the grandest of grand tours: a history of the GT world championship: part of the motorsports-verse

grand touring motor racing

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while modern audiences may know GT racing thanks to the video game gran turismo, the sport of GT racing actually goes a long way back.

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the world sports car championship featured some of the greatest machinery driven by the greatest drivers of its era. legendary cars such as jaguar's E and D types, ferrari's 250 GTO and ford's GT40 roared all over world-famous tracks such as spa, sebring, the nurburgring and, of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

in the late 1960s, however, the FIA changed the regulations for the WSC, with the most visible and important of those changes being the introduction of two classes: prototypes and GT.

as the 70s arrived, the WSC established a championship for the GT Class in order to encourage manufacturers to compete. sensing a great business opportunity to sell their high performance road cars, many of the world's top manufacturers offered their latest sports cars for the various teams, with Porsches 911 eventually becoming the dominant car, winning almost every championship in the GT category in the 70s, with Lancia's stratos, BMW's and lamborghini's Countach being its only challengers.

however, costs were rising rapidly, and the FIA opted to completely change their specification for their groups in 1982.

the new groups would all be named after letters of the alphabet. touring cars were now named group A, while prototypes were now known as group C.

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and finally, GT Cars Were now known as Group B. while the tracks of the world would wait before the group B cars would race, the Rallies around the world witness a huge surge in popularity, with many of the top manufacturers filling the grids with roaring beasts that spit almost 500HP thanks to the loose regulations and the favorable homologation rules: only 200 examples sold allowed for any car wishing to enter!


sensing a lot of potential in the group B cars, the FIA has decided, during a meeting in winter 1982, to organise the first ever Gran turismo world championship, to be run in 1983 using group B regulations. during the official announcement, the FIA announced the provisionary schedule for the inaugural season, featuring standalone races as well as partnership with the WSC and IMSA:

PROVISIONARY SCHEDULE
24 hrs of Daytona
Sebring 12 Hrs
tecate Mexico 3hrs
Sao Paulo 6hrs
mille miglia di monza
trofeo dino ferrari at mugello
jerez
Watkins glen 6 hrs
nurburgring 24 hrs
24 heure du mans
spa 24 hrs
Silverstone 3 hrs
Fuji 1000km
suzuka 1000km
hockenheim
kyalami 3 hrs
7 heures de Paul ricard, france


the FIA also revealed a brand new logo for their new championship.

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OOC: so yeah, this has been a long dream of mine.

I always dreamed of a GT world championship. as a kid, I've always been fascinated with the game gran turismo, as it didn't feature purpose built race cars like formula 1 or CART, but real cars that you could see on the road! the idea of seeing which road car was the fastest prompted me to develop this concept, and I am ready to share it all with you!

also, feel free to give me tips and ideas on cars, races and regulations...yknow, everything!


up next is the car list for the 1983 season!

see ya at the track!
 
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In the early 80s the Jaguar XJS V12 was used in Group A touring car racing, and dominated, but I think with flared guards, wings, spoilers and freedom to build a powerful engine it could compete as a GT too.

Here is one in Australian late Group C trim in 1984;
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Compared to Group A trim which won Bathurst in 1985.

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In the early 80s the Jaguar XJS V12 was used in Group A touring car racing, and dominated, but I think with flared guards, wings, spoilers and freedom to build a powerful engine it could compete as a GT too.

Here is one in Australian late Group C trim in 1984;
84843__24162.1371885866.jpg
Goss-Tullius%2BJaguar%2BXJ-S_Snapseed.jpg
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Compared to Group A trim which won Bathurst in 1985.

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Nah.

One of these

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what's that? never seen it before

ah ok...doesn't look like it would do well, either...

anyways, which group B rally cars do you think would do well in road racing? I already know that the Audi Quattro would be good, since, IRL, they competed in IMSA and they were so good that IMSA banned them!

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however, would the likes of the ford RS200, renault 5 Turbo and Lancia delta be able to be competitive along with the lambos, ferraris and Porsche?
 
1983 schedule and car list
FIA ANNOUNCED FINAL SCHEDULE FOR INAUGURAL GT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

also announces participating manufacturers

By: sport auto

December 1982

as dawn approaches on the inaugural GT world championship season, the FIA, fresh off of ending its feud with the formula 1 constructors assosciation, announced the final schedule for the series first year of existence:

1. 24 hours of Daytona (In partnership with IMSA)
2. 12 hours of Sebring (in partnership with IMSA)
3. tecate Mexico 3 hours
4. Sao Paulo 6 hours.
5. mille miglia di monza (in partnership with group C championship)
6. trofeo dino ferrari at mugello
7. fuji 1000km
8. Silverstone trophy
9. 7 heure De Paul ricard
10. 24 heure du mans (in partnership with Group C championship)
11. Watkins glen 6 hrs (In partnership with IMSA)
12. nurburgring 24 hours
13. Molson GT Trophy, mont-tremblant (in partnership with IMSA)
14. 24 hours of spa
15. hockenheim
16. kyalami 3 hours
they also announced the list of participating manufacturers, all of which are delighted to showcase their latest high-performance vehicles on the world's top racing facilities:

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Ferrari BB LM

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Lamborghini countach

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Porsche 911

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Jaguar XJS V12

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lotus esprit

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BMW M1

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MAZDA RX-7 GTO

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TOYOTA CELICA GTO

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FORD MUSTANG GTO

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CHEVROLET CAMARO GTO

the teams competing in the inaugural GT world championship will have a variety of cars to choose from, each with its own strengths and weaknesses that they have to take in account during the varied length races.

many teams are already signing up for the championship, with some rumors even supposing that many of the manufacturers might enter with full works team as soon as the next season! they are obviously excited about the potential of group B racing, especially after its very ecstatic reception among rally fans. the FIA hopes that track racing fans response will be just as positive! we will keep an eye on this series in the coming year.


OOC: alright, what do you think of the schedule and the car list? did I miss any car or track that should be included in the near future? what's your takes on the cars shown? is there one that can be considered the favorite?

also, since I'm only familiar with modern day GT teams like WRT, AF Corse and Grasser racing, can you help me with finding teams from that time period?


