"It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Audi completely revolutionised the way rally sport is played today. Prior to the 1980s, rally cars were either front or rear-wheel drives. But a rule change request from Audi asking if "
Finnish rally maestro Hannu Mikkola was one of the legendary flying Finns who powered their way into motorsport lore during the Group B era at the wheel of the monstrous Audi Quattro S1 Sport. But as World Champion in 1983 and with a total of 18 World Rally wins (and an obscure reference in punk culture) – the understated driver’s legacy bleeds out of WRC’s narrow confines.
How did your involvement in Audi’s Rally Team emerge?
The Head of Audi Sport at the time, Jürgen Stockmar, invited me to see the four-wheel drive Audi road car prototype (Ur-Quattro) in the autumn of 1979, and asked me to join their emerging rally team as the development and lead driver. I realized the potential of four-wheel drive in rallying, and we agreed to terms quite quickly. I started development work on the car in 1980, and we competed in our first rally in 1981, which was the Monte Carlo. I stayed with the team until 1987, when they stopped rallying activities.
"It’s exactly 30 years since Ari Vatanen won the UK stage of the World Rally Championship in the crazy days of Group B racing.
This November Ari will be back in the UK for the Wales Rally GB (13th-16th "
"The game-changing Audi quattro made its UK debut in London in 1980. We caught up with former members of the Audi UK Rally Team recall how it changed the world.
Harald Demuth – Rally driver
Two-time German Rally Champion Harald Demuth helped "
"If someone hadn't invented Group B rally at the start of the eighties, the times would have defined the form and it would have happened anyway. All of a sudden, what had been a relatively worthy, moustached and tweeded form "
"There are a number of racing machines that will forever be associated with Finland.
The best of them are – like the nation that loves them – unruly, unpredictable and quick.
For some the definitive Finnish machine might be Jarno Saarinen's Yamaha "
"We stumbled across this rare and rather killer footage of the fleeting moments of Mazda's RX7 Group B career on the highly entertaining Japanese Nostalgic Car blog.
Listen to the sound of the RX7's high-revving rotary engine, and enjoy "
"We always loved the very idea of Tony Pond.
The British rally driver, born in Hillingdon in 1946, always encapsulated a specific sort of blue collar derring-do – one that was very English and very of the period. Though he lacked the "
"Kate and John Manley-Tucker’s Allard has been a vehicle for adventure and a thread through their shared lives for almost four decades. We spent some time with a unique car and its unique owners.
Only 1,900 Allards were ever made. "
"Scotland has a majesty like no other that must be seen, to truly be believed. From incredible mountain ranges to open fields teeming with wildlife and grand lochs that take your breath away every time they crawl into sight – this "
"Take the speed of Senna, the wet weather prowess of Schumacher, the smoothness and mechanical sympathy of Prost, the versatility and enthusiasm of Andretti and the humility of a country boy and you've got the recipe for the greatest racing "
"If you're a devotee of the BTCC, BSB or a fan of the Kaiser Chiefs (we'll return to that) then you'll be familiar with Knockhill, the highest (at around 800 feet above sea level) and most northerly permanent racing circuit in "