Wednesday 19th July 2017

Tour de Corse 1997: Time For Tea?

4WD WRC machinery takes on the FWD F2 cars in a classic tarmac rally shootout

---

Sometimes the 1990s don't seem all that long ago, do they? Well not only are those kids born in 1999 going to be 18 this year, but it also means 1997 is now 20 years ago. 20!

And there's nothing like motorsport as a great reminder of an era, so here we have a fascinating highlights programme from the 1997 Tour de Corse. How so? Not only do you get some glorious 1990s WRC machinery - Evos, Escorts, two-door Imprezas - but also some genuine bitterness and inter-class rivalry during the event. Nothing like calls of foul play to add a bit of excitement!

We won't spoil the surprise, but essentially the F2 306 Maxis were very, very fast on Corsica. Some WRC drivers aren't happy that they're being shown up, Francois Delecour seemingly couldn't give a damn and the whole pantomime is a rather good watch in addition to the screaming rally cars.

The pace of these cars through Corsica's narrow roads remains incredible, there's a crash with a cow (seriously) and one of the most tense final stages in WRC history - enjoy!

Watch the video here (and yes, some of the sound is odd, it isn’t your speakers)

 

[anonymous-user]

Excellent!!!

[ZX10R NIN]

These cars were really something back in the day I remember certain WRC drivers getting very pissed at the tarmac pace of these things. The induction roar is superb.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Wednesday 19th July 17:39

[anonymous-user]

Instant flashback to multiplayer sessions of Sega Rally 2 in the arcades. Happy days.

[thiscocks]

Holy cow!

[devil's angel]

Live on the island, roads still the same, cows still very much present, even on the beaches. Proper test of cars, coping with holes, bumps and ever changing surfaces. Loved the Maxi groupe A's impresseive traction with proper highly sprung 4 cl na engines. Remember Loeb with his xsara kit car nearly running into me ( or so it seemed) couldn't really understand the lines and trajectories of these cars when they first ran.

[jamiem555]

That was ace, thanks. I remember it well at the time. That last stage was amazing.

[robm3]

Loved those 306's, mainly due to many hours spent playing V-Rally on PS1...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqVkMG6RBf4

[rastapasta]

People go on about group B, but this was the Golden age.

[Usget]

Hit a cow at 100mph, plunge 130ft down a ravine, and walk away?! Christ on a bike, if he hadn't been a Finn he would have been a little peturbed by that!

[Duffman83]

That was a great half hour, i remember watching these Top Gear rally reports back in the day as this was the era of rallying that I grew up with. As much as I love the Group B and what it did to the rallying scene, I consider this the golden era of rallying. The cars, drivers, team, stage layout and country all came together to provide an excellent spectacle.

It's shame that current WRC is a shadow of it's former self. I've tried watching it but it simply didn't hold my interest at all. Sad times.

[rastapasta]

Duffman83 said:

That was a great half hour, i remember watching these Top Gear rally reports back in the day as this was the era of rallying that I grew up with. As much as I love the Group B and what it did to the rallying scene, I consider this the golden era of rallying. The cars, drivers, team, stage layout and country all came together to provide an excellent spectacle.

It's shame that current WRC is a shadow of it's former self. I've tried watching it but it simply didn't hold my interest at all. Sad times.

Its because you dont have any characters in it nowadays to grab your attention. The main reason we watched it was Mcrae Burns etc. Top quality drivers with personalities to go with it. And the cars in those days were big and awesome to watch. Im probably the same generation as you and a large part of the reason I drive a subaru today is down to rallying. Subaru won. and if i didnt buy the Legacy I was going to buy an a Lancer Ralliart. All because of rallying. I would watch the highlights such as this on a friday afternoon after bunking off school early as it was always on Friday Grandstand on BBC 2 before the lawn bowls. And then whip on RAC Rally on the PC and pretend to be McRae or Bruno Thiry or Alistair McRae (his golf GTi was an option as was a Skoda Felicia) in the welsh forests for an hour or 4.

Those F2 cars were excellent. Lightweight, noisy and on the right surface extremely quick.

Good times that we probably didnt at the time appreciate.

[ArnageWRC]

An epic era ( if short lived). The WRC v F2 were great battles - and if the FiA had any sense they would have done more to encourage it with more Tarmac rounds. The WRC big boys didn't like it one bit - Tough!!
Eventually, in 1999 Bugalski won both Corsica & Catalunya, both well deserved. But by then, the F2 era was on it's way out. But it gave us some cracking cars:

Peugeot 306 Maxi
Citroen Xsara Kit car
Renault Maxi Megane (and before the Maxi Clio)
Seat Ibiza Kit car
VW Golf GTI Kit car
Vauxhall Astra Kit car
Hyundai Coupe F2

Most of these cars were also seen in the BRC, which from 1996-99 was a fabulous series - probably the last great era for it.

I'd love to see another top 2WD formula in the WRC - but I don't think it will happen.