Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs .
66-458: The Cougar C12 was a Group C sports car prototype race car , designed, developed and built by French constructor Cougar in 1985, and used in sports car racing from 1985 to 1988. Its best result was an 18th-place finish at the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans , being driven by Yves Courage , Alain de Cadenet , and Pierre-Henri Raphanel . The Cougar C12 is a closed Group C prototype, was developed and built by Yves Courage in 1985 and prepared for
132-461: A heart bypass surgery , forcing him to rethink his priorities. He began to realise that the Camel GT series was in danger of becoming oriented toward the factory-backed teams and less to the privateers as Bishop originally intended. Rules were modified to accommodate the factory teams, which wanted to get into the series, despite Bishop's belief that such changes would be unfavorable to the series in
198-711: A Silver or Bronze categorization from the FIA . The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama is a one-make series dedicated to the Porsche 911 GT3 , similar in concept to the Porsche Carrera Cup , held since 2005. Drivers are allowed to race in two different classes, Platinum and Gold. The entries were allowed in the American Le Mans Series starting in 2009 , in the GTC Class. The series became
264-510: A few manufacturers (especially Porsche and Lancia ) had dominated sports car racing by simply increasing turbocharger boost pressure, especially in qualifying trim — the 3.2 L Porsche 935 was capable of more than 800 hp. Engines had to be from a recognized manufacturer which had cars homologated in the FIA's Group A Touring Car or Group B GT Car categories. While the consumption requirement meant that cars needed to conserve fuel early in
330-567: A new prototype-only series for both LMP3 Gen 1 and Gen 2 cars called the IMSA HSR Prototype Challenge. A minimum 20-car grid was announced as the requirement for standalone races to be held, if not incorporated into races with other prototypes. The six-event calendar will follow HSR's usual events, including the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona and the Classic 12 Hour at Sebring. These are the series that were formerly run by
396-519: A pair of Jean Rondeau -built Inaltera 's to compete as "special prototypes". They became the foundation of the newly formed Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category in 1981 , with separate rules similar to Group C (Bishop was unhappy with the fuel consumption formula of the latter). In 1984 , Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), the organizers of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), attempted to unite
462-552: A race car. The series entered a sanctioning agreement with IMSA beginning with the 2021 season. In July 27, 2023, Ford and IMSA announced that the 7th Generation Mustang would have its own spec-racing series called Mustang Challenge, IMSA will sanction the championship with the organization of Ford themselves via the Ford Performance Racing School. On October 24, 2023, it was announced that HSR (owned by IMSA since January 2022) and IMSA were forming
528-556: A recognized manufacturer which had cars homologated in Group A or Group B. Although it was originally expected that C Junior cars would use two-litre normally aspirated engines, in practice most cars used either the 3.5l BMW M1 engine or the new 3.3l Cosworth DFL , but, like in the main class, a variety of solutions was employed by each individual manufacturer. Alba with a small, lightweight turbo, Tiga , Spice and Ecurie Ecosse with Austin-Rover and later Cosworth-powered cars were among
594-801: Is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was the support series for GRAND-AM's premier offering, the Rolex Sports Car Series . In 2014 it became the support series for the United SportsCar Championship series upon the merger of the Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series . The series branded as
660-616: Is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida , under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA . It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR . Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ,
726-477: The 510 and 200SX . Many drivers would cut their teeth in this series such as Don Devendorf, of Electramotive fame, Jim Downing , of Kudzu, and Bobby Rahal . The final season was run in 1984 before it was replaced by the IMSA Showroom Stock class the following year, while retaining its sponsor until 1988. As with most now-defunct racing classes, there are revival races run for this category and
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#1732787573205792-617: The Baby Grand Series , in 1971. Originally sponsored by B.F. Goodrich (therefore known as Goodrich Radial Challenge ) until they dropped sponsorship midway through 1975 (or 1976) and then by Goodyear (becoming the Goodyear Radial Challenge ), and later as Champion Spark Plug Challenge . The initial race held was in 1969 at Talladega Superspeedway Road Course. Gaston Andrey was first overall in an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super sedan. The Series' first year
