Group B Racing

Group B racing has been banned for about 20 years now. Seeing the recent Baja pics that Mjp posted got me to thinking about it. I was really young during it's heyday but I will never forget the sounds and sheer power of these cars. Not to mention the major pair of cahoney's these drivers had piloting these things.
In a nutshell: Group B = unlimited horsepower, technology, unlimited boost.
from Wikipedia:
The Group B referred to a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rally racing regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were blamed on their outright speed. This led to the nickname "The killer B's". After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class after only four years. The short-lived Group B era has acquired legendary status among rally fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYhiJeRPgdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quDX36WJM7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qefKc-SPR-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVHj3sHVHQ

It was banned in 1986..

 

OMG! Those things are amazing!

 

What I really found amazing is the people standing in the race course.

 

Amazing foot work on that last video

 

The last video is Walter Rohrl piloting the Audi group b car. He now is employed by Porsche AG for initial track testing on all their new cars. Somewhere there is video of him with a Cayenne twin turbo flat out going up a mountain 2 inches away from the cliff. I'll try to find it..
I love the reaction of the crowds/fans as they shriek by.

 

must find please

 

My brother knew everything about these cars in our early teens. I can just hear him talking about his favorite car, the Lancia Delta S4. This car was sequentially turbocharged and supercharged and did 0-60 in 2.3 seconds.

Imagine the g-force from a car with a 1.8l engine.

Marc M

 

Rally is definitely my favorite form of motorsport. Most motorsports are on a track that you just keep going round and round, so you know exactly whats coming and how to set up for each turn.

Rally is running a course once before you race. The guy sitting next to you is the most important part of the car, because if he doesn't take good notes during the run you do before the race, you have no idea what to expect so you can't go flat out at any time.

Rally drivers are definitely insane to do what they do.

And the fans...craziest on earth. Nothing like standing in the MIDDLE of where a car is going to be in about 3 seconds trying to take a picture before you get hit by a car. The drivers don't slow down either, they could care less. They've got a race to win.