FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup
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Category | F2 Kit Car |
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Country | International |
Inaugural season | 1993 |
Folded | 1999 |
The FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup was a sub-section of the
As the 1990s progressed the 2 litre cars proved to be exceptional tarmac rally cars. With more engine freedoms and lighter weights they could match, even beat the turbo 4WD Group A and WRC cars. In particular the kit cars built by the French manufacturers Peugeot and Citroën would prove real threats on the Tour de Corse each year as increasingly they become more like circuit racing cars and less like all-terrain rally cars. With the French Rally Championship increasingly being held on tarmac only events the Peugeot 306 Maxis and Citroën Xsara Kit Cars would become optimised for the domestic and European championships leaving them less competition in World Rally events held on snow or gravel events. Their ability to snatch wins away from WRC teams became a launching pad into World championship careers, led by Gilles Panizzi and Philippe Bugalski and later emerging French talent Sébastien Loeb.
History
The series started in 1993, then named the FIA Cup for Manufacturers of Touring Cars (2-Litre) with the series following Group A rules for front wheel drive vehicles, a maximum engine capacity of 2 litres and a single driven axle.
General Motors Europe were the most successful team that year, with Skoda finishing runner-up.[1] The rally victories were spread across several manufacturers; GME took the majority of the victories, with seven, whilst several other manufacturers won a single event; Renault (with a seemingly unsuitable R18 GTX), Skoda and Lada all achieving this.[2]
For late 1994, the rules changed to allow Kit Cars to compete, essentially these were modified F2 vehicles, permitting more modifications over the standard F2/Group A rules.
1995 saw the series begin to take off with manufacturers building or upgrading their cars to Kit Car spec. Reigning champions Skoda replaced the Favorit with the new
In 1996, SEAT won the title by nine points, ahead of Renault in second place, with the latter company debuting their
In 1997, SEAT won the title by 70 points, ahead of Skoda in second place, with the latter company debuting their
In 1998, SEAT won the title, making it three back-to-back titles, whilst runners-up Peugeot finished 12 points behind.
In 1999, Renault won the title by seven points from Hyundai, but with only three teams left in the category (one of whom, Volkswagen, were not classified as they had not homologated their new
Champions
Year | Team | Points |
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1993 | General Motors Europe[1] | 74 |
1994 | Škoda[3] | 43 |
1995 | Peugeot[4] | 257 |
1996 | SEAT[5] | 274 |
1997 | SEAT[6] | 114 |
1998 | SEAT[7] | 87 |
1999 | Renault[9] | 102 |
See also
- Super 2000 World Rally Championship
- Production World Rally Championship
- Junior World Rally Championship
- WRC2
- WRC3
References
- ^ a b "1993 FIA Cup for Manufacturers of Touring Cars (2-Litre) - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Statistiques Champ. 2 Litres". www.rallyimage.fr. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ a b "1994 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 4 November 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ a b "1995 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 5 November 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ a b "1996 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ a b "1997 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ a b "1998 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 7 November 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Rallies - Great Britain 1998 final results". juwra.com. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ a b "1999 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers - Final classification". RallyBase. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2013.