858-582: The Grand American Road Racing Association was created with full support of NASCAR's France family and other motorsports notables and had its inaugural season in 2000 . Grand-Am struggled early on, but proved to be a formidable competitor to the ALMS in later years with a different philosophy based on lower-tech cars, most notably its prototype category Daytona Prototype , giving larger fields and closer competition. Much like
924-547: The IMSA championship, as its GTP class had similar regulations. With costs increasing, the FIA introduced a new Group C Junior class for 1983. This was intended for privateer teams and small manufacturers and it limited cars to a minimum weight of 700 kg and a maximum fuel capacity of 55 liters. With competitors limited to five refueling stops within a 1000 kilometer distance, the cars were effectively allowed 330 liters per 1000 kilometers. As in Group C, engines had to be from
990-754: The IMSA Prototype Challenge series. Races in this series are usually run in support of events for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Events consist of two 45-minute sprint races with no pit stops or driver changes. Unlike its predecessor series, the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge features multi-class racing with prototypes and GTs on track at the same time. As the series is a development series for higher tier series among IMSA's championships, drivers are required to hold either
1056-619: The Porsche Carrera Cup North America beginning in the 2021 season. The Ferrari Challenge is a one-make series dedicated currently to the Ferrari 488 , which was previously sanctioned by Grand-Am prior to the merger. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo is a one-make series dedicated currently to multi-class racing, showcasing both the new Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo and the Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo that
1122-480: The SCCA sanctions events for mostly-stock and all-stock cars. The American Challenge (in full, Kelly American Challenge ), otherwise abbreviated as AAC was a category for US-built cars and throughout the series, it was always run as a support race to the premier GT series. Starting in 1977, the series ran until 1989. In 1992, the premier GTO category was renamed to GTS due to sponsor reasons, and rather than leaving
1188-579: The WM - Peugeot recorded the highest 405 km/h (252 mph) during the 1988 event — the FIA revolutionized the class by attempting to turn it into a formula series to replace the C2 category (after they proved to be unreliable at endurance races) . The new formula restricted the performance of cars built to the original rules (such as the Porsche 962 used by many privateers) and benefited teams using F1-sourced 3.5 L engines — these latter teams being effectively
1254-486: The "endurance" aspect of the competition as well. Ford (with the C100 ) and Porsche (with the 956 ) were the first constructors to join the series. The traditional turbocharged boxer engine in the 956 was already tested in the 1981 version of the Group 6 936. Eventually, several other makes joined the series, including Lancia, Jaguar , Mercedes , Nissan , Toyota , Mazda and Aston Martin . Many of these also took part in
1320-723: The 1982 season until 1985, when the series was reformed as the ADAC Supercup . Under the new Supercup series, only Group C cars would be allowed to compete. This series lasted until 1989. In Great Britain, the Thundersports championship combined a variety of cars with the C Junior (later C2) class of cars. This too was later replaced with a C2 only series known as the BRDC C2 Championship, and lasted until 1990. The European Interserie championship also allowed Group C cars to compete, although they did not use
1386-653: The American Le Mans Series. Don Panoz renamed the sanctioning organization back to the International Motor Sports Association and was the official sanctioning body of the ALMS, as well as its support series, the Prototype Lites , the Star Mazda series, GT3 Cup Challenge and the Panoz GT Pro series. IMSA became part of Panoz Motorsports Group, which included the ALMS, Elan Motorsports Technology and Mosport, Sebring and Road Atlanta race tracks. Scott Atherton
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#17327875732051452-720: The GT1 category, the Dauer 962 Le Mans , and won the race after transmission problems by a leading Toyota 94C-V . The 962 was subsequently banned; the Toyota was later given a special dispensation to race in the Suzuka 1000km , and a few C1 racers were allowed to compete in the newly formed Japanese GT Championship — this would be its final year of competition. Many of the modified open top Group C cars continued to compete until they wrecked, broke, or retired out of competitiveness; notable among these
