Group B - Disposition

Disposition

Although 1987 saw the end of the Group B cars on the world stage they did not disappear from motor sport. Peugeot adapted their T16 to run in the Dakar Rally. Ari Vatanen won the event in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Improved Peugeot and Audi cars also competed in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. Walter Röhrl's S1 Rally car-won 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. Ford sold off their RS200s to private buyers, with many being used in European Rallycross events from the beginning of 1987 till the end of 1992. The Metro 6R4 also became a frequent sight in Rallycross and the car was also entered in British and Irish national championship events. Porsche's 959 never entered a World Rally event, although it did compete in the Middle East championship and swept the Dakar.

The category as a circuit never in fact took off as the cars were proved to be too expensive for privateer teams which they were intended for. At US$325,000 for 959's sister car, the 961, many privateers would rather opt for a clone 962 or for less a Spice and were never expected to win in the face of the factory teams. The 961's career was proved to be short as Porsche built a single prototype car which burnt out in the 1987 Le Mans race. The Ferrari GTO Evoluzione, although meant to be used for Group B circuit, never saw action in its category. The WSPC grids it was intended for was filled up by a batch of Group C cars, but it saw limited use in a IMSA GTO race in 1989. The F40, a road car built to celebrate Ferrari's 40 th anniversary, appeared in various GT races for a few seasons after the demise of the Gr. C category, but was to be made obsolete by the new generation GT1 cars such as the McLaren F1.