UPDATED: fixed the car list. removed AUDI Quattro, replaced ferrari 308 with ferrari BB LM.​
 
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I don't know about the Audi Quattro, it's a sedan competing against proper sports cars. In order to make it competitive with Porsches and Ferraris it would have to be modified more, which introduces more than one class.
 
I don't know about the Audi Quattro, it's a sedan competing against proper sports cars. In order to make it competitive with Porsches and Ferraris it would have to be modified more, which introduces more than one class.

ah ok. I put I in there because it's one of the iconic group B cars, and the IRL audi quattro in the IMSA GTO was very good and beat the likes of ferrari, Mazda RX-7, camaro and Celicas quite handily...though, admittedly, it was in 1990, much later than our TL's starting point...

so which car do you suggest I use instead?

hey, come to think of it, how about, in the future, we invent a category for smaller cars like the quattros, deltas, RS200 and renault 5 turbo? maybe when the group B rally gets banned after 1986?
 
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Interesting concept. Check out the Australian GT Championship from that era, they were building some crazy machines.

As for entries, possibly Alfa Romeo, Lancia... Ferrari would more likely enter a BB LM based off the BB Boxer (unless V12 is too large capacity). Also, since it alt-history, you could make a Renault Alpine GT from that era - the body style would lend well to this series.
 
... also Bryan Thompson ran a Chevy V8 powered Mercedes 450SLC in the Australian GT Championship through the early - mid '80s. Something like that would probably violate FIA regulations, but if Mercedes had the motivation (& they would for a series with such exposure as the one you are proposing), they could easily engineer some Franken-sports racer to challenge GT.
https://www.speedcafe.com/2012/09/19/feature-mercedes-benz-in-australian-motorsport/

Mercedes had some interest in WRC during the later '70's & early '80s, building the "R105 500SL" to specifications, before pulling funding. This chassis was used for some GT events...
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2015/...rcedes-benz-500sl-to-appear-at-amelia-island/
 
1983 FIA GT season review Part 1: round 1-8


FIA GRAN TURISMO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

SEASON REVIEW

PART 1: FIRST HALF (round 1-8)
a new chapter in the history of motorsports has been written, the FIA's brand new GT world championship finished it's first ever season and, safe to say, it was a pretty good one! hordes of intrigued spectators came at the 16 tracks that composes the calendar, eager to see which of the 10 cars driven by the championship's 16 teams, was the fastest.

and if we had to judge by the fastest, then the Lamborghini countach, ferrari BB LM and ford mustang certainly delivered on that front! the two cars had the most HPs of the 10, and were even capable of reaching over 200 MPH at times, especially on the mulsanne straight at le mans!

however, if by the best, one meant the total package of speed, reliability and strategic prowess, then no question about it, the Porsche 911s of the martini team was the class of this inaugural field, as it would quickly show during the first round at the 24 Hours of Daytona, an event shared with the IMSA GTO and GTU championships. the martini team carried Porsche to a 1-2 victory in its class, taking advantage of both a miscue in the pits by the BMS scuderia italia team driving the leading ferrari BB LM and the lotus esprit of team lotus's Irish driver Derek Daly burning through too much rubber in the dying minutes of the race. despite that, Daly would bring home the lotus esprit on the podium in third, just in front of the remaining scuderia italia ferrari, the gulf team's Porsche, the two Ferraris of ecurie francorchamps, haas's Texaco chevy camaro and the two BMW M1s of the eurobrun team rounded up the points finishing places.

RPUND 1: 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA RESULTS

1. martini Porsche 911 #1 20 pts
2. martini Porsche 911 #2 16 pts
3. John player team lotus #1 14 pts
4. BMW scuderia italia Ferrari #3 12 pts
5. Gulf joest Porsche 911 #1 10 pts
6. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 6 pts
7. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #2 4 pts
8. Texaco havoline haas racing camaro #1 3 pts
9. eurobrun BMW M1 #1 2 pts
10. Eurobrun BMW M1 #2 1 pt


ROUND 2: 12 HOURS OF SEBRING
when the series moved next door to the sebring airport, however, the other teams showed that Porsche will have to work hard throughout the season if hey hope to win the inaugural championship, as clay regazzoni put the #1 Eurobrun BMW M1 on pole, narrowly keeping the two martini Porsches from locking up the front row of the grid. the two marlboro lambos qualified in 4th and 5th, and would immediately jump the martini porsches at the rolling start, giving a good fight to regazzoni and lammers's BMW in the early goings.

the experience advantage went to the ford mustangs, Chevy camaros and MAZDA RX-7s, however, as they are used to the grueling, demanding track that is sebring. it's no surprise, then, that they would find themselves up front at the 6 Hours Mark, with jean-pierre jabouille's marlboro lambo #1 and the John player special lotus esprit of podium finisher Derek daly all suffering mechanical failure, showcasing the unforgiving nature of the circuit on equipment.

as the night approached, the eurobrun BMW was hanging on against the martini porsche of Stefan bellof and the Lambo #2 driven by desire wilson. true to his reputation as a wild man behind the wheel, bellof would attempt daring manoeuvres against regazzoni's BMW, but the disabled veteran used his experience to close the door and hangs on for a hard-fought win! peterson became a very popular figure among fans as she scored a podium for marlboro lamborghini, with the haas Chevy camaro driven by Geoff brabham and pancho carter finishing in 4th to the joy of the American crowd. the two remaining zakspeed ford mustangs would finish 5th and 6th, while the racing beat camel Mazda RX-7 would finish in front of the second martini Porsche and the #2 Eurobrun BMW, while finally, the ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 would score the last point in yet another disappointing efforts for the ferraris.

ROUND 2: SEBRING RESULTS

1. eurobrun BMW #1 20 pts
2. martini Porsche #1 16 pts
3. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 14 pts
4. Texaco haas racing camaro #1 12 pts
5. zakspeed ford mustang #1 10 pts
6. zakspeed ford mustang #2 6 pts
7. Racing beat camel Mazda #1 4 pts
8. martini Porsche #2 3 pts
9. eurobrun BMW #2 2 pts
10. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #2 1 pt


ROUND 3: TECATE MEXICO 3 HOURS
...and, apparently, the ferrari teams got the memo, as they dominated the Mexico city race from start to finish, the scuderia italia ferrari fending off challenges from bellof and barth's martini Porsche and the Marlboro lambo of Wilson and Patrick depailler while the second scuderia italia ferrari and the two ecurie francorchamps ferraris took positions 4 to 6, edging out the eurobrun BMW of regazzoni and lammers and the two gulf porsches. the Toyota Celica GTO scored it's first ever point as its manoeuvrability around the hermanos Rodriguez circuit allowed the motul Celica to edge out the John player lotus esprit of Derek Daly and tiff needell for 10th place.