1518-511: The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, with Continental Tire having been title sponsor since the 2010 season until 2018. In 2019 Michelin replaced Continental Tire as supplier and title sponsor. This series uses TCR Touring Cars and GT4 cars. The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is a development series featuring LMP3 and GT4 cars. The series was introduced in 2023 as a replacement for
1584-640: The IMSA organization. The International Sedan Series was short-lived and the genesis of the Radial Sedan Series . It is unclear if the 1969 inaugural IMSA Sedan race held at the Talladega Superspeedway Road Course was designated International Sedan Series or not . That being the only race held in 1969 details are sketchy , but over the winter of 1969–70 rules were officially promulgated for this Series. It
1650-526: The IMSA organization. The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was created in 2014 through the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series . It debuted under the name Tudor United SportsCar Championship on January 25–26, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway . For the 2016 season title sponsorship changed from Tudor to WeatherTech. This series currently features LMDh , LMP2 , and GT3 cars. The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
1716-606: The North American IMSA Grand Touring Prototype series ( GTP ). The roots of the Group C category lie in both FIA Group 6 and particularly in the GTP category introduced by the ACO at Le Mans in the mid-1970s. GTP was a class for roofed prototypes with certain dimensional restrictions, but instead of the more usual limits on engine capacity, it placed limits on fuel consumption. The FIA applied
1782-593: The United States. When this initially failed, as a result Don Panoz and Barber departed to affiliate themselves with PSCR. In the spring of 1998, Don Panoz created a partnership with the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans , to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the Petit Le Mans to be held at Panoz's Road Atlanta facility. After
1848-401: The circuit management and asked them to block IMSA from racing there. The event was held, although IMSA had to pay an additional $ 10,000 in rental fees. The race had an attendance of 328 spectators. The organization soldiered on despite the small crowds, and another ten races were planned. Bill France, suffering from financial setbacks, brought on new investors to take over part of his stake in
1914-605: The club's magazines and event programmes. He became well known in the motorsport scene and enjoyed a good relationship with the organization's president and Kimberly-Clark heir, James H. Kimberly. In 1958, things changed for Bishop as the SCCA experienced internal changes. A new executive director position was created, to which each regional executive reported. This position was taken by Hugo Rush, who later became instrumental in Allen's departure. Although Bishop's relationship with Rush
1980-415: The dispute by announcing that turbochargers and fuel restrictions would be phased out by 1989 (excepting naturally aspirated engines below 3.5 liters). This attempt failed, as did another in 1991, in which with chassis ballast penalties for turbocharged cars rendered them uncompetitive, except at Le Mans. IMSA continued to have success with its own Camel GT series. In 1987, John Bishop had to undergo
2046-445: The exhaust systems and shock absorbers were free. Later rules regarding headlights, seats, upholstery, window cranks, original springs, and other stock elements were loosened up somewhat. From the beginning, engine modifications similar to Sports Car Club of America B Sedan were permitted, with the main difference being that over-boring cylinders was not allowed, and stock carburetors being required, but modifications allowed. The series
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2112-698: The field, with their protruding wheels rubbing Racey's "immaculate" Alfa Romeo . Infuriated, Feezell quit and never ran another IMSA RS race after that. The idea was to attract racers who did not have the budgets that were required in the GT category as well as an emphasis on compact sedans such as the AMC Gremlin and the Opel Manta . There were two classes from 1970 through 1973: Class A for under two liters and under 1.6 liters with overhead cam and Class B for over 1.6 L with overhead cam and over two liters up to
2178-537: The large manufacturers alone, as the new formula cars were more expensive than the C1 cars. What followed was the quick downfall of Group C, as the new engines were unaffordable for privateer teams like Spice and ADA . A lack of entries meant the 1993 Championship was canceled before the start of the first race. However, the ACO still allowed the Group C cars to compete (albeit with restrictions) at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nevertheless,
