The Group C Club!

  • Thread starter superfast
  • 298 comments
  • 52,291 views
superfast

superfast

368
If anybody shares the same love for the late 80s, early 90s, super race cars known as Group C cars, please be my guest and join this group! This includes awesome rides such as the Minolta Toyota, Nissan R89C and R92CP, Jaguar XJR-9, and Mazda 787B and more; it doesn't even have to be in GT4!

Current Members
1. superfast
2. live4speed
3. Mrktmkr1986
4. TheCracker
5. Vintageracer
6. PS
7. TVR&Ferrari_Fan
8. GILLET
9. Ram-rod
10. FC3sleepah
11. GT4freak32492
12. DingleBerrry
13. Crimson Menace
14. Shaunsund
15. The ED3
16. RACECAR
17. nitro_2005
18. appie17
19. torque998
20. Encyclopedia
21. Team666
22. JoshBMW
23. GT4_Rule
24. 3-Wheel Drive
25. 260c_h230
26. samj_13
27. rabidmonkey
28. GeorgeMorley
29. venomroller
30. HACKr
31. Barchetta
32. NISM0_SKYLINE
33. XJR-9
34. GT4Nerd
35. TheBigMan045
36. El Jarretto
37. Tezuka
38. Snyp
39. SERGE.DENAYER
40. Michael88
41. gz
42. TwinTurbos94
43. Driving Park
44. 13th monkey
 
Yep, I watched thoes cars as a kid, they were awesome then after that the GT1's came into play which I also loved. My fave group C cars are probably C11 and 962's.
 
I like driving these cars in GT4, but I am in no means a big fan. I never watch any Le Mans or ALMS races (I have analog cable) so I don't know much about road racing. I will have to decline that honorary membership. ^L4S can have it.
 
Yeah, I have to agree, those cars are sweet. Personally, I'm nuts about the R92CP, but the Saubers, as well as the 962s, are way cool. Anyway, do you want in?
 
I have some pics, too.
imgres
 
What is the history behind these cars? Were they built for 1 race only (eg. 24 hr races)? It would be good to know the background stories for these cars as I love racing them in GT4. Which ones were the fastest and which ones won the race(s) like the 24hr Le Mans??
 
Group C is all right, but the real badasses of 80's road racing were the IMSA GTP cars.

C'mon. The Nissan R89C has nothing over its GTP cousin, the GTP-ZX Turbo.

nissan_gtp-zx_turbo_FAST.jpg

nissan%20GTP%20ZX%20turbo%20on%20pit%20row.jpg
 
These cars were never really on telly in Aus, I too would really love to know how they came to be and a maybe a bit of history? I've been raised on Formula 1 and Australian Touring Cars (now rigidly V8s only :() so any info would be mucho appreciated if you guys can be bothered...thanks!
 
You can count me in as well, i've always loved these cars and was chuffed when i saw that GT4 had so many of them in. When i do the Silverstone Historic Festivals they often have the Historic Group C series racing as well so i get to see them racing at close range too! - i can tell you that they are so spectacular to watch, the drivers really go for it even though they are now quite valuble.

Here's a link too their series: http://www.groupc-gtpracing.com/
 
James2097
These cars were never really on telly in Aus, I too would really love to know how they came to be and a maybe a bit of history? I've been raised on Formula 1 and Australian Touring Cars (now rigidly V8s only :() so any info would be mucho appreciated if you guys can be bothered...thanks!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it sucks that we don't get Le Mans racing down here. I wonder if we got any special coverage when Peter Brock and Larry Perkins raced though...
 
Some of the cars were specifically built just for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But others, such as the Jaguar XJR and Peugeot 905 raced in other enduros like Sebring. The Minoltas raced in oversea series, though. But, I'm not about the Nissans or Mazda 787.

Cracker, you're in. But, what about the rest of you guys? How about it? We'll hook you up with all the info we can.
 
This isn't about the sport, it's about the cars so I guess it fits in either forum since this one isn't specifically for road cars. Eitherway if it should be in the other forum a mod will move it.