ROUND 3: MEXICO RESULTS

1. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 20 pts
2. Marlboro spice lamborghini #2 16 pts
3. martini porsche 14 pts
4. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #2 12 pts
5. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 10 pts
6. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #2 6 pts
7. eurobrun BMW #1 4 pts
8. Gulf joest Porsche #1 3 pts
9. Gulf joest Porsche #2 2 pts
10. motul Toyota celica #1 1 pt

ROUND 4: SAO PAULO 6 HOURS
a rain-soaked afternoon at the interlagos circuit saw some wild action all across the track, with many cars retiring from both mechanical issues and accidents cause by the rain-soaked track. the most notorious victims of said accidents were many favorites such as the #1 BMS scuderia italia ferrari, bellof and barth's martini Porsche and the eurobrun BMW #1. it would be another Porsche who would claim victory, though, as the #2 martini porsche driven by veteran Jacky ickx and Marc surer would deliver a last lap thriller, overtaking the leading Toyota Celica of team motul at the backstraight and leaving it in the dust to win it all!

the two John player lotus esprit would finish 3rd and 4th, the two Marlboro lambos 5th and 6th, the #1 ecurie francorchamps ferrari 7th, the smaller DHL Porsche team had it's #1 car finish 8th, the second BMW 9th and the first point for the Winfield tom walkinshaw racing Jaguar team!

ROUND 4: SAO PAULO RACE RESULT

1. martini porsche #2 20 pts
2. motul Celica #1 16 pts
3. John player lotus #1 14 pts
4. John player lotus #2 12 pts
5. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 10 pts
6. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 6 pts
7. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 4 pts
8. DHL richard lloyd porsche team #1 3 pts
9. eurobrun BMW #2 2 pts
10. Winfield TWR Jaguar #1 1 pt


ROUND 5: MILLE MIGLIA DI MONZA
the temple of speed is the site of the newly resurrected mythical thousand miles race, and the name of the game was, as its name implied, big, powerful, reliable engines...

...which meant that the V12 engines of the ferraris, lambos, mustangs, camaros and jaguars obliterated everyone in terms of raw pace, easily making the majority of the top 10 throughout the race. however, while they didn't match those cars pace, the porsches, lotus, Celicas and RX-7 quickly caught up with them using superior race strategy. the RX-7, in particular, got to showcase the power and reliability of the rotary engine, as the racing beat team climbed up the ranks as the many mustangs, lambos and porsches started retiring from engine failures.

in the end, it was an all Italian affair as the BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 of Emmanuelle pirro and Mario andretti and the Marlboro Lamborghini #1 of jean-pierre jabouille and jean-louis schlesser, ended up in a slipstream battle, which the lambo won in a very popular victory!

the Strategic efforts made by the racing beat RX-7 paid off big time as their two cars finished 3rd and 4th, with the second Marlboro lambo #2 of desire wilson and Patrick depailler finishing 5th, bellof and Barth of martini porsche salvaging some points by finishing 6th, the Zakspeed mustang #2 of Danny Sullivan and Manfred winckelhock finishing 7th, the john palyer lotus esprit of Derek Daly and tiff needell in 8th while the last martini Porsche and the ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 rounded up the top 10.

ROUND 5: MONZA RESULTS

1. Marlboro spice lamborghini #1 20 pts
2. BMS scuderia italia 16 pts
3. Racing beat RX-7 #1 14 pts
4. Racing beat RX-7 #2 12 pts
5. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 10 pts
6. martini Porsche #1 6 pts
7. Zakspeed ford mustang #2 4 pts
8. John player lotus esprit #1 3 pts
9. martini Porsche #2 2 pts
10. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 1 pt

ROUND 6: TROFEO DINO FERRARI AT MUGELLO
now on their home turf, the ferrari teams needed to up their game to stay in the manufacturer's title fight. using their superior knowledge of the track, the scuderia italia team dominated the race, taking the first 2 spots to the joy of the tifosi!

the gulf joest porsche #1 of jonatahn palmer, derek bell and special guest Henri toivonen finished 3rd, while the John player lotus of daly and needell beat both the martini Porsche of ickx and surer and the Zakspeed ford mustang #1 in a wild 3-way dance for 4th place. the two ecurie francorchamps ferraris finished 7th and 8th and, finally, the BMW of regazzoni and lammers and the Tom walkinshaw Jaguar #1 scored the last points available.

ROUND 6: MUGELLO RESULTS

1. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 20 pts
2. BMW Scuderia italia #2 16 pts
3. gulf joest Porsche #1 14 pts
4. John player lotus #1 12 pts
5. martini Porsche #2 10 pts
6. Zakspeed ford mustang #1 6 pts
7. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #2 4 pts
8. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 3 pts
9. Eurobrun BMW #1 2 PTS
10. TWR Jaguar #1 1 pt

ROUND 7: FUJI 1000KM
our next stop is at the land of the rising sun, where it was the Marlboro lamborghini#2 of depailler and Wilson who scored the pole in a tight qualifying battle between them, the Zakspeed mustang #1 driven by Klaus Ludwig and willy t. ribbs, the martini Porsche of bellof and barth and the racing beat Mazda RX-7 #1 of hoshino and jochen mass, who qualified in 2nd to the approval of the Japanese crowd.

as for the race, the name of the game, like at monza, was big, powerful, reliable engines, and the Marlboro lambo and racing beat RX-7 dueled all day long for the win, but, ultimately, fate threw them a curve ball as both cars retired from engine failures, the fuji speedway proving even more unforgiving on the teams's power plants.

taking advantage of this would be the martini Porsche of bellof and Barth, holding off a dazzling charge by the Zakspeed mustang of Ludwig and ribbs to take the win. in 3rd place, the motul Toyota Celica ends up on the podium, the Japanese crowd no doubt pleased at this developpement. the BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 ends up in 4th,with the second Celica in 5th, just in front of the Marlboro Lamborghini #1. the Tom walkinshaw Jaguar #1 finishes 7th, the Haas Chevy camaro 8th, and, finally, the gulf joest Porsche #1 and the second scuderia italia ferrari completes the top 10.