2244-465: The largest permitted engine being the 232 cubic inches (3.80 L) AMC Gremlin. In 1974 all cars were placed in one class, with the only parity for the smaller engines being free carburetion for under 1.6 liters. Limited preparation was permitted, and since the entrants were meant to be street-driven race cars, the original rules required the retention of headlights, seats, upholstery, window cranks, stock brakes and original springs and radial tires. Only
2310-709: The long run, especially if they failed to meet their objectives. In January 1989, the Bishops sold the company to Mike Cone and Jeff Parker, owners of the IMSA Grand Prix of St. Petersburg . Bishop shortly stepped down as the organisation's president in favor of Mark Raffauf, his deputy president and the organisation's representative on the ACCUS (Automobile Competition Committee for the United States), an FIA recognised sporting body. Cone and Parker in turn sold
2376-431: The most competitive in this class. The low cost of these cars even led to the notion of their use in national championships, such as the short-lived British BRDC C2 Championship . Group C Junior was formally renamed Group C2 for 1984. By 1989, the Group C series popularity was nearly as great as Formula One . When C1 cars were found to be breaking over the 400 kilometres per hour mark at Le Mans ' Mulsanne Straight —
2442-681: The new series, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR. On September 19, 2019, Scott Atherton announced retirement from his position as the President of the International Motor Sports Association at the end of 2019. He had held that role since the merger of IMSA's American Le Mans Series with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014. One month following that announcement, then-director of Mazda 's motorsports program in North America, John Doonan,
2508-412: The new series, so he tried to ensure that the rules were not biased in their favor. He was in favor of looking after privateer teams and helping them to become competitive. As European cars began to dominate, a new series was formed in 1975 called All American Grand Touring (AAGT) to give equal latitude to foreign cars. Turbocharged cars were permitted in 1977 . In the same year, Bishop invited
2574-525: The new sponsor of the GT series and the sedan series became known as the B.F. Goodrich Radial Challenge. In 1973 , the 12 Hours of Sebring joined the IMSA GT Championship's schedule. Later that year, the organization gained recognition from the ACCUS and the FIA. IMSA was scheduled to sanction the 1974 24 Hours of Daytona , but the race was cancelled because of the oil crisis. Bishop did not believe that factory teams would stick with
2640-506: The organization to businessman Charles Slater by the early 1990s. In 1996 Slater sold the organization with previously accumulated debt to Roberto Muller (ex-CEO of Reebok ) and Wall Street based portfolio manager for Bill Gates , Andy Evans , who also was an IndyCar owner and owner/driver of the Scandia World Sports Car team. These changes would lead to the departure of many of the executive board members. Evans
2706-703: The premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series . IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company. John Bishop, a Sikorsky employee, first became involved in motorsport in the 1950s when he met Dave Allen, a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) staff member. Allen offered Bishop a management position on the SCCA Contest Board, which Bishop quickly accepted. Bishop moved to Westport, Connecticut shortly thereafter. Bishop's duties consisted of defining technical rules and general administration of SCCA competition, as well as providing artwork for many of
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2772-403: The race still witnessed protests against the new state of affairs, as spectators placed cloth banners in fences expressing their feelings . The 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans was the last one in which Group C cars were permitted. A new category formed especially by race organizers also saw modified Group C cars without roofs. In fact, a former C1 car disguised as a road-legal GT car which was entered in
2838-401: The race, manufacturer support for the new regulations grew steadily with each make adding to the diversity of the series. With the new rules, it was theoretically possible for large naturally aspirated engines to compete with small forced induction engines. In addition, all races were to be contested over at least 1000 km — usually lasting more than six hours — so it was possible to emphasize
2904-518: The respective races by his own racing team, Cougar . Powered by a 3-liter Porsche 6-cylinder turbocharged engine, and made its debut at the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans , with drivers Henri Pescarolo and Yves Courage . It was later succeeded by the more successful C20 , in 1987. Group C It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touring prototypes like Porsche 935 ) and Group 6 two-seat racing cars (open-top sportscar prototypes like Porsche 936 ). Group C
