WRC, R-GT Class | Excitement, Brought To You By FIA!

Francois Delecour driving Porsche 997 GT3, RMC 2015 WRC 2015 , has seen a lot of changes in cars and also driver lineup. But one new feature...

Francois Delecour driving Porsche 997 GT3, RMC 2015

WRC 2015, has seen a lot of changes in cars and also driver lineup. But one new feature induced in the Championship went rather quietly!. 



Yes, its the R-GT class introduced by FIA as RGT Cup which will run across Europe in WRC and ERC rounds. Last year Tuthill Porsche has already shown glimpses of action running a Porsche 911 RGT and completing Rallye Deutschland. Thats almost after 28 years a Porsche completing a WRC rally!

Now going a little back into the history, RGT class was first introduced in 2011. Technically this class is for series production GT cars. The car must be a two wheel drive only. Lotus came up with the Exige R-GT. It was debuted in 2012 Geko Ypres rally. But after that it all went quiet again.

Lotus Exige R-GT

Tuthill Porsche at Rallye Deutschland

Then in 2014 Tuthill Porsche built Porsche 911 RGT on a 997 circuit racing platform. The car was stripped down and transformed into a rally racing machine. In the process getting the power down from 450bhp to 320bhp to comply with the RGT regulation.



Car made its first appearance in Harry Flatters Rally 2014 running as a course car. Then again the car burnt some rubber in WRC Germany this time as a competitive car. Then this year FIA came up with this brilliant idea of having a RGT Cup! A five round championship which will be run on WRC and ERC tarmac rounds. 





The 2015 RGT Cup Calendar (accurate ERC event dates yet to be confirmed);

1. Rallye Monte Carlo (22nd-25th January, WRC) 


2. Geko Ypres Rally (late June, ERC) 


3. Rallye Deutschland (20th-23rd August, WRC) 


4. Rallye du Valais (late October, ERC) 


5. Tour de Corse (early November, ERC)

  

In the making....

Finally into this...

To give a boost to this, in Finland a Aston Martin Vantage RGT rally car appeared on recently concluded Arctic Lapland Rally. Makela Auto-Tuning is responsible for this madness! They stripped down a 2012 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 into a rally beast! Adding to it FIA has also given its approval for the RGT class. Sweet isn't it! Seeing a V8 rear wheel drive roaring through the rally stages. This car is likely to be seen competing in more rallies.

Aston Martin Vantage RGT

These candy-eyed cars have got a lot of interest in rally, this could be the beginning of a successful RGT championship. And of course this Excitement is brought to you by FIA!