ROUND 7: FUJI RESULTS

1. martini Porsche #1 20 pts
2. Zakspeed ford mustang #1 16 pts
3. motul Toyota celica #1 14 pts
4. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 12 pts
5. motul Toyota celica #2 10 pts
6. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 6 pts
7. TWR Jaguar #1 4 pts
8. texaco haas racing camaro #1 3 pts
9. gulf joest Porsche #1 2 pts
10. BMS Scuderia italia ferrari #2 1 pt

ROUND 8: Silverstone trophy
the final race of the first half takes us to the British isles, where the legendary silverstone circuit hosted the group B monsters in front of a sell out crowd dying to see motorsport action, especially since formula 1 left for brands hatch not too long ago.

and to make the British fans even happier,it was the Tom walkinshaw Jaguar #1 and the John player lotus of daly and needell who locked up the front row. the race was a close affair between said British cars against the gulf joest Porsche of the all British team of Jonathan Palmer and Derek bell and the championship leading martini team of Stefan bellof and jurgen barth. it was not the only show on tarmac, as a rumble for the points paying position between the midfield teams kept the crowd busy.

in the end, despite an heroic effort to hold the fort, the TWR jaguar could only watch as the gulf joest Porsche passed it with 4 laps to go,never looking back as the joest team scored their first victory of the season, with the all-british lineup of Palmer and bell receiving a hero's welcome on the podium. the martini Porsche of bellof and Barth completed the podium, while the John player lotus would once again fizzle out late in the race, conceding 4th place to the Marlboro lambo #2. the marlboro lambo #1 would finish 6th, the eurobrun BMW of regazzoni and lammers in 7th, the second gulf joest Porsche finishes 8th in front of the BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 and, finally, racing beat Mazda scores the final point.

ROUND 8: SILVERSTONE RESULTS

1. gulf joest Porsche #1 20 pts
2. TWR jaguar #1 16 pts
3. martini Porsche #1 14 pts
4. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 12 pts
5. John player lotus #1 10 pts
6. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 6 pts
7. eurobrun BMW #1 4 pts
8. gulf joest Porsche #2 3 pts
9. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 2 PTS
10. Racing beat Mazda #1 1 pt

with the Porsches looking like the car to beat this year, will Lamborghini and ferrari join them in the manufacturer's title fight? will the mustangs and camaros resolve their reliability problems? will the john player lotus team finally deliver a good late-race strategy? and will the Japanese makers continue to impress and perhaps score a win?

all of this and more in the second half of the season review of the 1983 Gran turismo world championship!

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This is quite a lot of fun to follow, good stuff. All the old driver's names are properly fitting & bring back some great memories. I wasn't sure how the races would pan out, but the results are accurate, of course it's imagined, but that's how I would expect the cars to finish, unexpectedly.

Porsche, nimble, bullet-proof engineering, not always the quickest, but the old reliable workhorse, picking up any points on offer.

Ferrari, they always look fast standing still, fast on the straights, but only when they actually make it to the straights. Believe me, I'm a #1 Ferrari fan, but that's like an England fan during the World Cup, expect disappointment. Ferrari, give them an inch & they'll drop it somewhere, even to this day in F1. A few points & race wins when the factory lights a fire, but suffering from reliability & strategy problems.

Jaguar & Lotus, fast & powerful, British engineering, but they have British electrical as well, enough said.

Ford power. Nothing sophisticated, brute force & a strong chassis... love that "Willy T." is a driver, great choice.

Toyota, strong, solidly build, but never quite there, I mean, to win Le Mans, they had to out wait every other manufacturer didn't they?

Mazda, the plucky little car that could. If RX-7s were birds, they'd be a crow, quick, agile, always hanging around, picking up any scraps on offer. Fuji... darn, I had my fingers crossed for you guys, but rotary engines don't like heat or dust. Note to Mazda, upgrade those radiators.

As a general critique, there are a few places where closer editing is needed, "BMS Scuderia" is "BMW Scuderia" in some spots & at Monza "Mario Andretti" appears to be racing himself as a driver for both BMS Ferrari & Marlboro Lamborghini - all totally understandable transpositions, given the amount of race material you were producing. Really great effort, 10/10. The results are believable, especially in this era of motorsport. Technology was being pressed, but materials manufacturing hadn't quite caught up yet. 1980's F1 was the same, engine blow-ups, suspension failures, tires failing or going off so bad that even 3/4 lap lead was never safe distance for a win. Please keep on going, I'm a FIA GTWC fan.
 
This is quite a lot of fun to follow, good stuff. All the old driver's names are properly fitting & bring back some great memories. I wasn't sure how the races would pan out, but the results are accurate, of course it's imagined, but that's how I would expect the cars to finish, unexpectedly.

Porsche, nimble, bullet-proof engineering, not always the quickest, but the old reliable workhorse, picking up any points on offer.

Ferrari, they always look fast standing still, fast on the straights, but only when they actually make it to the straights. Believe me, I'm a #1 Ferrari fan, but that's like an England fan during the World Cup, expect disappointment. Ferrari, give them an inch & they'll drop it somewhere, even to this day in F1. A few points & race wins when the factory lights a fire, but suffering from reliability & strategy problems.

Jaguar & Lotus, fast & powerful, British engineering, but they have British electrical as well, enough said.

Ford power. Nothing sophisticated, brute force & a strong chassis... love that "Willy T." is a driver, great choice.

Toyota, strong, solidly build, but never quite there, I mean, to win Le Mans, they had to out wait every other manufacturer didn't they?

Mazda, the plucky little car that could. If RX-7s were birds, they'd be a crow, quick, agile, always hanging around, picking up any scraps on offer. Fuji... darn, I had my fingers crossed for you guys, but rotary engines don't like heat or dust. Note to Mazda, upgrade those radiators.