2970-758: The same class structure. In Japan, the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship was created in 1983, while the Fuji Long Distance Series also began allowing Group C cars for the first time. It was not until 1989 however that the series concentrated solely on the Group C formula. Both championships lasted until 1992, when they were cancelled along with the World Sportscar Championship. International Motor Sports Association The International Motor Sports Association ( IMSA )
3036-399: The same concept in its Group C rules. It limited cars to a minimum weight of 800 kg and a maximum fuel capacity of 100 litres. With competitors restricted to five refueling stops within a 1000 kilometer distance, the cars were effectively allowed 600 litres per 1000 kilometers. The FIA hoped this would prevent manufacturers from concentrating solely on engine development; in the late 1970s,
3102-479: The series. At the end of the 1970 season, Bishop helped to establish the foundations of the FIA ( Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ) "J appendix" for World Championship for Makes sports cars. For the end of the 1970 season, he advertised a new championship for Group 2 and Group 4 cars with equity between competitors. The 1971 Grand Touring (GT) season introduced international endurance racing to North America . In 1972 , Camel Cigarettes became
3168-707: The split between Champ Car and the IRL , this split was seen by many as being detrimental to the sport as a whole. In 2012, Don Panoz sold the Braselton, Georgia-based ALMS to Grand-Am Road Racing , in turn owned directly by NASCAR and helped organize a merger between the ALMS and the Rolex Sports Car Series . In 2013 the unified series was announced as the Tudor United SportsCar Championship (now IMSA SportsCar Championship ). The announcement also confirmed that IMSA will manage and sanction
3234-609: The success of the inaugural Petit Le Mans as a part of the 1998 Professional SportsCar Racing Championship season , Panoz announced a new full season championship for 1999 , to be known as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) which adopted the ACO's rulebook under PSCR sanction. The new series replaced the Professional Sports Car Racing championship as PSCR's headline series. Under tremendous pressure from team owners and management, Evans sold Professional Sports Car Racing to Don Panoz in 2001, to solidify
3300-660: The technical rules for the newly formed Pro Racing program. The SCCA had now taken the big step up to professional racing. By 1962, the SCCA was tasked with managing major World Championship for Makes rounds, particularly at Daytona , Sebring , Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen . The club was also involved in the US Grand Prix . Bishop helped to create the USRRC ( United States Road Racing Championship ) series for Group 7 sports cars to recover races that had been taken by rival United States Automobile Club (USAC). Bishop
3366-418: The two organizations by scrapping the existing formula and adopting IMSA rules. This did not please Porsche , which was spending vast sums of money on engine development at the time. Porsche responded by boycotting the 24 Hours of Le Mans of that year . FISA responded by abandoning the rule change for the time being. In 1987 , FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre almost made a successful attempt to settle
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#17327875732053432-529: Was actually 1970 with only two races, the inaugural race was at the newly constructed Summit Point Motorsports Park on Memorial Day weekend; Rasey Feezell was first overall in an Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super sedan; the second race was held at the Montgomery Speedway , Alabama, Red Farmer won in a specially prepared Datsun 510 . Feezell didn't fare too well having to drive against the local four-cylinder "beater class" cars brought in to fill out
3498-535: Was also instrumental in founding the SCCA Trans-Am series and the SCCA/ CASC Can-Am series. In 1969, the tension and in-fighting caused Bishop to resign. Bill France Sr. was instrumental in the creation of the International Motor Sports Association. France founded NASCAR as a professional oval track series and wanted to do the same for road racing. After discussions with Bishop, IMSA
3564-411: Was appointed President of Panoz Motorsports Group and he appointed Tim Mayer to manage IMSA. IMSA's main series, the ALMS focused on manufacturer entries along with top privateers with the worldwide prestige of championship greatly increasing. After the 1999 USRRC season was cancelled halfway through its schedule due to a lack of competitors, a second attempt at a new sports car sanction body known as
3630-557: Was born and Bishop was given the sole control of the organization (like NASCAR, there was no board of directors). France financed the majority of the organization and owned 75% of the stock; Bishop owned the remaining 25%. The articles of incorporation were filed in Connecticut on June 23, 1969. The first race to be organized by IMSA was a Formula Vee and Formula Ford event at Pocono Raceway in October 1969. The SCCA threatened
