Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles were limited in terms of power, weight, allowed technology and overall cost. Group A was aimed at ensuring numerous entries in races of privately owned vehicles.
Group A was introduced by the FIA in 1982 to replace the outgoing Group 2 as "modified touring cars", while Group N would replace Group 1 as "standard touring cars". During the early years there were no further formula for production based race cars. Cars from multiple Groups could contest the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers for example until 1997 when the specific World Rally Car formula was introduced as the only option. In recent years Groups A and N have begun to be phased out in eligibility in championships though they continue to form the homologation basis for most production based race car formulae including the Groups Rally which must first be homologated in Group A. Both Groups N and A, and the details of their differences are described in the FIAs International Sporting Code and several of its Appendices J articles.[1][2][3][4][5]
To qualify for FIA approval, a minimum of 2500 identical models have to be built in 12 consecutive months.[5] The homologation period last for every subsequent year of production and 7 years after the year that less than 10% (250) are produced in one year and the model is considered out of production by the FIA.[2] Evolutions of the series production model homologated are permitted with a ET (Evolution of the type) extension applied.[2] Before 1993 the initial production requirement was 5000.[6]
However, not all manufacturers who built such models sold them all, some stripped the majority of them to rebuild them as stock models or used them to allow teams to use modified parts. One such example of this was Volvo with the 240 Turbo in 1985, an evolution of a model first homologated in 1982. After they had produced 500 such models, Volvo stripped 477 cars of their competition equipment and sold them as standard 240 turbo roadcars. As a result, after FISA's failed attempt at finding an "Evolution" car in any European countries, Volvo were forced to reveal the names of all 500 "evo" owners to be permitted to compete.[7]
The FIA continued to promulgate regulations for Group A touring cars until at least 1993,[8] however Group A survived in touring car racing in domestic championships until 1993. The German Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) switched to a 2.5L Class 1 formula in 1993, while in Japan in 1994 the Japanese Touring Car Championship organisers followed suit and switched classes like most other countries who had adopted the British Touring Car Championship-derived Supertouring regulations. Many of the redundant Skylines found a new home in the form of the JGTC (Japanese GT Championship) with modified aerodynamic devices, showing its competitiveness whilst being up against Group C, former race modified roadcars and specially developed racers, like the Toyota Supras during the earlier years.
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport had originally announced in mid-1983 that Australia would adopt Group A from 1 January 1985 to replace the locally developed Group C (not to be confused with FIA Group C racing cars) rules that had been in place since 1973. A class for the new Group A cars was included in selected Australian Touring Car endurance races in late 1984, prior to the replacement of Group C for 1985. The category would be officially termed Group 3A Touring Cars from 1988.[9] From 1993, CAMS replaced the existing Group A-based category with a new formula which would also be designated Group 3A Touring Cars.[10] This was initially open to five litre V8 powered cars and two litre cars (later to become known as V8 Supercars and Super Touring Cars respectively).
Hillclimb competitions still use Group A as a touring car class across Europe, while in Australia Group A is now a historic class, though only actual cars raced from 1985 to 1992 (complete with log books) are allowed to compete.
The cars are modified for greater power and torque, and fitted with suspension and tyres specifically suited to the conditions of the specific rally, which may take place entirely on asphalt roads, different consistencies of gravel and dirt roads and even snow/ice-covered roads on some rallies held in northern Europe.
By 1990, Group A cars exceeded the performance of the defunct Group B cars on many events, because although they had far less power they had better handling and traction. They were also much safer.
The last car to use the old Group A homologation requirement in the WRC Manufacturers' championship was the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI. Group A cars could continue to enter WRC rallies until 2018 and can still enter the FIA's regional rally championships today.