As a general critique, there are a few places where closer editing is needed, "BMS Scuderia" is "BMW Scuderia" in some spots & at Monza "Mario Andretti" appears to be racing himself as a driver for both BMS Ferrari & Marlboro Lamborghini - all totally understandable transpositions, given the amount of race material you were producing. Really great effort, 10/10. The results are believable, especially in this era of motorsport. Technology was being pressed, but materials manufacturing hadn't quite caught up yet. 1980's F1 was the same, engine blow-ups, suspension failures, tires failing or going off so bad that even 3/4 lap lead was never safe distance for a win. Please keep on going, I'm a FIA GTWC fan.

thank you very much! yeah, as you can see, I was born in 1995, so I'm not familiar at all with this era of motorsports, so a few slips and mistakes here and there is probably to be expected when you're trying so hard to be historically accurate! :winkytongue: doesnt help that i also write on my phone, and my autocorrector hates my guts lol

also, I checked out that chevy-powered Mercedes 450 SLC...my take on this is that, while group B's rule set is very loose, I think that the fact that it's a Chevy engine powering that Mercedes might be a breach of rules, since it's not a merc engine powering that car. expect the FIA and the silver arrows to engage conversation on that topic during mercedes's entry application for next year.

OTOH, I don't remember lotus building their own engines, either. they always used other companies engines...at least, in F1. was it the same with their road and sports cars?
 
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Yes, for sure a Chevy powered Mercedes would violate FIA regs, I only included it to show that a motorsport entry from them was possible. Mercedes being hesitant to reenter racing in a new series is totally plausible, it's taken them a few years to get on with Formula-e & they didn't actually came back to racing until 1987 following the Le Mans tragedy. The above post is them toying with a return via WRC (for real with the R105 500SL) & then the assets of that project were sold to a privateer who toyed with converting it for track racing.

Lotus F1 has always been a customer engine team, Coventry Climax, Ford, Renault. Their road cars engine origins are hard to track down in a quick search & I am no Lotus expert. It seems they did use their own designs until the company started to fall apart in the early '80s. To save the company, investment blocks were sold to Toyota & then it seems there was cross pollination of ideas & parts - Lotus using some Toyota drivetrain parts & Lotus helping with the design of the MR-2 & Celica for Toyota (or something like that, again, no expert). They were then bought out by GM & then a few private consortiums. Engine designs can have odd DNA, for example, McLaren 838T engines are truly McLaren, as they have tweeked (like Demon Tweeks) the design to such an extent it is theirs, but its origin was from a cancelled TWR Nissan project. It's possible Lotus was using a rebadged engine or something by contract.

Lotus "Cars" history towards the end of Colin Chapman's days are odd, involve bad economic times, probably some mismanagement & the fact that supercars were sexy, but totally impractical for that climate - rising fuel costs, inflation, high interest. Lotus "Racing" split from the car company at some point, if not officially, certainly in terms of day to day operations. Following Colin Chapman's death, the team was continued by his widow & saw some on & off success - of course there was the Ayrton Senna era & they were one of those teams that punched above it's weight ('80's we're talking, of course they had their dominant heyday in the '60s & '70's). Modern Lotus is almost as weird a story with their return to F1, two team Lotus (or Lotus's, or Lotus'), Team Caterham F1, Team Lotus-Renault, one invoking the spirit of 1960's glory in classic BRG & one in JPS black & gold, one from Malaysia & one with predominantly French backing - as a fan I was confused, amused & at times, thought it was a comedy mockumentary.
 
1983 FIA GT season review Part 2: ROUNDS 9-16
FIA GT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1983 SEASON REVIEW

SECOND HALF: ROUNDS 9-16
after a strong first half of the season, Porsche entered the second half as the leader of the inaugural manufacturers's championship.

MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

STANDINGS AFTER 8 ROUNDS

1. Porsche 208 pts
2. ferrari 150 pts
3. Lamborghini 100 pts
4. Lotus 65 pts
5. ford 42 pts
6. Toyota 41 pts
7. BMW 36 PTS
8. mazda 31 pts
9. Jaguar 21 pts
10. Chevrolet 18 pts

ROUND 9: 7 HEURES DE PAUL RICARD
heading into France in the penultimate round before le mans, ferrari and Lamborghini needed some good results in order to catch up with the Porsche teams. it started well enough, with ecurie francorchamps #1 and the Marlboro lambo #2 of Wilson and depailler locking up the front row, with the BMS scuderia italia cars starting in 3rd and 5th alongside the gulf joest Porsche #1 and the John player lotus #1 respectively.

however, in a surprising twist, the ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 spun at the start, prompting the John player lotus #1 to collide with it, creating a big one involving, most notably, the martini porsches, the #2 motul Toyota celica and the #1 Zakspeed ford mustang! subsequently, the race was red flagged for a while.

the second start went much better, the Marlboro Lamborghini taking advantage of the chaos in the previous start to pull away from the field. at around the 4 Hours Mark, however, a miscues in the pits forced the #2 Marlboro lambo to take a 10-second penalty for speeding through the pitlane, giving the lead to the Tom walkinshaw Jaguar #1!

the jaguar fought against the martini Porsche of bellof and barth and the John player lotus #2 of Raul boesel and Alan jones for the lead for the remainder of the race. however, bellof went too fast into a corner trying to overtake the jaguar driven by young Martin brundle and spun off into the barrier in a rare mistake by the martini Porsche team!

sensing victory approaching, brundle pressed on the accelerator and tried pulling away from Jones's lotus, who pitted for fresher hard compound tires a couple of minutes ago. this strategy would pay off, as brundle burned his rubber too quickly, conceding the won to Jones who calmly brings the John player lotus team it's first win in the championship, the tram finally delivering a race-winning strategy late in the race! on the podium, Jones made sure to congratulate brundle for his efforts, even telling him that he sees the young Brit going to F1 one day!

the Marlboro lambo #2 of Wilson and depailler managed to overcome their penalty-induced deficit to finish on the podium, with their teammates jabouille and schlesser finishing 4th in front of the racing beat RX-7 #1 of hoshino and jochen mass. the French crowd warmly welcomed the motul Celica #1 home in 6th place, while the three remaining Ferraris of BMS scuderia italia and ecurie francorchamps finished 7th, 8th and 9th, leaving the BMW M1 of regazzoni and lammers with the final point available...which meant that, for the first time this season, no Porsche has scored a single point!