3696-402: Was confirmed to be Atherton's replacement. Ed Bennett, longtime NASCAR executive, was also President and CEO of Grand-Am Road Racing from August 2011 to December 2013 during the merger period and has continued as CEO of the modern era IMSA since January 2014. At the 2021 Daytona 24 Hours, IMSA and the ACO announced the historic alignment of the technical regulations for sportscar racing, which
3762-454: Was for Sedans under 2 L., except for overhead cam engines which were limited to 1.6 L. Class B was for larger engines up to whatever IMSA decided appropriate for the Class which was the AMC Gremlin 's 232 c.i. for the duration of the 'original' RS Series. As an aside, the "Baby Grand" moniker frequently applied to these IMSA Series was just that, a nickname. Around this same time a series that
3828-546: Was further detailed in June of that year, which brought about the convergence of all sportscar regulations between the FIA, IMSA and the ACO. In January 2022, IMSA bought Historic Sportscar Racing , whose events include the Classic 24 Hours of Daytona, the Classic 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion . These are the series that are currently sanctioned and managed by
3894-605: Was initially to be known as the International 100 Series as it was intended for sedans up to 100 c.i or 1600 cc., however was revised prior to the start of the 1970 season to include larger engines and presumably the name change to International Sedan Series . The next year, 1971, the Series was revamped and became the Radial Sedan Series with the revolutionary innovation of requiring DOT radial tires. New rules allowed for cars over 1.6 L divided between two classes. Class A
3960-400: Was loosely based on rival SCCA Trans-Am 's Two-Five Challenge rules. The series became dominated mostly by Mazda 's rotary-powered RX-2 and RX-3 prompting IMSA to specify heavier weights than piston-engined cars and prohibited any modifications to the rotors and more importantly to intake and exhaust ports. Datsun also had a fair share of success within the series with cars such as
4026-404: Was not good, Bishop gained a vast amount of experience and began to show his qualities as a manager. Rush would later depart due to his disagreement with the club as it moved to promote professional motor sports. Bishop took his place as executive director and was now responsible for both amateur and professional programs. To ensure a more serious level of competition, he was tasked with rewriting
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#17327875732054092-505: Was officially designated Baby Grand (better and later known as the Goody's Dash Series ) was sanctioned by NASCAR and consisted of 4-cylinder cars purpose-built to run NASCAR ovals. A few RS regulars are known to have run both Series with the same car making minimal changes to accommodate the difference in rules. Carson Baird, driving a Dodge Colt , was one of these 'crossover' competitors. The IMSA RS Series (for radial sedan ) began as
4158-600: Was responsible for the name change to Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). In 1998 the United States Road Racing Championship was revived as an alternative to Professional Sports Car Racing, involving the Sports Car Club of America and headed by a group of competitors and ex-IMSA personnel, including John Bishop, Bill France Jr. , Rob Dyson , Roger Penske , Skip Barber , and Ralph Sanchez. They wanted to keep rules within
4224-613: Was the Porsche WSC-95 which won the 1996 and 1997 Le Mans races, using the monocoque of the Jaguar XJR-14 and Porsche 962 mechanicals (engine, transmission, etc.). The FIA's Group C formula was designed primarily for the World Endurance Championship which included the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, several smaller series also adapted the Group C regulations. The Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft allowed Group C cars to compete alongside various other types of cars from
4290-638: Was the exclusive car for the first two seasons of the North America championship in 2013 and 2014. The series debuted in North America under IMSA sanction in 2013. The Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires is the signature spec series for the Mazda Road to 24. The MX-5 Cup race cars start as complete MX-5 road cars from the Mazda Hiroshima, Japan factory before being transported to engineering development partner Flis Performance in Daytona Beach, Florida , where they are transformed into
4356-427: Was used in the FIA's World Endurance Championship (1982–1985), World Sports-Prototype Championship (1986–1990), World Sportscar Championship (1991–1992) and in the European Endurance Championship (1983 only). It was also used for other sports car racing series around the globe ( All Japan Sports Prototype Championship , Supercup, Interserie). The final year for the class came in 1993. Broadly similar rules were used in
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