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38-412: Established in 1987 under Group A rules the series saw champions like Johnny Cecotto , Roberto Ravaglia and Nicola Larini winning the title before switching to Supertouring regulations in 1993. The first season of D2 Class saw the battel between Roberto Ravaglia with BMW 318i , Fabrizio Giovanardi with Peugeot 405 and Gabriele Tarquini with Alfa Romeo 155 . The title was won by Ravaglia who

76-802: 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

114-427: 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. For touring car competition, vehicles such as

152-476: A promising first half of the season with 6 victories in 10 races, Rinaldo Capello had to defend from the 2 BMW Drivers who won 9 races on 10 in the second half of the season. The final Round in Vallelunga elected Rinaldo Capello as Italian Champion although the big effort of BMW who raced with 6 cars. In 1997 Audi was burdened with 30kg extra by FIA who also banned the 4WD from the 1998. The consequence

190-719: 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. 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 , Mazda 323 GT-R and

228-577: A very low number of entries with between four and six participants each weekend. The ETCC became the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2005. At the same time the Superturismo was truly revived with Super 2000 rules. Alessandro Zanardi would win the first season in a BMW 320i. In 2006 SEAT joined the championship as a full works team with two Leóns driven by Roberto Colciago and Davide Roda . Colciago won

266-491: The 1994 Italian Superturismo Championship against the Alfa driver Antonio Tamburini . In 1995 Audi replaced the old Audi 80 Quattro with the new A4 Quattro . The new model was dominant winning 14 races on 20. Once again the title went to Emanuele Pirro . The 1996 saw the triple battle between Rinaldo Capello with A4 Quattro and the 2 ex F1 drivers Emanuele Naspetti and Johnny Cecotto both with BMW 320i . After

304-468: The 2005 , 2006 and 2007 Drivers and Manufacturers Championships. In 2008, Frenchman Yvan Muller won the title after Race 1 in Macau in his SEAT León TDI . This marked the first time an FIA sanctioned world championship, in any category, being won by a diesel powered racing car. SEAT León TDI won both championships for a second time in 2009, this time in the hands of Gabriele Tarquini . 2010 marked

342-459: The Alfa Romeo 155 during the 1993–1997 years but wouldn't win the series until they introduced their Alfa Romeo 156 model in 1998. Fabrizio Giovanardi won in that car both in 1998 and 1999. In 1999 Audi officially withdrew to focus on Le Mans Project, letting just Alfa and BMW to fight for the title. Due to lack of cars the serie was definitively abandoned at the end of 1999 to allow

380-911: 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

418-699: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a single season in 1987 as the World Touring Car Championship and most recently a world championship (WTCC) that has run between 2005 and 2017. Following the 2017 season, an agreement was reached for the FIA WTCC to become FIA WTCR and use the TCR technical regulations. The first World Touring Car Championship, which

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456-490: 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

494-507: 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

532-465: The United States . Technical rules were modified in 2011 to allow 1.6L turbo gasoline engines, and the 2.0L gasoline and turbodiesel engines were outlawed in 2012. In 2014, new car regulations were introduced with the name TC1, with larger wings and more engine power. The old 1.6L turbo cars were renamed TC2 for a year and were dropped for 2015. The series adopted TCR regulations for 2018 and

570-516: The Championship. A silhouette formula championship (proposed by Ecclestone) was announced by the FIA for 1988 which would have seen specialist racing chassis carrying bodywork resembling production roadcars powered by the about to be outlawed Formula One 1.5 litre turbo regulations, but manufacturers did not support the concept. Only one car, based on an Alfa Romeo 164 with a 3.5 litre V10 engine

608-661: The FIA's points system used in the FIA Formula One Championship and the FIA World Rally Championship. Between 2005 and 2009, the championship adopted the following points scoring system: For the inaugural 1987 season, the championship used the following points scoring system: As per FIA WTCC all-time statistics on the official site of the WTCC. The WTCC features entries with the backing, funding and technical support of

646-493: The FIAs International Sporting Code and several of its Appendices J articles. To qualify for FIA approval, 2,500 identical models have to be built in 12 consecutive months. The homologation period lasts for every subsequent year of production and seven 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. Evolutions of

684-495: The championship adopted TCR regulations for the main class. Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars 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

722-681: The championship landed in Australia the local teams took exception to the Europeans somewhat liberal interpretation of the Group A rules. Subsequently, the Eggenberger cars were protested against and eventually disqualified from the Bathurst 1000 results. The championship was provisionally awarded to West German Eggenberger Ford Sierra RS500 drivers Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz . It

760-739: The creaction of Euro STC in 2000. The cancellation of the FIA Super Production championship in 2002 would mean the resumption of the Superturismo championship, albeit now under Super Production rules and named the Superproduzione . The SP cars were in many ways less advanced than the Super 2000 relatives in the ETCC. Salvatore Tavano won the 2003 Superproduzione season in an Alfa Romeo 147 . The championship became an all-147 series in 2004 won by Adriano De Micheli . The season saw

