Group B
[1] However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were believed to be caused by their outright speed, with lack of crowd control at events.
The last Group B cars were homologated in 1993, though the FIA made provisions for national championships and domestic racing until as late as 2011.
Furthermore, the low production requirement encouraged manufacturers to use competition-oriented space frames instead of the unibodies typically used in most series-production road cars.
[10] Group B followed Article 252 and 253, which covered such things as safety cages or parts defining a car, like windshields or side-view mirrors.
The first two paragraphs of 256 covered the definition of "(Sports) Grand Touring Cars" with a minimum of two seats, and their homologation requirements.
Some Group B manufacturers went further; Peugeot, for example, installed a Formula One-derived antilag system to their engine, although the technology was new and not very effective,[1] and Lancia twincharged their Delta S4.
Renault later increased the size of the engine somewhat for the Turbo Maxi to be able to fit larger tires (at the expense of higher weight).
At the wheel was 1981 driver's champion Ari Vatanen, with future Ferrari Formula One team manager and FIA President Jean Todt overseeing the operation.
Despite massive revisions to the Quattro, including a shorter wheelbase, Peugeot dominated the 1985 season, although not without mishap—Vatanen plunged off the road in Argentina and was seriously injured when his seat mounts broke in the ensuing crash.
Although the crash was a sign that Group B cars had already become dangerously quick (despite Vatanen himself having a consistent record of crashing out while leading), several new Group B cars debuted in 1985: For the 1986 season, defending champion Salonen drove the new Evolution 2 version of Peugeot's 205 T16 alongside ex-Toyota driver Juha Kankkunen.
Lancia's Delta S4 would be in the hands of Finnish prodigy Henri Toivonen and Markku Alén, and Ford readied its high-tech RS200 with Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel.
On the "Lagoa Azul" stage of the Rally de Portugal near Sintra, Portuguese driver Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators.
Seven kilometers into the 18th stage, Toivonen's S4 flew off the unguarded edge of a tightening left-hand bend and plunged down a steep wooded hillside.
The combination of a red-hot turbocharger, Kevlar bodywork, and leaking fuel ignited the car and set fire to the dry undergrowth.
[19][20][21] With no witnesses to the accident, it was impossible to determine what caused the crash other than that Toivonen had left the road at high speed.
While that fatality was largely blamed on the unforgiving Corsican scenery (and bad luck, as his co-driver, Maurizio Perissinot, was unharmed), Toivonen and Cresto's deaths, combined with the Portugal tragedy and televised accident of F1 driver Marc Surer in another RS200 which killed co-driver Michel Wyder, compelled the FIA to ban all Group B cars immediately for 1987.
[citation needed] Their case was strengthened at the next event, the RAC Rally, when the British scrutineers passed the Peugeots as legal in identical trim.
FISA annulled the result of the Sanremo Rally eleven days after the final round in the United States.
[3] Future FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was one privateer who contested rounds of the 1987 Middle East Rally Championship in an Audi Quattro A2 and Opel Manta 400.
[24][25] Porsche's 959 never entered a WRC event, though it did compete in the Middle East championship and won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1986.
Walter Röhrl's Quattro S1 won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1987 and set a new record at the time.
Audi used their Group B experience to develop a production based racing car for the Trans-Am and IMSA GTO series in 1988 and 1989 respectively.
By the time of its cancellation, at least four Group S prototypes had been built: the Lancia ECV, the Toyota MR2-based 222D, the Opel Kadett Rallye 4x4 (a.k.a.
Vauxhall Astra 4S) and the Lada Samara S-proto, and new cars were also planned by both Audi (the 002 Quattro) and Ford (a Group S modification of the RS200).
The 1983 season had the first significant entry list including Porsche 930, BMW M1 and Ferrari 308 GTB LM vehicles.
The Porsche 961 prototype, intended to be the basis for Group B homologation, won the GTX class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1986 but crashed and caught fire in 1987.
[26] The combination of a lightweight chassis, sophisticated aerodynamics, and massive amounts of horsepower resulted in the development of a class of cars whose performance has not yet been surpassed within their category, even three decades later.
[27] In reference to their dubious safety record, the class has also earned an unsavory nickname among some rally enthusiasts: "Killer B's".
This particular category features predominantly fictional rally cars based on newer models, such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and the Subaru WRX STI, although it does include the Pikes Peak version of the Audi Quattro.
