Old rally cross was best rally cross. Was it? (RallyX-dump)

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 10/21/2014 at 13:18 • Filed to: rally

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80's/90's mid decade rally cross is the best cross. Group B was dead unless it was in a gladiatorial arena with fences to keep spectators away from the fire dragons. The rare place anything with 600 to 800 dragonpower could get out and stretch. This also included whatever you could build on your own that can take it on. For example: Arlid Martinsen's boostacular E30-M3.

...who built his own M3 complete with AWD and a similar turbo used in the F1 BMW cars. Sadly little info is public about this build. (It was the subject of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Link fixed, new source.)

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It took some knife-like handling Metro 6R4's and some RS200 Fords to outpace it.

Developments happen. Have a RS200 Evolution. Evolved into a berzerker of unknown boost and octane.

You could build yourself anything you wanted. Teams were only starting to have bigger budgets and your home made thing could have a chance, until those RS200's and 800hp Porsche "935's" appeared, making your little Mazda 323 GTX a hopeless cat toy. Who knows what they really were inside but they had as much wing as possible strapped on with what was practically an over boosted Group-C 3.2 engine. The age of non-factory support was nearing the end.

This was a home brew sprint. If you had the talent, with a wrench as well, you could win. Martin Schanche was pulling down some Audi's in this nice little Ford with a little help from a few well placed Zakspeed parts.

So where does that leave us today in the grand scheme of quality? Is this just as fantastic today?

Well, the action is most assuredly so. the action is still just as powerful and just as sideways and just as frenetic and desparate.

However-and a big however-money talks now days. Buy a factory fiesta from a factory chosen builder and you too can play on the big end of the stick. For the lower end 2wd classes, quite a few get, again, similar rally equipment but if you have heart and desire and some driving talent, a plan can be made and built and acted on. It can work if you do it right!

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Rally cross is attainable in whatever vehicle. It's attainable at every level. A set of steelies and snow tires for the dirt and grass are cheap (relatively speaking). There is a category for everyone in the SCCA: you vs. the clock style or on the circuit of the 'global' scene. There's no shortage of something not too far away. So, in effect, the rally cross of old was spectacular, but now, we got our own version that does not involve fiberglass shredding and sponsorship. It's something that we can afford, just like Auto cross and that makes today's version just as great, the accessibility.

505Turbeaux > Grindintosecond 10/21/2014 at 13:29

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YES

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Grindintosecond 10/21/2014 at 15:09

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Rallycross all the things!

BaseTrim > Grindintosecond 10/21/2014 at 15:17

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FANTASTIC article.

Grindintosecond > BaseTrim 10/21/2014 at 15:20

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Keep in mind it's just my observations guiding what I wrote. for all I know that could have been the highest million dollar tech around and everyone was a rich playboy and I'm disillusioned . Lord knows with a decent job now I still can't find the time or money to get in on the grass roots level yet and I learned a long time ago that cops eventually find you on gravel back roads.

Hoccy > BaseTrim 10/21/2014 at 15:35

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Didn't mean to reply to you, sorry..

Hoccy > Grindintosecond 10/21/2014 at 15:37

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Well. I have experienced both the end of the "golden" era with Schanche, Eklund, Hansen and so on, and while the racing was completely bonkers the races were usually sent as a compressed highlight show at late night. Now you can watch the rounds live all over the world, with more rounds and competitors than ever. Privateers are common and though you have to spend a lot of money to win the championship you can still expect a guy in a "homebuilt" car to win single rounds.

Of course this doesn't really apply to the US rallycross scene where their rallycross series are starting to find their format, and with less tradition. There manufacturers have to kickstart the interest for rallycross, since there's not really rallycross supercars to be found easily.

Grindintosecond > Hoccy 10/21/2014 at 15:41

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Very good to hear this insight. We're just learning the back stories here in the US and I wouldn't mind seeing a bigger movement, but, baby-steps. That's what it takes. And some track organizers willing to let their infield be torn up once in a while.