ROUND 9: PAUL RICARDO RESULTS

1. John players lotus #2 20 pts
2. TWR Jaguar #1 16 pts
3. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 14 pts
4. Marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 12 pts
5. Racing beat Mazda #1 10 pts
6. team motul celica #1 6 pts
7. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 4 pts
8. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #2 3 pts
9. Ecurie francorchamps ferrari #2 2 pts
10. Eurobrun BMW #1 1pt

ROUND 10: 24 HOURS OF LE MANS
with that awful performance at Paul ricard in mind, many experts wondered if Porsche will recover for the 24 Hours of le mans. it didn't help matters when the marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 got the pole by almost 1 second over the martini Porsche of bellof and Barth, Patrick depailler delivering a blistering lap around the circuit De la sarthe, clocking over 200 MPH at the mulsanne straight!

the race proved to be a competitive affair in the GT class, as the lambos were being tailed all day long by the porsches, Ferraris and the Tom walkinshaw jaguars. after a couple of well-timed pitstops and some misfortune to some of the smaller Porsche and ferrari teams, the motul Celica, racing beat RX-7s, Zakspeed mustangs and Eurobrun BMWs caught up with the leaders, with the racing beat RX-7 #1 of Jochen mass, kazuyoshi hoshino and Hector rebaque even overtaking the BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 of emmanuele pirro, Mario and Michael andretti for 3rd place at the 14 hour Mark!


however, once again, as it has always been at le mans, survival and reliability is the name of the game, and the porsches were simply way more reliable than anybody else, taking advantage of long pitstops from the lambos, Ferraris and RX-7s to gain back the lead, the two martini Porsches up in front woth the gulf joest #1 of Palmer, bell and Henri toivonen in a distant third, battling with the eurobrun BMW of regazzoni, lammers and Roberto Moreno and the racing beat RX-7 #1 for the last spot on the podium.

finally, the two martini Porsche completed a stellar one-two finish, shutting up the naysayers for good, while a major upset happened, meanwhile, further back, as Jonathan Palmer overshooted and crashed at the end of the Dunlop curve, allowing the eurobrun BMW and racing beat RX-7 to fight alone for the podium. after a long a grueling battle at the mulsanne straight, Jochen mass finally passed clay regazzoni with 5 corners to go to claim a heroic third place finish! the Marlboro Lamborghini #2 of Wilson and depailler finished 5th, the BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 beat the second joest Porsche for 6th, the Zakspeed mustang of Ludwig, ribbs and Didier theys in 8th and, finally, the tom walkinshaw jaguar #1 and the motul celica #1 rounded up the top 10

24 HOURS OF LE MANS GT CLASS RESULTS

1. martini Porsche #1 20pts
2. martini Porsche #2 16 pts
3. racing beat camel Mazda #1 14 pts
4. eurobrun BMW #1 12 pts
5. marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 10 pts
6. BMS Scuderia italia ferrari 6 pts
7. gulf joest Porsche #2 4 pts
8. Zakspeed ford mustang #1 3 pts
9. TWR Jaguar #1 2 pts
10. motul Celica #1 1 pt

ROUND 11: WATKINS GLEN 6 HOURS
the post-le mans round takes place at the Watkins glen international track, where the GTWC once again shares the event woth the IMSA GTO and GTP series. Watkins glen is a track that favors nimble cars, and as such, it's no surprise that the likes of the porsches, Celicas, BMW M1s, jaguars, lotus esprit and RX-7s shared the first few rows with each other, the only exceptions being the Texaco haas racing camaro #1 of Geoff brabham and pancho carter starting in 8th alongside the Zakspeed mustang #2 of Danny Sullivan and Manfred winckelhock.

in the end, the BMW M1 of regazzoni and lammers won its second race of the season, beating the Tom walkinshaw Jaguar #1 and the John player lotus of Daly and needell. the Zakspeed ford mustang #2 finished 4th, the Marlboro lambo #1 5th, the motul celica #1 6th, the two martini Porsche 7th and 8th, the second Marlboro lambo in 9th and the joest Porsche of Palmer and bell scoring the last point, narrowly beating the Haas camaro of brabham and Carter.

ROUND 11: WATKINS GLEN RESULTS

1. Eurobrun BMW #1 20 pts
2. TWR Jaguar #1 16 pts
3. John player team lotus #1 14 pts
4. Zakspeed ford mustang #2 12 pts
5. marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 10 pts
6. motul Celica #1 6 pts
7. martini Porsche #2 4 pts
8. martini Porsche #1 3 pts
9. marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 2 pts
10. gulf joest Porsche #1 1 pt

ROUND 12: NURBURGRING 24 HOURS
deep in the heart of Germany lies the infamous nurburgring, the site of the third 24 hours race of the season. the porsches and BMWs have even more pressure to succeed in their own backyard,Porsche even more, as Lamborghini stepped up as their closest challenger for the manufacturer's title.

and unfortunately for Porsche, despite the best efforts of the martini and joest team, it is the Italian outfit that conquered the ring, as Desiree Wilson made history as the first woman to win the event, bringing her team of Patrick depailler and pierre dieudonné home in first place, their teammates in the lambo #2 sadly unable to hold off Stefan bellof, who takes second after an Herculean effort, the nurburgring's new track record holder looking extremely exhausted from going all out at so many corners. the BMS scuderia italia #1 finished 4th in front of the TWR Jaguar #1 and Eurobrun BMW #1, while the martini Porsche unfortunately retired from electrical issues. the smaller teams got a chance to shine, as ecurie francorchamps ferrari, Richard Lloyd Porsche and haas camaro all scored points.

ROUND 12: NURBURGRING RESULTS

1. marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 20 pts
2. martini Porsche #1 16 pts
3. marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 14 pts
4. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 12 pts
5. TWR Jaguar #1 #1 10 pts
6. Eurobrun BMW #1 6 pts
7. racing beat RX-7 #1 4 pts
8. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 3 pts
9. Texaco haas racing camaro #1 2 pts
10. DHL Richard Lloyd porsche 1 pt

ROUND 13: MOLSON GT TROPHY AT MONT-TREMBLANT

an all-italian domination by marlboro Lamborghini and BMS scuderia italia occurred at the Quebec-based mont-tremblant track as the fierce rivals tried to outsmart each other, taking the first 4 spots with ease. Zakspeed ford mustang #2 finished 5th, the ecurie francorchamps ferrari in 6th, the racing beat RX-7 in 7th, the John player lotus esprit #1 in 8th, the martini Porsche #2 in 9th and, finally, the Zakspeed mustang #1 took the last point available.

