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Madrid Motor Days: The return of CET and Group B

From December 20 to January 5, the exhibition
Madrid Motor Days.

It has possibly been one of the world's highest value motor shows seen to date, for the quality of the vehicles exhibited there, all of them maximum exponents of the History of modern motoring, both Spanish and international, and in many cases original or unique pieces.

For the subject that concerns us here in The Escudería -the classic vehicles-, what we liked the most was to meet again with the legendary Group B of the World Rally Championship, or with the leading cars of the disappeared CET, the Spanish Touring Car Championship.

All this without leaving aside the Paris-Dakar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the German DTM or Formula 1, with the ill-fated Spanish team HRT or one of Fernando Alonso's Renault, among other motorsport disciplines. In addition, there have been visits and activities with legendary pilots interacting with the public, such as Marc Gené, Luis Pérez Sala, Carlos Sáinz, Miki Biasion, Ari Vatanen and a long etcetera.

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1- BMW M3 by Kuru Villacieros, with whom he raced the CET in the 80s
2- With this Nissan Skyline, Luis Pérez Sala dominated the CET in the 80s

Most of the vehicles on display come from the collection of Teo Martín, who has been one of the main promoters of the show, along with Toni Dueñas, Gonzalo de Andrés, Verónica Martín and Oscar Haro. Teo has been linked to the motor world for more than 37 years. He has been a car driver in different disciplines and a team owner from 1988 to 1996 with various championship titles.

Precisely a BMW M3 circuit from his team, driven by the recently disappeared Kuru Villacieros, was part of the section dedicated to the CET, along with another BMW 3 Series by Antonio Albacete, the mythical Nissan Skyline by Luis Pérez Sala, with which the modern image of Repsol as a sponsor was launched, or the Alfa Romeo 155 of whom Adrián Campos was also a Formula 1 driver.

The most striking part of the exhibition was made up of the legendary Group B: Those racing kings of rallying which in their day represented the maximum development in motorsports, and whose evolution was so enormous and brutal that they ended up becoming dangerous machines and very difficult to drive.

Rear of the Stratos, with zero visibility for the pilots
Rear of the Stratos, with zero visibility for the pilots

In 1986, the very serious accident of Ari Vatanen in Argentina at the controls of a Peugeot 205 T 16, the death of three spectators hit by Joaquín Santos's Ford RS 200 at the Rally Portugal, and the gruesome fatal accident of Henry Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto aboard a Lancia Delta S4 at Rally Corsica, were the main causes of the final ban on the legendary category.

But we are not going to get tragic: although the history of Group B had a sad end, until it reached this there was an evolution from the mid-70s -starting from Group 4 and Group 5- until 1986 that account one of the most exciting chapters in the history of the World Rally Championship, starring mythical pilots and fascinating machines that we have been able to recall in this exhibition.

The kings of rallying

With the Lancia Stratos, the development of what would become the Group B began. This striking car, designed by Bertone in the shape of a UFO and the Ferrari Dino engine, monopolized the podiums of the 70s. Precisely, a recreation of the one in Monte Carlo From 1977 he presided over Pavilion 2 of Ifema. Sandro Munari was one of the main pilots of that model.

Fiat 131 Abarth: the successor to the Stratos
Fiat 131 Abarth: the successor to the Stratos

With the final absorption of Lancia by FIAT in the mid-70s, the Stratos was replaced by the FIAT 131 Abarth, with the advertising purpose of launching sales of the then new family model from the Turin factory. Here we have been able to admire the specimen with which Mauricio Verini and Ninni Russo ran the '77 season. SEAT even had some units of the 131 Abarth in its official team, with Salvador Cañellas, Antonio Zanini and Beny Fernández at their command.

In 1980 Audi revolutionized the world of rallying with the Quattro: the first sports car with permanent all-wheel drive. At the beginning of the decade, it became the rival to beat for the other brands. Frenchwoman Michelle Mouton was one of his main drivers, as well as becoming the first female World Rally Champion with him, teaming up with Stig Blomqvist and Hannu Mikkola.

