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

Not a Group C car, but, a significant race car in the previous era, of what would become Group 5, for wildly outlandish GT (Grand Touring) cars.  Another video from 19Bozzy92.

The JS2 is a mid-engined sports car built by the French automaker Ligier between 1971 and 1975. Its first public showing was at the 1970 Salon de l’Auto in Paris featuring a 2.6 litre Ford V6 but after the official unveil Ford declined to supply engines to Ligier for their JS2, fearing that it could have competed with their new GT70. A deal was reached with Citroën to use Maserati-derived engines for the production Ligier (Maserati had been taken over by Citroën since 1968), at first by a 2.7 V6 engine which was replaced by a bigger 2.9 one, taken from the Maserati Merak, in 1973. The production of the JS2 ended in 1975 when Citroën went bankrupt and merged with Peugeot, putting Maserati into liquidation.

On the motorsport side, the first JS2s were fielded under the Group 5 rules and were entered in the 1972 and 1973 Le Mans 24h races but they suffered from many problems all caused by the Maserati engines. In 1974 Ligier fielded the JS2 in most rounds of the World Championship in the Sports 3000 (S3.0) class but again with limited success due to reliability issues. The year ended with a deserved victory in the Tour de France. In 1975 due to Citroën’s financial problems, Ligier replaced the Maserati V6 on their race cars with a 3.0 Cosworth DFV V8 engine, able to produce 480hp at 10,200 rpm, and tried to achieve an overall win at Le Mans. The goal was nearly achieved after a race-long battle with the Mirage GR8 of Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx, but in the end it had to be satisfied with a second place.

Watch it in action around Circuit Paul Ricard during the 2019 Dix Mille Tours racing weekend by Peter Auto.

#LigierJS2 #LigierJS2Cosworth #CosworthDFV

Interested in buying a Group C race car?  There is one for sale.  An ex-Skoal Bandit, John Fitzpatrick Racing Porsche 956, shared by David Hobbs and Thierry Boutsen.

https://www.maxted-page.com/car-for-sale/1984-porsche-956b?fbclid=IwAR0nTkIIABH6hwvnAAPSpYTINWjpAIp3gxyMKMmsIWRhBCHXheLGCeu3tzM

John Campion as about as cool as car collectors come. He has immense respect for the cars he owns, as well as for the drivers, engineers, mechanics, and directors who were involved with racing them in period. A fan of Lancia in particular, John was happy to share another piece of Italian motorsport history with us in this week’s film. Namely, this Martini-striped Lancia LC1. In racing lore Lancia is best known for its ability to consistently win in the WRC from the 1970s until the 1990s, but just before they really got going in Group B rallying in the 1980s with the 037 and the infamous Delta S4, the Italian marque was also doing quite well for itself in circuit racing. After winning the overall championship for makes in sports car racing in 1980 and 1981, Lancia evolved its successful Beta Montecarlo “silhouette” race car into a full-on Group 6 prototype called the LC1. It wasn’t to last long however, as Group C rules took over and made the LC1 ineligible for the manufacturers’ title. This week in Made to Drive, join us and John Campion as we go through the history of this unique race car and give it some on-track exercise at Palm Beach International Raceway.

The story of Ecurie Ecosse returning to the top level of sports car racing in the mid 1980s, and finding great success in Group C2 with their Rover V6 powered prototype racing car.

https://drivetribe.com/p/this-world-champion-endurance-racer-LbsP0_nxTISWG8RC2zvzOA?fbclid=IwAR0BOGvHMUDRXzdscGRklkQiRl_AYLVpZHcYulEc3JS4vgvC8Gitif78aDk&iid=PxIAqPK9StOXoMGHvs2VBg

From the YouTube channel RACEFAN 1993 Sportscar Racing Videos.

Here is the Rondeau M379 B with the Ford Cosworth DFV/Mader V8/90° 4v DOHC 2993ccm engine in the Belga livery originaly driven at the 24h Le Mans 1980 by Gordon Spice (GB)/Jean-Michel Martin (B) and Philippe Martin (B) now at the Classic Endurance Race during the Spa-Classic by Marc DEVIS and Martin O’CONNELL.

From the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club YouTube channel.

Hosted by Wayne Scott for the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club, the panel consists of Tony Southgate (Chief Designer), Andy Wallace (Driver), Allan Scott (Engineer), Alastair Macqueen (Chief Race Engineer) and Richard West (Marketing Manager).

The 1980s have come to be remembered as something of a ‘second coming’ for Jaguar motor sport thanks to TWR. Nearly thirty years had passed since the successes of the D Types and in that time, Jaguar had not been directly involved in motor racing.

But, all of this was to change in 1984 when Jaguar was freed from the shackles of British Leyland ownership. With Sir John Egan driving the privatised company forward, Jaguar would return to motor sport with monumental success.

