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Group R-GT

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Group R-GT
Motor racing formula
CategoryRally cars
Country/RegionInternational
ChampionshipsWRC, R-GT Cup, Regional
Inaugural2011
StatusActive
DrivetrainTwo Wheel Drive
Power to weight3.4kg/hp
AptitudePerformance

In international rallying, Group R-GT (or sometimes Group RGT), is a formula of rally car defined by the FIA for GT cars introduced in 2011. Between 2014 and 2019 technical passports were issued for individual vehicles built by tuners.[1] Since 2020 R-GT cars are required to be homologated by the manufacturer in common with other rally car formulae.

Internationally, R-GT cars compete in the FIA R-GT Cup, which is contested on tarmac rounds of the ERC and WRC.[2] They are also eligible for the World Rally Championship and all the FIA's regional championships.

Technical regulations

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The technical regulations are described in 2019 Appendix J, article 256 of the FIA sporting regulations for cars with technical passports.[3] For homologated cars since 2020 the relevant document is 2021 Appendix J, article 256.[4] In both cases the cars must be series production GT cars that must be two-wheel driven. A car with four-wheel drive can be used as a basis but must be transformed into a 2WD version. All cars must be fitted with a restrictor with a diameter determined by the FIA in order to achieve a weight/power ratio of 3.4 kg/hp (4.6 kg/kw, 294bhp/tonne).[3][4]

History

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Lotus Exige R-GT homologation

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Lotus Exige R-GT

Lotus presented an R-GT version of their Exige S at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011, but it wasn't until July 2012 before they achieved FIA homologation for what was the first car to compete in the R-GT category.[5][6] The competition debut took place at the end of July at Rally Vinho da Madeira, with Portuguese driver Bernardo Sousa driving the car. After posting stage times in the top ten for the first two special stages, the car retired in the third stage because of an accident caused by an electronics glitch.[7] After that, there were no further appearances of the Exige R-GT in international rallies and the homologation period lapsed in 2019.

Technical passports for individual cars

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Between 2014 and 2019, the FIA issues technical passports for individual cars that are prepared to comply with the R-GT regulations.[1] The first such appearance was Marc Duez who entered a Porsche 996 GT3 for the 2014 Monte Carlo Rally. He achieved some respectable stage times, but was forced to retire on the last day.[8] At the 2014 Rallye Deutschland, Richard Tuthill entered with a modified Porsche 997 and finished as 27th (of 63 classified), thus realising the first finish of a Porsche at a WRC event since 1986.[9]

FIA R-GT Cup

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In 2015 the FIA organised the first international cup for R-GT cars. The first season was competed on five tarmac events of the WRC and ERC: Rallye Monte-Carlo, Ypres Rally, Rallye Deutschland, Rallye International du Valais and Tour de Corse.[2] The championship was won by François Delecour in a Tuthill-prepared Porsche 997.[10] In 2016 the R-GT cup was not contested due to a lack of participants but interest rose again in 2017 with the introduction of the Abarth 124 R-GT. The first event of the 2017 FIA R-GT Cup, the 2017 Monte Carlo Rally, saw 4 participants in the R-GT category.[11]

Abarth 124 R-GT

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Abarth 124 R-GT

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show the Abarth 124 Spider R-GT car was presented, and later made its debut at the 2017 Monte Carlo Rally. The entrants were François Delecour, Fabio Andolfi and Gabriele Noberasco. Two of the Abarths had to retire, but Noberasco classified second in the R-GT class.

Since 2019 the Abarth Rally Cup has run as a one-make series on selected rounds of the European Rally Championship.[12] Title winners since its inaugural year have been Andrea Nucita (2019), Andrea Mabellini (2020) and Dariusz Poloński (2021).

Alpine A110 R-GT

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The Alpine A110 Rally was announced in May 2019 and officially presented during the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine (5-7 September 2019).[13] It was homologated by the FIA to Group R-GT specification in July 2020 and remains the only homologated R-GT car as of March 2024.[14]

Champions

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FIA R-GT Cup

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The R-GT Cup was first created in 2015 to allow GT cars to compete in rallying. With the FIA streamlining the classes of eligible cars by creating Group R, provisions were made to allow for GT cars to be entered, with the category known as R-GT. While the R-GT Cup was initially run in support of the World Rally Championship at selected events, later editions expanded the R-GT calendar to include rounds of the European Rally Championship.[15][16]