The 787B was the first Japanese car EVER to win LeMans, and it did it with a 26B engine (ie a 2.6 liter quad rotory engine) and it's also the only rotory engined car to win there. The earlier 767B wasn't as successful (it finnished 7th at LeMans in 1990 and also used a 26B engine) but it showed potential to be superb with a few improvments and Mazda built the 787.
 
live4speed
This isn't about the sport, it's about the cars so I guess it fits in either forum since this one isn't specifically for road cars. Eitherway if it should be in the other forum a mod will move it.

The 787B was the first Japanese car EVER to win LeMans, and it did it with a 26B engine (ie a 2.6 liter quad rotory engine) and it's also the only rotory engined car to win there. The earlier 767B wasn't as successful (it finnished 7th at LeMans in 1990 and also used a 26B engine) but it showed potential to be superb with a few improvments and Mazda built the 787.
Click to expand...


live4speed, you are totally right. Motorsports in general is awesome, but this forum is especially about a certain niche in motorsports, the Group C race cars. And, to add about what you said about the 787B, it was the only Japanese car to win Le Mans. Also, it was the only rotary to win Le Mans. :)
 
Didn't the GT-1 Toyota race car win anything? That car seems to be very powerful in the game and I've seen it in other games to not just GT3/4 or Forza. It seems to be very popular.
 
The TSO20 came close in two years of trying by Toyota. In 1998, there were three TSO20's that were 2nd, 7th, and 8th on the grid. The 8th spot car - car #27 - was the only one to finish the race, ending up 9th overall.

It was driven by Keiichi "Drift King" Tsuchiya, former F1 driver Ukyo Katayama, and Toshio Suzuki.

In 1999, the TSO20's swept the front row of Le Mans and again nailed down the 8th grid spot and again the 8th grid spot proved lucky for Toyota as Tsuchiya, Katayama, and Suzuki were once again the only finishing Toyota.

This time, though, they won the GT1 class and finished 2nd overall.

However, the ACO was unhappy with closed cockpit domination at Le Mans and tightened up the regs for GT1 cars in order to render them totally uncompetitive. In 2000, Audi domination ensued as the Joest panzers swept the podium from grid to finish.

The TSO20's speed and quick success at Le Mans made it a hero car in Japan. Even though it only contested Le Mans, it has gone down in Japanese motorsport history as one of their most successful sports cars.

Personally speaking, though, when it comes to Toyota in international motorsport, they did best when they were teamed up with Dan Gurney's All American Racers team.

Mid-Ohio-1989-06-04-099.jpg


The GTP battles were something else. Rocky Moran and Juan Manuel Fangio II in Gurney Eagle Toyotas. Geoff Brabham and Derek Daly in Nissan ZXT's. Davy Jones and Price Cobb in TWR Castrol Jaguars.

There will never be another GTP. Daytona Prototypes match the numbers and the quality of racing. LMP's (barely) match the speed and cornering. But NOTHING matches GTP racing.
 
superfast
live4speed, you are totally right. Motorsports in general is awesome, but this forum is especially about a certain niche in motorsports, the Group C race cars. And, to add about what you said about the 787B, it was the only Japanese car to win Le Mans. Also, it was the only rotary to win Le Mans. :)
Click to expand...

No, THIS forum is for street cars. Motorsports forum is for racing cars.
 
The359
No, THIS forum is for street cars. Motorsports forum is for racing cars.
Click to expand...

Oh c'mon, loosen up a little. It's supposed to be cars in general, right? So that's where I decided to list it. And besides, this is supposed to be fun. No biggie. :)
 
The359
No, THIS forum is for street cars. Motorsports forum is for racing cars.
Click to expand...
As I said, if it is in the wrong place a mod will move it or request it to be moved. No biggie. Note the first comment in the thread, "If anybody shares the same love for the late 80s, early 90s, super race cars known as Group C cars" he says cars, not motorsport, or racing category. This thread is about cars, this forum is about cars in general, go figure.
 
Superfast, you do realize that Group C and GTP are directly related, right?

In fact, the Porsche 962 was created because of GTP rules that barred the 956.

Let me explain.

If you've ever seen a 956 with its nosepiece off (or have been fortunate to sit in a 956) you notice that the footbox extends past the front axle centerline, placing the driver's ankles ahead of the tires.

Naturally, this is a particularly bad safety issue especially considering that many GTP events took place at high speed courses like Daytona or Road America at Elkhart Lake, or on city circuits like Columbus.

