The GT event, first run in 1991 and revived in 2007 as a replacement for the short-lived Bathurst 24 Hours, has never featuredGroup C sports cars as part of its event line-up. This year though, a selection of as-of-yet unconfirmed “classic Croup C Machinery” will take part in three demonstration runs during the 31 January – 2 February weekend.
The first demo takes place on Friday 31st shortly after the third Free Practice session for the Bathurst 12 Hour, while the remaining two will occur on Saturday 1st , one after morning practice, the second after the fourth Aussie Racing Cars support race.
First introduced in 1982, and sparking a global resurgence for sports car racing, ‘Group C’ replaced the out-going (and outdated) Group 5 ‘Special Production Cars’ by minimizing weight (800kg) and capping fuel capacity, effectively bringing naturally-aspirated V12 Jaguars back onto the playing field with the all-conquering turbocharged Porsches. Suddenly a new arms race between the likes ofPorsche ,Jaguar ,Mercedes ,Nissan andLancia , among others, had begun.
If that’s got you in the mood for some Group C batsh*ttery, you’ll definitely want to check outWill Broadhead's shots from the Spa Classic . And yes, well spotted, the images in this article were captured byArmando Musotto at the recent Monza Historic .
