Group C Racing Revisited - Le Mans 2004
Porsche leads Ecosse leads Jaguar leads Argo leads Porsche leads Argo leads Spice!
The Group C era was one of the golden eras of Sportscar racing.
Double race winning NewMan Joest Porsche leads Jaguar.
Whilst sportscar racing staggers on into 2005, with disparate rules and the arrival of the Maserati MC12 threaten to totally destabilise the strong GT series in exactly the same way the Porsche GT1 did in 1997, it was glorious to see at packed field of Group C cars turn out at 2004's Le Mans 24 hours to stage a support race.
XJR12 Vs LC2 - Great to watch and something you could never see in the 1980s
Entrants including a number of TWR Jaguars, Porsches (956s and 962s), a pair of the beautiful Lancia LC2s, Nimrod and EMKA Aston Martins, Marchs, Spices, Tigas, a rare GTP Intrepid and numerous other lesser known cars.
Standing up on the Dunlop Bridge, it was like travelling back in time to see what looked like a full 24 hour field of Group C cars stream up the hill.
GTP Jaguar leads Group Lancia. Porsches and Spices also in shot.
A couple of cars, sadly, but not totally surprisingly, didn't last longer than the first lap, but over the 45 minutes of the race, a real ding-dong battle developed between the XJR-11 of Gary Pearson and the Nissan R90CK of Charlie Agg and many of the cars were driven with vigour that belied their age and, in many cases, value.
Jaguar Vs Nissan - The leaders battle.
The Jaguar of Pearson eked out a handy lead, but failed towards the end of the race, giving Nissan their first win at Le Mans, after so many near misses.
Victor's Nissan heads Jaguar and NewMan Porsche in early stages.
For lots more info and photos of Group C Historic racing visit The Group C/GTP Racing website.
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