The "I can't believe they raced it!" Thread.

[Liquid]

Minis were ten a penny but I would not be risking my import or Rolls-Royce against plonkers from the public. That's insane.

 

[05XR8]

I love Saabs and had no idea there was a One Make 900 turbo series.

 

[L8 Apex]

Early American sub-compacts like the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto were some of the most competitive models in the formative days of NHRA Pro Stock drag racing. And because both of those cars were offered in 2-door station wagon form, it should come as no surprise that at least a few enterprising teams decided they'd draw more attention by basing their racers on those variants instead of the usual hatchback body styles.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Anyone remember Brilliance, the Chinese manufacturer that entered the 2005 World Touring Car Championship but never turned up?

(A Brilliance show car appeared at the launch of the 2005 WTCC in Monte Carlo but that was it)

Well, a Brilliance touring car did race sporadically in China in 2006 and 2007.

Batchelor's Shot at Brilliance - Grand Prix Rejects

When Geely’s boutique manufacturer Lynk & Co. joined the fledgling WTCR series in 2018, they boasted of being the first Chinese manufacturer to take it to the global motorsport stage. However, thirteen years prior, another Chinese manufacturer could have made history play out differently...

gprejects.com

 

[Har1MAS1415]

The Peugeot 205 is best known for its success in the World Rally Championship during the Group B era.

However, a converted 205 Rally car appeared at the two Brands Hatch rounds of the 1986 British Saloon/Touring Car Championship.

In the hands of the late Mikael Sundstrom (by that time, a double Finnish Rally Champion), the car finished 14th on the road and 3rd in the 1.3 to 1.6 Litre class on its 1st appearance. Its 2nd appearance was more successful though as Sundstrom not only won his class but finished 3rd outright! This after starting from the pitlane due to a problem with his clutch cable to boot.

That result, combined with his best ever WRC result in that year's Rally GB (a 4th place), seemed to stand Sundstrom in good stead as he went on to win the next 3 Finnish Rally titles.

A Peugeot would not appear again in the BTCC until 1989 when Mike Jordan raced a 309 in the 1.6 to 2 Litre Class.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Proton Satria Neo S2000 in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship

A Proton Satria also briefly raced in the British Touring Car Championship.

Towards the end of the 2001 Season, TH Motorsport entered Steven Wood in the Production Class at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. He finished 3 out of 4 races with his best result being 15th on the road and 7th in Class in the Feature Race at Silverstone (The one where Yvan Muller and Jason Plato had their infamous collision which earned Plato a penalty demoting him from 1st to 3rd).

TH Motorsport and Wood continued in the Production Class in 2002 but switched to a Mitsubishi Carisma. Still, they gave Proton its BTCC debut.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

The Mazda 929 was one of the more unusual entries of the Group A era of Touring Car Racing.

Built, developed and entered by Dutch driver Hans van der Beek with support from the Dutch arm of Mazda, the main purpose of the car was to enter the Spa 24 Hours, which it did from 1986 to 1988. Its only finish was 23rd out of 25 finishers (10th in Class) in 1988.

It competed mainly in the Dutch touring car series but it did notably finish 9th (2nd in Class) in the 1986 RAC Tourist Trophy in the hands of Van der Beek and Raymond Coronel.

Restoration Mazda 929 Group A

PROJECTS Restoration Mazda 929 Group A Vink Motorsport is restoring this unique Group A car with rotary engine. The Mazda was built in 1985 by Dutch race driver Hans van der Beek to compete in the famous Spa 24 hr. With support of Mazda the Netherlands, this private team developed

www.vinkmotorsport.com

 

[Har1MAS1415]

A CMR Racing-run Nissan Almera from the 1990s has been one of the more unusual entries at British Racing & Sports Car Club and 750 Motor Club meetings in recent times.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Mercedes-Benz G-Class - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Mercedes 280 GE, originally designed for the military, a modified version ended up winning the 1983 Paris-Dakar Rally.

Here is the vehicle in question with Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur as the winning crew.

 

[GTracer38]

View attachment 1392319
A CMR Racing-run Nissan Almera from the 1990s has been one of the more unusual entries at British Racing & Sports Car Club and 750 Motor Club meetings in recent times.

There's a one-make series for those (or similar) down here in Aus. They get good numbers, particularly in NSW. https://www.apra.club/

 

[Har1MAS1415]

There's a one-make series for those (or similar) down here in Aus. They get good numbers, particularly in NSW. https://www.apra.club/
View attachment 1392666

I just came across the Nissan Almera story here in the UK and thought it was worth a mention.