Season Events Participants Winning driver Winning car
2015 5 4 France François Delecour Porsche 997 GT3
2016 5 1 France Marc Valliccioni Porsche 997 GT3
2017 5 7 France Romain Dumas Porsche 997 GT3
2018 5 11 France Raphaël Astier Abarth 124 R-GT
2019 8 6 Italy Enrico Brazzoli Abarth 124 R-GT
2020 3 8 Italy Andrea Mabellini Abarth 124 R-GT
2021 5 11 France Pierre Ragues Alpine A110 Rally R-GT
2022 5 France Raphaël Astier Alpine A110 Rally R-GT

Other starts in international rallies

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Starts in R-GT Cup events are covered by the corresponding R-GT Cup season article and not listed below.

Season Event Series Car model Driver Result
2012 Portugal Rally Vinho da Madeira ERC Lotus Exige R-GT Portugal Bernardo Sousa retired (accident)[17]
2014 Monaco Monte Carlo Rally WRC Porsche 996 GT3 Belgium Marc Duez retired (mechanical)[18]
2014 Finland Rally Finland WRC Porsche 997 GT3 Finland Jani Ylipahkala retired (mechanical)[19]
2014 Germany Rallye Deutschland WRC Porsche 997 GT3 United Kingdom Richard Tuthill 27th[20]
2014 France Rallye de France—Alsace WRC Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 France Romain Dumas 19th[21]
Porsche 997 GT3 France François Delecour 37th[22]
2014 France Tour de Corse ERC Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 France Romain Dumas 5th[23]
2015 United Kingdom Circuit of Ireland ERC Porsche 997 GT3 United Kingdom Robert Woodside retired[24]
2016 Switzerland Rallye International du Valais TER Porsche 997 GT3 France Marc Valliccioni 9th[25]
2017 Spain Rally Islas Canarias ERC Abarth 124 R-GT Spain Álvaro Muñiz retired[26]


Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b "World Motor Sport Council June 2013". FIA. 2013-06-28. Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  2. ^ a b "2015 FIA R-GT Cup". FIA. 2014-09-29.
  3. ^ a b "Specific Regulations for GT Production Cars with an FIA/R-GT Technical Passport (Group R-GT)" (PDF).
  4. ^ a b "Specific Regulations for GT Production Cars homologated by the FIA (Group R-GT)" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Lotus Exige R-GT Gets Homologated". Lotus Cars. 2012-07-26. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  6. ^ "HOMOLOGATIONS LIST VALID AS FROM 01.07.2012".
  7. ^ "European Rally Championship - Rali Vinho da Madeira". Lotus Cars. 2012-07-30. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  8. ^ "A thrilling sideshow". wrc.com. 2013-01-18. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  9. ^ "Tuthill Porsche makes history". maxrally.com. 2014-08-24. Archived from the original on 2016-11-20. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  10. ^ "Tuthill Porsche wins Tour de Corse & FIA R-GT Cup". Tuthill Porsche. 2015-10-04.
  11. ^ "Ogier quickest on Rallye Monte Carlo shakedown". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. 2017-01-18.
  12. ^ "ABARTH RALLY CUP 2021".
  13. ^ "ALPINE A110 RALLY". Alpine. Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  14. ^ "FIA HOMOLOGATIONS LIST – 2024" (PDF).
  15. ^ "2015 FIA R-GT Cup". FIA. 29 September 2014.
  16. ^ "2016 FIA R-GT Cup". FIA. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Bernardo Sousa at Rali Vinho da Madeira 2012". ewrc-results.com.
  18. ^ "Marc Duez at Rally Monte Carlo 2014". ewrc-results.com.
  19. ^ "Jani Ylipahkala at Rally Finland 2014". ewrc-results.com.
  20. ^ "Richard Tuthill at Rallye Deutschland 2014". ewrc-results.com.
  21. ^ "Romain Dumas at 2014 Rallye de France 2014 - Alsace". ewrc-results.com.
  22. ^ "François Delecour at 2014 Rallye de France 2014 - Alsace". ewrc-results.com.
  23. ^ "Romain Dumas at Tour de Corse 2014". ewrc-results.com.
  24. ^ "Robert Woodside at Circuit of Ireland 2015". ewrc-results.com.
  25. ^ "Marc Valliccioni at Rallye International du Valais 2016". ewrc-results.com.
  26. ^ "Álvaro Muñiz at the Rally Islas Canarias 2017". ewrc-results.com.

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