ROUND 13: MONT-TREMBLANT RESULTS

1. marlboro spice Lamborghini #1 20 pts
2. BMS scuderia italia ferrari #1 16 pts
3. BMS Scuderia italia ferrari #2 14 pts
4. marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 12 pts
5. Zakspeed ford mustang #2 10 pts
6. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #1 6 pts
7. racing beat RX-7 #1 4 pts
8. John player team lotus #1 3 pts
9. martini Porsche #1 2 PTS
10. Zakspeed mustang #1 1 pt

ROUND 14: 24 HOURS OF SPA.
at the newly-renovated spa francorchamps track, Porsche is leading the manufacturer's title race by 61 points over Lamborghini and 65 pts over ferrari. all they needed was to have three cars finish on the podium and they will clinch the title.

and you can always count on them to clinch clich a title, as the martini Porsches and the joest Porsche #1 swept the podium, taking advantage of retirements from Ferrari teams and the leading Marlboro lambo #2 with trademark German efficiency, proving once again that, in endurance racing, reliability and strategy is all that matters. Stefan bellof was particularly praised for his balls-out approach to racing and being essentially the spark plug of the Porsche teams. that, combined with the veteran presence and leadership of Jacky ickx allowed their teammates and crewmen to always keep their heads up high when things went awry. bellof would later announce that he would leave the championship to drive for Tyrell in formula 1, at the same time that Porsche announced works deals with Tyrell and mclaren.

ROUND 14: 24 HOURS OF SPA RESULTS

1. martini Porsche #2 20 pts
2. martini Porsche #1 16 pts
3. gulf joest Porsche #1 14 pts
4. John player team lotus #1 12 pts
5. racing beat RX-7 #1 10 pts
6. Marlboro spice lamborghini #1 6 pts
7. Eurobrun BMW #1 4 pts
8. Eurobrun BMW #2 3 pts
9. ecurie francorchamps ferrari #2 2 pts
10. motul Celica #1 1 pt

1983 GRAN TURISMO WORLD CHAMPIONS:

porsche-logo.jpg

CONGRATULATIONS!!

ROUND 15: HOCKENHEIM
with the championship essentially wrapped up, the rest of the teams now raced for pride...and none is more prideful than the Americans, and they took hockenheim by storm, keeping pace with the Ferraris, lambos and jags before eventually rounding up the podium behind eventual winners BMS scuderia italia #1.

ROUND 15: HOCKENHEIM RESULTS

1. BMS scuderia italia 20 pts
2. Zakspeed ford mustang #1 16 pts
3. haas racing camaro #1 14 pts
4. Zakspeed ford #2 12 pts
5. TWR Jaguar #1 10 pts
6. TWR Jaguar #2 6 pts
7. marlboro Lamborghini #2 4 pts
8. Eurobrun BMW #1 3 pts
9. Eurobrun BMW #2 2 pts
10 Martini Porsche #1 1 pt

ROUND 16: KYALAMI 3 HOURS
The final round happened at the kyalami circuit in South Africa, an event which, unfortunately, was shrouded in controversy, as many of the big teams in the championship refused to take the trip there in protest against the apartheid. the only big teams that showed up were the porsches, lambos, BMWs and Tom walkinshaw Jaguar, with lots of privateers filling up the rest of the grid. as expected, the big teams largely dominated, with the martini Porsche sending one last hurrah to Stefan bellof by having the German score his final win in GT racing before going to F1.

shortly after the race was over, the FIA announced that, due to the political tensions in South africa, it is highly unlikely that they will host an FIA-sanctioned event there in the future...

ROUND 16: KYALAMI RESULTS

1. martini Porsche #1 20 pts
2. TWR Jaguar #1 16 pts
3. marlboro spice Lamborghini #2 14 pts
4. Martini Porsche #2 12 pts
5. Eurobrun BMW #1 10 pts
6. Marlboro Lamborghini #1 6 pts
7. gulf joest Porsche #1 4 pts
8. gulf joest Porsche #2 3 pts
9. TWR Jaguar #2 2 pts
10. Eurobrun BMW #2 1 pt

the aformetioned teams and, by extension, the FIA was criticised by many for participating in an event held in a racist regime like that of South Africa, even when the FIA announced the cancellation of any future events in that country.


on a more positive note, it appears that companies like rally stalwarts Lancia, renault and alfa Romeo have shown interest in entering the GT world championship next year, with renault possibly developing a GT version of their alpine model in order to compete in the series in the near future.

not only that, but none other than Mercedes-Benz has also shown interest! it would be seen as a huge move by the silver arrows, who have been teasing a return to motorsports for the first time since the 1955 le mans disaster with a stillborn entry into the WRC this year. the FIA, however, is reportedly not keen on Mercedes insisting on using their chevy-powered V8 450SLC as used in the Australian GT championship. we fully expect the two parties to reach some sort of compromise.

in other news, ferrari has announced that, due to their good inaugural campaign, they will allow the BMS scuderia italia team to use works versions of their brand new 288 GTO coming out next year, with the BB LM also allowed to be used by privateers. the prancing horse have announced that pre-sale numbers have far exceeded the 200 examples as needed for the homologation rules in order to compete, so the 288 GTO can be used next season.

288GTO5_6d8fa937-9a9b-4061-a3d5-8c983f5de8f3_grande.jpg

the brand new ferrari 288 GTO.


despite the late season controversy in South Africa, the first season of the FIA GT world championship was a resounding success, with crowd coming like flies, sports car sales rising to record numbers and more and more manufacturers and sponsors showing more and more interest, it looks like the series is gonna be here to stay for a long, long time! long live next season! until then, see ya next year for another season of gran turismo racing!

