why doesnt audi do rally's anymore???
07-10-2008, 01:52 AM
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why doesnt audi do rally's anymore???
ive always wondered why audi just stopped doing rally's. they were the definition or rally in the 80's then it seems like they just stopped caring.
now it seems like they just care about big luxory cars with no feel instead of real sports cars and driver cars.
they dont really have that image of an all weather, all condition company. it seems like they are loosing their spirit.
i think people would really respect audi if they started rallying again. they are in lemans, but every company is in lemans.
they need to get back into rallying and take back what they started.
if they ever did decide to get back into it they have the tt and the s3 they could base their rally cars on.
hell they could even make a new car. like a recreation of the sport/ur quattro would most likely be a very amazing car. if they made it to compete with the evo and sti it would probably be a very awesome car. a rally oriented audi that competes with the sti/evo? that would be my dream car.
now it seems like they just care about big luxory cars with no feel instead of real sports cars and driver cars.
they dont really have that image of an all weather, all condition company. it seems like they are loosing their spirit.
i think people would really respect audi if they started rallying again. they are in lemans, but every company is in lemans.
they need to get back into rallying and take back what they started.
if they ever did decide to get back into it they have the tt and the s3 they could base their rally cars on.
hell they could even make a new car. like a recreation of the sport/ur quattro would most likely be a very amazing car. if they made it to compete with the evo and sti it would probably be a very awesome car. a rally oriented audi that competes with the sti/evo? that would be my dream car.
07-10-2008, 05:31 AM
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They pretty much dominated Group-B rally racing for a number of years, so they bowed out to....
go road racing instead. IMSA-TransAm racing in 1988, IMSA-GTO in 1989, DTM in the early '90s to present...not to mention the Le Mans cars from the late 90's to today...
07-10-2008, 09:19 AM
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I'm not really sure you can say audi dominated group b
they won the manufacturer's title two out of the five years they participated, and the driver's title once.
They had tremendous traction but poor handling, and in '83, a rear-wheel drive lancia beat the quattro for the manufacturers title.
They had tremendous traction but poor handling, and in '83, a rear-wheel drive lancia beat the quattro for the manufacturers title.
07-10-2008, 10:28 AM
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Personally, I want them in F1 so bad. I vote ditch DTM(likely as expensive) and go to F1
problem is, they have this huge rivalry with MB and DTM is pretty big in Germany and rest of Europe.
They could fight MB and BMW in F1 though...
They could fight MB and BMW in F1 though...
07-10-2008, 10:45 AM
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Because of a Rally in 84 or 85 when a Escort Cosworth plowed into a crowd of people with fatalities.
Audi decided instantly to withdraw from further Rally competition because of crowd control issues during the stages.
You might think it has significantly improved over 20 years or so - No, have no false illusions.
In the late 90's I've lost a few mirrors which got wiped off by some idiot spectators who want it to have first hand experience by getting very close to the "action"....well, they got some for sure.
With some luck, they walked away with a couple of broken bones and no insurance on the planet is going to pay for that, it's Motorsport not indoor Chess.
People always asked why don't you slow down when coming towards a crowd? Wrong question to ask any Rally driver - that's my paycheck and every sound mind does understand the dangers of this sport.
Crowd control got a little better but it is still dangerous for anyone putting themselves into the wrong position like an exit of a blind over crest turn, once airborn you are out of luck, simple as that ;-)
There are a few privateers that still race Audis and it's fun and entertaining, but officially Audi has shifted its focus towards a different market and more Road race and Touring car oriented. Good thing if you ask me......because we can pick up the spoils like DSG, magneto-hydraulic suspension etc pp....
You might think it has significantly improved over 20 years or so - No, have no false illusions.
In the late 90's I've lost a few mirrors which got wiped off by some idiot spectators who want it to have first hand experience by getting very close to the "action"....well, they got some for sure.
With some luck, they walked away with a couple of broken bones and no insurance on the planet is going to pay for that, it's Motorsport not indoor Chess.
People always asked why don't you slow down when coming towards a crowd? Wrong question to ask any Rally driver - that's my paycheck and every sound mind does understand the dangers of this sport.
Crowd control got a little better but it is still dangerous for anyone putting themselves into the wrong position like an exit of a blind over crest turn, once airborn you are out of luck, simple as that ;-)
There are a few privateers that still race Audis and it's fun and entertaining, but officially Audi has shifted its focus towards a different market and more Road race and Touring car oriented. Good thing if you ask me......because we can pick up the spoils like DSG, magneto-hydraulic suspension etc pp....
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07-10-2008, 10:54 AM
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'86. And it was a ford RS200. The accident ended all of group B, not just audi's involvement
and left the more production-based class.
By the time group B ended, the crazy purpose-built rally cars like the mid-engine Peugeot 205 and the RS200 were way ahead.
By the time group B ended, the crazy purpose-built rally cars like the mid-engine Peugeot 205 and the RS200 were way ahead.
07-10-2008, 11:08 AM
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Oh well, same difference, Ford used the 1.8T BDT Cosworth engine in the RS200....so to me
it just remains an Escort with a pretty face :-)
Next Evo step was the 2.1ltr Cosworth engine but that never had a chance in Group B since it was stopped by the time Ford had it ready.......
Next Evo step was the 2.1ltr Cosworth engine but that never had a chance in Group B since it was stopped by the time Ford had it ready.......
07-10-2008, 11:27 AM
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the difference between the two is a pretty good example of the diff. between grp A and A
that's a little like saying a corvette is the same as a GMC just because they share a small-block chevy :-)
the RS200 was a crazy mid-engine purpose built rally car with 200 road-going examples produced for homologation. The Escort cosworth was for group A -- a much more production-based, front engine, mass-market thing... competition for the scooby wrx.
the RS200 was a crazy mid-engine purpose built rally car with 200 road-going examples produced for homologation. The Escort cosworth was for group A -- a much more production-based, front engine, mass-market thing... competition for the scooby wrx.