group, this, article, about, motor, racing, regulations, other, uses, disambiguation, motorsport, regulations, administered, covering, production, derived, vehicles, intended, competition, usually, touring, racing, rallying, contrast, short, lived, group, grou. This article is about motor racing regulations For other uses see Group A disambiguation Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition usually in touring car racing and rallying In contrast to the short lived Group B and Group C Group A vehicles were limited in terms of power weight allowed technology and overall cost Group A was aimed at ensuring numerous entries in races of privately owned vehicles Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen edition a Group A rally car Group A was introduced by the FIA in 1982 to replace the outgoing Group 2 as modified touring cars while Group N would replace Group 1 as standard touring cars During the early years there were no further formula for production based race cars Cars from multiple Groups could contest the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers for example until 1997 when the specific World Rally Car formula was introduced as the only option In recent years Groups A and N have begun to be phased out in eligibility in championships though they continue to form the homologation basis for most production based race car formulae including the Groups Rally which must first be homologated in Group A Both Groups N and A and the details of their differences are described in the FIAs International Sporting Code and several of its Appendices J articles 1 2 3 4 5 Contents 1 Homologation 2 Touring cars 3 Rallying 4 Series that used the Group A formula 5 Cars 5 1 Touring Cars 5 2 Rally Cars 6 References 7 External linksHomologation EditTo qualify for FIA approval a minimum of 2500 identical models have to be built in 12 consecutive months 5 The homologation period last for every subsequent year of production and 7 years after the year that less than 10 250 are produced in one year and the model is considered out of production by the FIA 2 Evolutions of the series production model homologated are permitted with a ET Evolution of the type extension applied 2 Before 1993 the initial production requirement was 5000 6 However not all manufacturers who built such models sold them all some stripped the majority of them to rebuild them as stock models or used them to allow teams to use modified parts One such example of this was Volvo with the 240 Turbo in 1985 an evolution of a model first homologated in 1982 After they had produced 500 such models Volvo stripped 477 cars of their competition equipment and sold them as standard 240 turbo roadcars As a result after FISA s failed attempt at finding an Evolution car in any European countries Volvo were forced to reveal the names of all 500 evo owners to be permitted to compete 7 Touring cars Edit needs update Ford Sierra RS500 Group A touring car A BMW M3 E30 Group A DTM touring car For touring car competition vehicles such as the BMW 635 CSi and M3 Jaguar XJS various turbo Ford Sierras the V8 Ford Mustang the turbo Volvo 240T Rover Vitesse various V8 Holden Commodores various turbo Nissan Skylines including the 4WD twin turbo GT R Mitsubishi Starion Turbo Alfa Romeo 75 turbo and GTV6 various Toyota Corollas and the Toyota Supra Turbo A were homologated In the European Touring Car Championship Group A consisted of three divisions Division 3 for cars over 2500cc Division 2 for car engine sizes of 1600 2500cc Division 1 for cars that are less than 1600cc These cars competed in standard bodykits with the production derived nature required manufactures to release faster vehicles for the roads in order to be competitive on the track Tyre width was dependent on the car s engine size The FIA continued to promulgate regulations for Group A touring cars until at least 1993 8 however Group A survived in touring car racing in domestic championships until 1993 The German Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft DTM switched to a 2 5L Class 1 formula in 1993 while in Japan in 1994 the Japanese Touring Car Championship organisers followed suit and switched classes like most other countries who had adopted the British Touring Car Championship derived Supertouring regulations Many of the redundant Skylines found a new home in the form of the JGTC Japanese GT Championship with modified aerodynamic devices showing its competitiveness whilst being up against Group C former race modified roadcars and specially developed racers like the Toyota Supras during the earlier years The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport had originally announced in mid 1983 that Australia would adopt Group A from 1 January 1985 to replace the locally developed Group C not to be confused with FIA Group C racing cars rules that had been in place since 1973 A class for the new Group A cars was included in selected Australian Touring Car endurance races in late 1984 prior to the replacement of Group C for 1985 The category would be officially termed Group 3A Touring Cars from 1988 9 From 1993 CAMS replaced the existing Group A based category with a new formula which would also be designated Group 3A Touring Cars 10 This was initially open to five litre V8 powered cars and two litre cars later to become known as V8 Supercars and Super Touring Cars respectively Hillclimb