Other contemporary cars were the Talbot Lotus Sunbeam, or the Opel Ascona 400 and Manta 400, also represented at the exhibition. Guy Frequelin won the World Cup with a Sunbeam in 1981, and Zanini won his World Championship in 1983 with another. Those of Stig Blomqvist and Zanini were present here.

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1- Talbot Lotus Sumbeam by Zanini
2- Talbot Lotus Sumbeam by Stig Blomqvist

The first car capable of seriously standing up to the Quattro was the Lancia 037. Derived from the Beta, the 037 was the first car registered in the new category called Group B, which replaced the hitherto Group 4 and Group 5.

With the new regulation, now to homologate a vehicle only had to manufacture 200 cars, compared to 400 before. In addition, to make an evolution it was enough to manufacture 20 new vehicles, so the Group B were constantly updating in technology. One of the main pilots of the 037 has been Miki Biasion, who has been present at Madrid Motor Days, wasting sympathy among the attendees. The 037 was also a popular model in Spanish rallies, and Teo Martín himself came to compete with one.

Around this time, Renault began to popularize Turbo technology. In both Formula 1 and rallying, "turbo" became the magic word. The 5 Turbo also became a benchmark for rallying in the 80s in its different versions, such as the Tour de Corse, the Turbo 2, and the Maxi Turbo. Jean Ragnotti in France, and Carlos Sáinz here in Spain have been some of the main drivers who have raced with that model.

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1- Lancia 037 by Miki Biasion
2- Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Spanish official

The 5 Turbo also had a parallel development on circuits, such as the European Renault 5 Turbo Cup that featured an exceptional Spanish representative: Jesús Pareja. In addition, the 5 Turbo was present at the American Indy Cup as Pace car or participant. These curious models - one of them with gull-wing doors - have been exhibited in this exhibition.

With the demise of the Talbot brand, the PSA Group did not have any cars present at the World Cup. The popular Peugeot 205 then became the basis for creating a rally car to challenge the 5 Turbo, and thus the 205 Turbo 16 was born.

Ari Vatanen, Timo Salonen, Juha Kankkunen and Bruno Saby were its main drivers, leading Peugeot to win the World Championship. Once Group B was banned, an elongated model with all-wheel drive came to participate with great success in the Paris Dakar, being champion in the years 87 and 88: the 205 Turbo 16 Rallye-Raid, which led to the 405 Rallye Raid, both present at Madrid Motor Days.

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1- Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
2- MG Mini Metro 6W4

Such was the success of Group B and its advertising impact, that other brands joined the adventure. Austin prepared the MG Mini Metro 6R4, 6 cylinder, 4 wheel drive. Here we have been able to enjoy the one driven by Malcom Wilson.

Ford was slow to jump on the bandwagon, and he did so with a beautiful coupe that was not derived from any of its street cars, designed from the ground up exclusively for rallying: the RS 200. Carlos Sáinz and Zanini (with sponsorships from Purolator and Marlboro, respectively) came to run with him. But the accident of Joaquín Santos in Portugal that we mentioned at the beginning, and the consequent end of the category, very soon truncated the development and evolution of this model.

FROM CITROËN FIASCO TO THE END

Another machine that was also late to Group B, specifically in the 86 season, and whose performance in the World Championship was a real fiasco, was the Citroën BX 4TC. It was a true monstrosity made from remnants of the PSA Group, like the original engine of the Peugeot 505 placed in a longitudinal position instead of transverse and inclined 15 degrees because it did not fit, which made it necessary to lengthen the nose of the car giving it a huge front overhang, and that, to compensate for the excess size , the length of tracks would be reduced in order to make it more manageable.

