(Content waning: graphic descriptions and mentions of severe injury and death)
Group B, in Grand Touring (GT), was and still is widely regarded as the greatest rallying events in history. The surprising lack of rules allowed for some of the best, most powerful, most marvellous rally cars to ever exist, mechanically speaking. This was great, on paper.
Technological advancements fostered by Group B were profound and many of them still exist in modern high-performance motorsports, but with more safety regulations, such as the Halo in F1. Lightweight but strong materials such as carbon fibre and Kevlar were used in the construction of the body panels and chassis. All-Wheel Drive (AWD) and four-wheel steering allowed drivers to manipulate the tires to their hearts content. Mid-engine layouts, turbochargers, twin turbochargers, water-cooled intercoolers to keep turbochargers cool, and sequential gearboxes massively overhauled racing forever as more power than ever before seen could be evenly distributed and efficiently delivered to the tires. Adjustable suspension kits and specialised tires allowed crews and drivers to adapt the car to whatever terrain(s) of the track. Active aerodynamics such as wings, spoilers, and canards added to the downforce and stability of the car. Electronic engine management allowed computers to do calculations necessary to optimise things like fuel injection to increase overall performance. These are just a few of the things pioneered by the cars of Group B and some of the safer features such as active aerodynamics made their way onto standard production cars.
Technological advancements fostered by Group B were profound and many of them still exist in modern high-performance motorsports, but with more safety regulations, such as the Halo in F1. Lightweight but strong materials such as carbon fibre and Kevlar were used in the construction of the body panels and chassis. All-Wheel Drive (AWD) and four-wheel steering allowed drivers to manipulate the tires to their hearts content. Mid-engine layouts, turbochargers, twin turbochargers, water-cooled intercoolers to keep turbochargers cool, and sequential gearboxes massively overhauled racing forever as more power than ever before seen could be evenly distributed and efficiently delivered to the tires. Adjustable suspension kits and specialised tires allowed crews and drivers to adapt the car to whatever terrain(s) of the track. Active aerodynamics such as wings, spoilers, and canards added to the downforce and stability of the car. Electronic engine management allowed computers to do calculations necessary to optimise things like fuel injection to increase overall performance. These are just a few of the things pioneered by the cars of Group B and some of the safer features such as active aerodynamics made their way onto standard production cars.
Peeling past the layer of gold plating that the loose regulations appeared as, it’s revealed that the lack of rules wasn’t such a good idea when it came to the safety of the rally-goers and occupants of these death machines. The exact number of people who were injured and lost their lives in accidents at Group B rallies is unknown because of the sheer number of incidents. The tragic incident that ended Group B officially happened at the 1986 Rally de Portugal in Estoril when driver Joaquim Santos and co-driver Miguel Oliveira in their Ford RS200. According to Oliveira, they were on a straight on the track then they took a very small right-hand turn doing 200 km/h (124 mph), after that, Santos slowed for an upcoming left-hand turn. Before Santos could slow down to take this left turn, a spectator stepped onto the tarmac. In Oliveira’s words, “The road was completely packed. There were people and people and people. When Joaquim came out of the [right-hand] corner one guy steps into the tarmac, so he has to make a correction and when he made the correction and tried to come back to normal, the rear of the car went. He lost it.” Oliveira was looking down at the pace notes and reading them aloud to Santos, distracted and not able to warn him. The loss of traction from the back wheels caused the car to veer into a crowd that resulted in over 33 injuries, including co-pilot Oliveira and 32 others around the car, and four deaths. Three were killed instantly, a mother and her 11-year-old son and another child, and one later in a hospital. Santos was uninjured but lay unconscious from the impact with his head on the steering wheel.
One of the injured spectators, a Finn named Nuno Sardinha, recalled the crash. “We were a few meters from the front and when I heard the sound of the car I knew for sure [Santos] had lost control. Around the corner, it started sliding and skidding. I remember I tried to move back and get away, go to the middle of the crowd and run away. I tried to run back away from the track, but the car hit me. I was knocked out momentarily. When I woke up, I was missing the sole of my boot. The sole of my boot was taken off by the tire of the car. I thought if the tire had gone a little bit higher I would have lost my leg.”
Fellow racer Marc Duez was behind Santos in his MG Metro 6R4. Upon seeing this, he took it upon himself to enact a sort of unwritten protocol between the racers to go to the next radio point and warn race officials to call a complete stop. Duez informed officials of the incident but no action was taken to stop the rally and eleven more cars continued at racing speeds. Immediately after this disaster, the FIA shut down Group B in the WRC indefinitely.
This decision was made out of safety concerns as this was not the first time that people were injured or killed at Group B rallies, but it didn’t come without its controversies. Many people called for Group B to be reinstated with a few more safety rules for drivers, their cars, and spectators and thought the outright ban was a reactionary response that ruined a popular motor sporting event forever. Group B was continued unofficially in regional rallies, as long as they met a few safety requirements set in place after the 1986 incident. But nearly 40 years after its ban, not much can be done to restore Group B’s former glory and that short but eventful chapter of motorsports came to a close.