competitions still use Group A as a touring car class across Europe while in Australia Group A is now a historic class though only actual cars raced from 1985 to 1992 complete with log books are allowed to compete Rallying Edit Peugeot 306 Maxi Colin McRae s 1995 WRC winning Subaru Impreza Group A rally car Under Group A in the World Rally Championship the cars used were modified road cars often based on turbocharged four wheel drive versions of small cars such as the Lancia Delta Integrale Ford Escort RS Cosworth Toyota Celica GT Four Nissan Pulsar GTI R Subaru Impreza WRX and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution The cars are modified for greater power and torque and fitted with suspension and tyres specifically suited to the conditions of the specific rally which may take place entirely on asphalt roads different consistencies of gravel and dirt roads and even snow ice covered roads on some rallies held in northern Europe By 1990 Group A cars exceeded the performance of the defunct Group B cars on many events because although they had far less power they had better handling and traction They were also much safer Group A is still used as the basis for most rally competitions around the world but the most competitive cars are limited production prototypes known as kit cars which competed in the FIA 2 Litre World Rally Cup World Rally Cars Super 1600 and Super 2000 The last car to use the old Group A homologation requirement in the WRC Manufacturers championship was the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Group A cars could continue to enter WRC rallies until 2018 and can still enter the FIA s regional rally championships today Series that used the Group A formula EditEuropean Touring Car Championship 1982 1988 British Touring Car Championship 1983 1990 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1984 1992 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 1984 1992 Nissan Mobil 500 Series 1985 1993 AMSCAR Series 1985 1992 Australian Manufacturers Championship 1985 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship 1985 1992 All Japan Touring Car Championship 1985 1993 Australian Endurance Championship 1985 1986 1990 1991 Australian 2 0 Litre Touring Car Championship 1986 1987 South Pacific Touring Car Championship 1986 World Rally Championship 1987 2018 World Touring Car Championship 1987 Asia Pacific Touring Car Championship 1988 Campeonato de Espana de Turismos 1991 1993Cars EditIt has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled List of Group A cars Discuss May 2022 This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items November 2021 11 Nissan Pulsar EN13 Touring Cars Edit Manufacturer Model Image Alfa Romeo 3375AlfasudAlfetta GTV and GTV 6 AMC AMC Spirit Audi 80Audi V8 Austin Metro BMW 323i 325i E30 318i 320i 325i E36 528i E28 635 CSiM3 Evolution E30 M3 E36 Chevrolet Camaro IROC Z Z28 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z Ford CapriFalcon XEFord Escort RS 1600iFord Escort RS TurboFord Mustang GTFord Sierra RS RS500 CosworthFord Sierra XR4TiFord Sierra XR4i FSO Polonez 1 5C Turbo Iron Rain Polonez 1 6C Gravel Champion Holden VK Commodore SS Group A VL Commodore SS Group A SV VN Commodore SS Group A SV Gemini Honda Civic Si AU Civic SiR EF9 Civic SiR and SiR II EG6 Jaguar XJS Maserati Biturbo Mazda 929RX 7 FB Mercedes Benz 190E 2 3 16 Evolution Evolution II MG MG Maestro 1600MG Maestro 2 0 EFi Mitsubishi Starion Nissan Nissan GazelleNissan Skyline DR30 RS Nissan Skyline RS XSkyline HR31 GTS R Skyline GT R R32 Skyline GT R NISMO R32 Opel Opel CalibraOpel Monza 3 0EOpel Omega Rover Rover SD1 3500 Vitesse Toyota Toyota Celica SupraToyota Corolla FX AE82Toyota Corolla AE86Toyota Corolla AE92Toyota Corolla AE101Toyota Celica ST162SupraSupra Turbo A Vauxhall Astra GTE Volvo 240T360 Volkswagen SciroccoRally Cars Edit Manufacturer Model Image Abarth Grande Punto S2000 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV and GTV 6 Audi Audi S2 quattroAudi Coupe GT5E Fiat UnoPunto S1600 Ford Ford Sierra RS RS500 Cosworth Ford Sierra XR4iEscort RS Cosworth Lada 2107 Lancia Delta Integrale Mazda 323 GTX GT R Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evolution IV VI Galant VR 4Lancer Evolution I X Starion Nissan Pulsar GTI R Opel Opel AsconaKadett GSi Peugeot 206 GTi RC GTI 180 306 Maxi Renault 11 Turbo Saab 99 Turbo Skoda Favorit Subaru RX TurboImpreza WRX Impreza WRX STILegacy Vivio Talbot Sunbeam TI Toyota Toyota Celica GT Four ST165 Toyota Celica GT Four ST185 Toyota Celica GT Four ST205 Volkswagen Golf GTIReferences Edit INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE PDF a b c Classification and Definitions PDF General Prescriptions for Cars of Group N A and Extensions and R GT PDF Specific Regulations for Production Cars Group N PDF a b Specific Regulations for Touring Cars Group A PDF FIA Yearbook of Automotive Sport 1982 PDF 1983 Volvo 242 Group A Turbo Specific regulations for Touring cars Group A 1993 FIA yearbook of automobile sport green section pages 167 188 Group 3A Touring Cars 1988 CAMS Manual of Motorsport pages 228 to 233 Group 3A Touring Cars 1993 CAMS Manual of Motorsport pages 205 to 214 FIA Historic Database External links EditFrank de Jong s Group A ETCC section Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Group A amp oldid 1146711405, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