IMSA ruled the 956 too unsafe to compete, and Porsche extended the wheelbase (and while they were at it, re-engineered the aerodynamics and moved around the suspension pickup points) to create the IMSA friendly 962.

Daytona-1988-01-31-014.jpg


You can see here a perfect example of an IMSA spec 962, as driven by multiple Daytona 24 winner Al Holbert in 1988. The easiest way to tell that this is an IMSA 962 and not an FIA spec 962 is the large air intake on the back of the "greenhouse".

By comparison, here is an FIA spec 962.

Brands_Hatch-1988-07-24-007.jpg


IMSA GTP and FIA Group C, while not the same cars/same series, are indelibly linked and provided a Silver Age of sports car racing during which the prototypes reigned supreme. My tastes just lean more towards the rowdy raucous racers of IMSA.
 
live4speed
As I said, if it is in the wrong place a mod will move it or request it to be moved. No biggie. Note the first comment in the thread, "If anybody shares the same love for the late 80s, early 90s, super race cars known as Group C cars" he says cars, not motorsport, or racing category. This thread is about cars, this forum is about cars in general, go figure.
Click to expand...

...All Group C cars are race cars. Thus they race in motorsports. Thus, they would go in the Motorsports sections...

💡
 
Race cars are cars in general. It's a bit open to interpretation how you look at this, but leave it for the mods to decide if it gets moved or not, the threads here for now.
 
Layla's Keeper
Superfast, you do realize that Group C and GTP are directly related, right?

In fact, the Porsche 962 was created because of GTP rules that barred the 956.

Let me explain.

If you've ever seen a 956 with its nosepiece off (or have been fortunate to sit in a 956) you notice that the footbox extends past the front axle centerline, placing the driver's ankles ahead of the tires.

Naturally, this is a particularly bad safety issue especially considering that many GTP events took place at high speed courses like Daytona or Road America at Elkhart Lake, or on city circuits like Columbus.

IMSA ruled the 956 too unsafe to compete, and Porsche extended the wheelbase (and while they were at it, re-engineered the aerodynamics and moved around the suspension pickup points) to create the IMSA friendly 962.

Daytona-1988-01-31-014.jpg


You can see here a perfect example of an IMSA spec 962, as driven by multiple Daytona 24 winner Al Holbert in 1988. The easiest way to tell that this is an IMSA 962 and not an FIA spec 962 is the large air intake on the back of the "greenhouse".

By comparison, here is an FIA spec 962.

Brands_Hatch-1988-07-24-007.jpg


IMSA GTP and FIA Group C, while not the same cars/same series, are indelibly linked and provided a Silver Age of sports car racing during which the prototypes reigned supreme. My tastes just lean more towards the rowdy raucous racers of IMSA.
Click to expand...



Layla's Keeper, thank you for that extensive report. Yeah, I know that they are directly related, but they definitely have their differences, too. Otherwise, Group C wouldn't exist. They would all have been GTP if the cars were exactly the same. I created this forum simply for people who wanted to talk about Group C. It's not technical, but just for fun :) . Nevertheless, thank you for the report and the great pics, too. Remember, the club is open to any Group C lovers ;) .
 
superfast
Layla's Keeper, thank you for that extensive report. Yeah, I know that they are directly related, but they definitely have their differences, too. Otherwise, Group C wouldn't exist. They would all have been GTP if the cars were exactly the same. I created this forum simply for people who wanted to talk about Group C. It's not technical, but just for fun :) . Nevertheless, thank you for the report and the great pics, too. Remember, the club is open to any Group C lovers ;) .
Click to expand...

Count me in. I was an SCCA Corner Worker (EU folks-that's what we call Marshalls over here) back then. Nothing like having them rush by you while you're standing only about ten feet away from the track. And the drivers were just amazing..I've never seen such concentration.
If you can find a copy, buy this book. It's expensive, but worth it.
http://www.bullpublishing.com/cgi-bin/web_store/web_store.cgi?page=21b.html&cart_id=1849074_664596
 
Vintageracer, you're in. Glad to have you in the group :) . SCCA racing definitely has its place in my daily life, too, so I'm with you on that one. ;)
 

Latest Posts

Back