1983 FIA GT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL STANDINGS

1. Porsche 365 pts
2. lamborghini 244 pts
3. Ferrari 238 pts
4. lotus 114 pts
5. Jaguar 99 pts
6. BMW 97 pts
6. ford 97 pts
8. mazda 73 pts
9. Toyota 55 pts
10. chevrolet 34 pts

see ya next season!

gt-7-feature-768x432.jpg


OOC: so the first season is now done! feel free to give your feedback and opinion on this season!​
 
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1984 season preview
1984 FIA GRAN TURISMO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

SEASON PREVIEW

the inaugural FIA gran turismo world championship, disputed under Group B rules, was a success on all fronts, even despite the controversy surrounding the final round, at kyalami, South Africa. the ten manufacturers that made up the initial field all scored points, with the Porsche, Lamborghini and ferrari teams looking like the strongest.

and judging by the winter testing, it appears to be the case, once again. of note is the improvements made by scuderia italia, who are now running works versions of Ferrari's brand new 288 GTO. not only does it look good, but it's also pretty fast, clocking a top speed of 210 MPH at the fiorano test track's straight and, according to ferrari staff, scoring a lap time that matches that of the porsches and lambos! not only that, but maranello did extensive reliability work and testing on the 288's V8 Twin turbo engine, so we are expecting the ferrari teams to be able to last a lot longer than they did last year, a fatal flaw which cost them a chance at the manufacturer's title.

speaking of the manufacturer's title, the reigning champions Porsche aren't content on just sitting on their laurels, as they immediately went back to work once winter came. the Stuttgart factory built a much-needed update to the decade-old 911 called the Carrera.


while on the outside, it looks like any other 911, the Carrera's equipment is totally revamped, with the engine said to not only be more powerful than the previous one, but also even more reliable, along with a sturdier chassis. with the work done in the winter, it highly likely that Porsche retains the manufacturer's title this year.

but the biggest news of them all is the addition of a new manufacturer in the championship, and it's none other than mercedes-benz! finally returning to top-level motorsports for the first time since the 1955 le mans disaster, the silver arrows saw their application demand in jeopardy when the FIA refused to let them use the Chevy V8-powered 450 SLC to compete, as it would be a breach of FIA rules. after much discussing, Mercedes agreed to build their own V8 turbocharged engine to power their cars, with Swiss team sauber motorsport being chosen as the leader of the silver arrows renaissance.


also of note is chevrolet introducing its brand new version of the corvette, the C4, which will be used by works team haas racing following the disappointing season with the camaro, though a few privateers, mostly for the US and canada races, will still use the camaro.

and finally, Lancia has announced that they will let privateers use a race-ready version of their Monte Carlo car, updated to fit group B regulations, at select races. this is meant as a testing ground to see if they want to compete full-time in the GT world championship for 1985.


1984 GRAN TURISMO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

MANUFACTURERS

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Ferrari 288 GTO

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Ferrari BB LM


782a5e7f22dda631ae6a3be0bcf880e5--superbad-vintage-racing.jpg

lamborghini countach


Porsche-911-Carrera-RSR-Turbo-2.1.jpg

Porsche 911 Carrera


1977-Jaguar-XJS-V12-twin-turbo-1-630x472.jpg

Jaguar XJS V12

4603954768.jpg

lotus esprit

f36f8cb434bb72bf0b754e52083e71d0.png

Toyota Celica GTO

85-mazda-rx-7-imsa-gtu-dv-17-mh_01-800.jpg

MAZDA RX-7 GTO


1984_chevrolet_corvette_156564572395d565ef66e7dHSR_Corvette_69_DSF2372-940x627.jpg

CHEVROLET corvette C4 GTO

1982+Chevrolet+Camaro+IMSA+GTO+6ème+au+général+aux+500+kilomètres+de+Charlotte+1982....jpg

CHEVROLET CAMARO GTO

bmw-m1-procar-social-image.jpg

BMW M1


images

ford mustang GTO

56ddacaef32cdc09604348efd991b690.jpg

Mercedes 450 SLC GT

Lancia-Beta-Montecarlo-Turbo_2.jpg

Lancia Monte Carlo GTB edition (at select races only)
and finally, the FIA announced the schedule for the 1984 season. it is almost the same as season 1, with the notable difference being the kyalami 3 hours being replaced by a race of the same length at the circuito De jerez in Spain that will be officially called "Tropheo del Rey Michelin". this is no doubt a move made in response to the controversy involving the race in South Africa.

1984 SCHEDULE

1. 24 hours of Daytona (In partnership with IMSA)
2. 12 hours of Sebring (in partnership with IMSA)
3. tecate Mexico 3 hours
4. Sao Paulo 6 hours.
5. mille miglia di monza (in partnership with group C championship)
6. trofeo dino ferrari at mugello
7. fuji 1000km
8. Silverstone trophy
9. 7 heure De Paul ricard
10. 24 heure du mans (in partnership with Group C championship)
11. Watkins glen 6 hrs (In partnership with IMSA)
12. nurburgring 24 hours
13. Molson GT Trophy, mont-tremblant (in partnership with IMSA)
14. 24 hours of spa
15. hockenheim
16. tropheo Del Rey michelin at jerez

with new cars and manufacturers incoming and 24 teams now taking part, the second season of the FIA GT world championship promises to be even better than the first one! until then, we'll see you at Daytona for the opening round!

so long, race fans!

gt-7-feature-768x432.jpg
 
Nice work there! It's been a while since someone has come up with something like this, and by the looks of things this is stirring to be a tasty one too! Looking forward to see how this turns out!

Anyway, what are the driver lineups for the forthcoming season?
 
That was quite a bit of fun, realistic with significant historical notes added... "I,I,I, ain't gonna play Sun City" (actually released 1985). Also, great to see Desire Wilson taking a win. It reads like a volume of the "Autocourse" annual review, of which I have several.

s-l1600.jpg

I'm looking forward to the following season, bigger names & broader competition - do I see AMG starting to get involved / partnering up with engine development, Sauber is the smart choice to field a team. I haven't reviewed the 1984 season preview in detail yet, my original timeline responsibilities are slowing me down, but skimming the list of entries makes me wish I had a time machine to go back for real - that Lancia looks like it eats kittens for breakfast.

There's an interesting looking board game that, with some modification because it's formulated for F1 cars, could serve as a platform to actually play the races for real. From reviews I have read, it works well played solo & the rules are easy to understand, yet complex enough to play realistically. Probably worth a look for anyone with a racing passion - it appears to be an upgraded version of the '50's - '60's board game "Grand Prix". There is also an expansion set that has more tracks, though one could also design their own tracks with only minimal artistic skills.

https://www.gmtgames.com/p-504-grand-prix.aspx

Thanks for bringing back some great memories, looking forward to the next season(s).
 
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