798-443: 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

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836-704: The drivers standings. This gave Chevrolet a clean sweep of both titles. The 2012 championship saw Chevrolet pick up where they left off in 2011, leading to a second year of championship clean sweeps, this time with Rob Huff taking the drivers title. The modern series has held events based all around the world including races in Argentina , Morocco , Hungary , Germany , Russia , France , Portugal , Slovakia , Czech Republic , Japan , China , Thailand and Qatar with former races in Brazil , Great Britain , Italy , Macau , Netherlands , Spain , Sweden , Turkey and

874-577: 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. World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by

912-428: 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, however Group A survived in touring car racing in domestic championships until 1993. The German Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) switched to

950-413: The public due to the intense competition and Eurosport live broadcasts. At the request of interested manufacturers, the ETCC was changed to the current WTCC beginning with the 2005 season, continuing to use Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 regulations. 2004 ETCC Champion Andy Priaulx and his BMW 320i were the dominant driver-car pairing during the first three years of the revived championship, winning

988-453: The replacement of Group C for 1985. The category would be officially termed Group 3A Touring Cars from 1988. From 1993 , CAMS replaced the existing Group A-based category with a new formula which would also be designated Group 3A Touring Cars. 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

1026-432: The series production model homologated are permitted with a ET (Evolution of the type) extension applied. Before 1993 the initial production requirement was 5000. 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

1064-468: 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

1102-449: The start of Chevrolet 's dominance of the championship with its Cruze model. Frenchman Yvan Muller became World Champion, fending off tough competition from Gabriele Tarquini and Andy Priaulx to win the first world championship for Chevrolet . Muller continued his success into 2011, winning both drivers championship and helping Chevrolet to its second manufacturers championship after Muller's two teammates finished second and third in

1140-534: The title ahead of returning 1997 champion Emanuele Naspetti in a BMW 320i. In 2007 the championship changed its promoter to Peroni Promotion and was renamed ITCC (Italian Touring Car Competition). However, grids were small as several teams moved to the WTCC and the Superstars Series , and the series was merged with the Peroni-run Driver's Trophy midway through 2008. For the 2016 season,

1178-781: Was a low competitivity of the two Audi drivers. After 3 years the Italian Title was won again by BMW who took the revenge from 1996 with Emanuele Naspetti who achieved 10 races, 7 second places and 1 this place in a total of 20 races. In 1998 the Italian Supertouring had to face many problems. Due to a controversial decision the historical Promoter Salerno Corse was replaced by the Sponsor Service. The new promoter decided to make one sprint race of 50km and one endurance race of 100km. Alfa Romeo and Nordauto Engineering (the team that became N.Technology ) had run

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1216-477: Was able to score points in every race although Giovanardi and Tarquini won many races in the second part of the season and tried to recover the initially gap. The following year saw the debut of the Audi with the model Audi 80 Quattro who won in 1993 French Supertouring Championship with Frank Biela . The Audi 80 Quattro was immediately competitive and thanks to 6 wins and 5 seconds place Emanuele Pirro won

1254-452: 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

1292-849: Was built before it was abandoned. In 2001, the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) was resumed with support from the FIA, the precursor to the current WTCC. In 2001, the Italian Superturismo Championship became the FIA European Super Touring Championship, with an extra class for Super Production cars alongside the main Super Touring class. In 2002, this evolved into the brand new FIA European Touring Car Championship, using Super 2000 rules, dominated by Alfa Romeo and BMW , but popular with

1330-542: Was not until March 1988 when their Bathurst disqualification was finalised that results were confirmed and Italian Schnitzer Motorsport driver Roberto Ravaglia in a BMW M3 was declared the champion. The Entrants Championship was won by the Eggenberger Texaco Ford No 7 entry. The WTCC lasted only one year and was a victim of its own success — the FIA (and Bernie Ecclestone ) feared it would take money away from Formula One and stopped sanctioning

1368-569: Was open to Group A Touring Cars, was held in 1987 concurrent to the long-running European Touring Car Championship (ETCC). Additional rounds were held outside Europe at Bathurst and Calder Park Raceway in Australia (Calder used a combined circuit of the road course and the then newly constructed NASCAR speedway), Wellington in New Zealand and Mount Fuji in Japan . The Championship

1406-729: Was renamed World Touring Car Cup (WTCR). Official factory teams are not allowed, though many drivers and teams receive backing from manufacturers. The WTCC uses Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 cars, as cost control is a major theme in the technical regulation. Super 2000 engines are 1.6 L turbo-charged 4-cylinder engines producing approximately 380 bhp. Wheels are 18" in diameter, and large front and rear aerodynamic devices are permitted. Many technologies that have featured in production cars are not allowed, including variable valve timing , variable intake geometry , ABS brakes and traction control system . Currently, all WTCC races are awarded equal points. From 2010, these points have been based on

1444-525: Was well-supported by the factory European teams of Ford , BMW , Maserati and Alfa Romeo (until Alfa withdrew following the European races), but was embroiled in controversy. Unfortunately, the leading BMW Motorsport teams and the Ford Europe backed Eggenberger Motorsport had developed a situation of "you don't protest us, we won't protest you" . While this worked well in the European races, when

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