What was the greatest era of sportscar racing? Was it the Ford v Ferrari battles of the 1960s? Or do the mad Group 5 monsters of the '70s or the rule-twisting GT1 beauties of the 1990s catch your eye? Well, for many, the glory years of fender-shot racing can be found in the 1980s, the days of a fuel-formula given the name Group C.
Gallery: Legends of Group C battle at the 2019 Spa Classic
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Group C dominated the '80s, drawing manufacturer involvement that would make even Formula E drool today. These turbocharged monsters had around 1,000hp, looked the absolute business and sounded like the world was caving in. They were the cars that made spectators wonder whether they would bother watching F1 again.
But then Bernie got involved, the FIA tried to save costs and pull more manufacturers into F1 and pretty quickly Group C crashed and fell from existence. Fortunately there are a few who believe these legends should be kept alive, and the Group C racing community has steadily grown over the last decade or so.
This weekend's nostalgia-fest at the Spa Classic allows us to once more see Porsche 962s, Nissan R90CKs, Saubers, Spices, Lolas and the rest do battle in the Ardennes. Watching these brutes battle Pouhon, Blanchimon and co. is a real privilege, and not one anyone should give up lightly.
So here's a quick thank you to the people who keep these wonderful machines going, and a small vision of just want this festival of '80s glory is like.
Photography by Pete Summers.
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