That success was owed to Jaguar’s partnership with TWR. There are stories about TWR right from the very beginning, from the days preparing Mazda RX7s, through to the Rover SD1s in touring cars and of course those iconic XJS Group A Touring cars that dominated the European series. Pick any one of those subjects and we could spend all evening on just one of them, but tonight we are focused on the events that led up to and resulted in the 1988 and 1990 Le Mans wins.

TWR took their first Jaguar prototype to Le Mans in 1985 and in 1988 achieved one of those “where were you when” moments, by winning the Le Mans 24-hour race with Andy Wallace, Jan Lammers and Johnny Dumfries at the wheel of one of the iconic purple liveried XJR9s. It was a victory that was to break years of domination by Porsche at the event.

This success would go on to see them later creating some legendary road cars like the XJR-15 and XJ220 and of course the JaguarSport tuned versions of Jaguar’s model range at the time.

Tom Walkinshaw was a talented driver in his own right. From a farming background, he started racing an MG Midget, eventually graduating to an FF1600 Lotus 61.

In the early 1970s his focus was very much on single-seaters but his aggressive style and physical attributes didn’t suit single seaters and an ankle breaking crash at Brands Hatch didn’t help. From aged 30, he focused on saloons. While still racing a Capri in the UK, Walkinshaw joined forces with BMW for overseas racing in a CSL in which he scored a string of major wins.

Tom Walkinshaw could have settled for a good career as a works driver for many more years to come, but he had bigger ambitions. By 1977 he was BMW GB’s motor sport manager, a connection that would ultimately lead to the birth of TWR.

From Belgian-Motorsport on YouTube, here is the 1991 Gebhardt C91 Cosworth Group C2 car racing in 2019 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy.

Engine: Cosworth DFR 90° V8 NA / 3493 cc / 213.2 cu in Power: 580 bhp / 433 kW @ 11000 rpm

Event: Monza Historic Race series: Group C racing

Track: Monza

Date: 20-22 september 2019

Driver: Michael Lyons (GBR)

He qualified 7th overall and won the first race. In the second race he finished in second place behind the Sauber-Mercedes C11.

Filmed with Canon Legria HF G40 + DM-100 microphone

 

A profile of the great Porsche 962C, specifically the car in Rothmans colors that was so dominant during the 1985 season, from Canepa.

An 80s Icon: 1985 Porsche 962C

 

From 19Bozzy92.  Here is the 1990 Nissan R90CK.

In 1989 Nissan competed with the R89Cs, developed in conjunction with Lola, in both the World Sportscar Championship and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championships. For the 1990 season they decided to actually develop two different cars. The chassis of the R90C was still built by Lola but then the car for the WSC would have been designed by Nissan Motorsports Europe, starting from the R89C and improving it, while the JSPC’s R90 would have been built by Nismo, directly in Japan. The car were named respectively R90CK and R90CP.

This video is about the sixth and final R90CK built (chassis R90C/6) for the 1990 WSC. It was raced in the second half of the season obtaining three podiums out of 5 races entered. It was then shipped to Japan. There it was entered in local events in 1993 with the yellow FromA livery and with a twin-tier rear wing (as you see it in this video). The car is powered by a Nissan VRH35Z 3.5-liter twin-turbo V8 engine.

I recorded this car at Monza Circuit in two occasions:

I recorded this car at Monza Circuit in two occasions:

1) During a 2-days test from last March 2019

2) During the Italian round of the Group C Racing championship, held at the 2019 Monza Historic weekend by Peter Auto.

The car is driven by Japanese driver Katsu Kubota.

#NissanR90 #NissanR90CK #GroupCRacing

From Belgian-Motorsport on YouTube, a C2 class car that had quite a bit of success during the 1980s.  This is the Tiga GT286, and while the car was mainly powered, in hits heyday of racing in the Group C2 division, by a Ford Cosworth motor, this particular example, captured on film by Belgian-Motorsport is propelled by the legendary 13B Mazda rotary engine with around 310 brake horsepower.\

Engine: Mazda 13B / 1308 cc / 79.8 cu in

Power: 310 bhp / 231 kW @ 8500 rpm

Torque: 252 Nm / 186 ft lbs @ 8500 rpm

Weight: 800 kg / 1,764 lbs

Body: carbon-fibre composite and Kevlar

Chassis: aluminum honeycomb monocoque

Gearbox: Hewland 5 speed Manual / RWD

This car used to compete in Group C2 and IMSA GTP class in America. Engines used were a Buick 3000cc V6, Porsche 3000cc Flat-6, Chevy 3000cc V6, Ferrari 3000cc V8 and the Mazda 13B.

Filmed at Goodwood FOS 2015 and RMU Classic at Spa in 2010.

Drivers 2010: Pat Murphy (GBR) / Dan Daly (GBR)

Filmed with Canon Powershot S2 IS Canon Legria HF M46 + DM-100 microphoneRelated video