greatest eras of sports car racing, the Group C era, came to an end, as told in a story published on Jalopnik, by writer Raphael Orlove, on Christmas Day, 2016.

How Group C Died

https://jalopnik.com/how-group-c-died-1790488527

 

A major test for the Group C machines, is the penultimate event of the 1988 season, the Spa Francorchamps 1,000 Kilometers at the daunting Spa Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes forest of Belgium.  Weather, will be a factor in this race.  The Spa 1,000 Kilometers sees the TWR Silk Cut Jaguar team in a very strong position to win their second successive World Sports Car Championship.  Richard Hudson-Evans calls all the action of this thrilling Group C race.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1988-world-sports-car-spafrancorchamps/2980

 

The seventh round of the 1988 World Sports Car Championship saw Jaguar return to their home soil for the first time since their historic Le Mans victory.  After Jaguar’s defeat in Czechoslovakia by the Sauber Mercedes team, the driver’s championship is closer than ever.  Porsche have also done their homework and are now back as front runners with both Jaguar and Mercedes.  The World Sports Car Championship is building into a thrilling three way battle.  Let’s pick up the action at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England, and join our commentators for the race, Richard Hudson-Evans, hosts, and calling the play-by-play of the race itself, Brian Kreisky.

https://motorsport.tv/duke-classic-videos/video/1988-world-sports-car-brands-hatch-supersprint/2978