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1- The very rare Citroën BX 4TC
2- The BX 4TC, on the street

It was said that the failure of the BX 4TC had been such that Citroën itself came to withdraw from sale and destroy, along with the racing cars, the street models that had been built for homologation. But… there was one of each in the exhibit! Apparently, Teo de Carreras' is almost a unique specimen; there is another in France in an unknown state of conservation… The others are supposed to have disappeared. By the way, a curiosity: in the anagram, instead of putting “4 × 4”, Citroën put twice the double chevron separated by an “X”.

The evolution of rally cars was increasing, with constant modifications in the mechanics, increasingly frequent, and huge increases in power, doubling it in just over five years from just 200 horses to more than 500.

As a spectator, it became almost impossible to anticipate the arrival of the fireballs, since it was what is called a “seen and not seen”. Hence the numerous abuses that occurred at that time. The drivers themselves came to complain about the lack of safety on the tracks, and the difficulty in being able to master the driving of those cars, which were sometimes even difficult to drive in a straight line.

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1- Ford RS 200, in its street version
2- Lancia Delta S4: the end point of «Group B»

Meanwhile, Audi and Lancia were trying to regain the hegemony snatched by Peugeot with new models: Audi with a trimmed Quattro, called the Quattro Sport S1, and Lancia with the Delta S4. Then came the tragedy.

Starting in 1986, rally cars were again more similar to road cars (Unforgettable the Lancia Delta HF Turbo and Integrale of the late 80s and early 90s!) And the most rational races. Spectacle was lost, but security was gained.

Here in Spain, we were able to enjoy unforgettable moments with pilots like Pep Bassas and his M3, who was also present at the show together with his DAF service van. Carlos Sáinz, after going through Renault and Ford, signed with Toyota and won the World Championship at the controls of a Celica, a car also on display here.

Toyota Celica by Carlos Sáinz, with which he reached the World Championship
Toyota Celica by Carlos Sáinz, with which he reached the World Championship

Back to racing

Teo Martín has made us relive that magical time and has brought us indelible memories of our childhood and adolescence, when we saw these cars in the magazines -Velocidad, Autopista, Auto Hebdo, Motor 16… -, we lined our classifiers in high school with his photos , we would wallpaper our room with posters of Lancias 037 or Carlos Sáinz machines, or we played with their versions of Scalextric - what slot fan has not ever run with an Alitalia Stratos or a 037? All of them marked our love for motorsports. Thanks for wanting to share it, Teo!

And you will tell me what about the rest of the exhibition: Very interesting, but it is another story that leaves the world of the classics, and not as striking as the part of Group B.

By the way, among the vehicles presented by the Repsol Team and that we are already used to always seeing in this type of event, there was one with a special characteristic that goes unnoticed and that few know for sure: it is a Lancia Aurelia that belonged to the pilot. Formula 1 Ferrari, Niki Lauda's partner, Clay Regazzoni.

This Lancia Aurelia belonged to Clay Regazzoni
This Lancia Aurelia belonged to Clay Regazzoni

Apart from the exhibition itself, another incentive to attend Madrid Motor Days has been the possibility of attending a group with a discount such as classic clubs, and accessing the car park for free. In my case, I went with my club, the Renault 5 GT Turbo. It was impressive to see the parking lot full of "Soplillos". 

From here I want to publicly congratulate, with everyone's permission, its president, Rafael García Atrio, for exercising guide during our visit and for his enthusiasm in his work within the Madrid Motor Days organization, which has infected us all.

And to conclude, just a complaint to those responsible for IFEMA for something that photographers and TV cameras have been suffering there for years: How can you light an exhibition space with orange mercury vapor lights !? They ruin any photo or video job with hideous dominants impossible to correct in the lab or in post production !!!
 
 
 
 

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Written by Michael Angel Vazquez

Miguel Ángel Vázquez, graduated in Audiovisual Communication from the European University of Madrid and Master in Dubbing, Translation and Subtitling (UEM). I have been a motor racing fan since I was a child, but my connection, let's say "professional" with Classic Vehicles began ... Read more

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