The Group C regulations, in force between 1982 and 1993, led to the production of legendary cars that wrote some of the most glorious pages in Le Mans 24 Hours and the Sports Car World Endurance Championship history.
Early on, the Porsche 956s dominated despite stiff opposition from the Lancia LC2s, and then in 962 configuration, came up against much tougher rivals with the arrival of Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Alongside the major manufacturers, small constructors like Cougar, Dome, Rondeau, Spice and WM could still pull off the odd coup thanks to a clever interpretation of the regulations based on strict fuel consumption restrictions. Group C was abandoned in the early 90s after a brief cohabitation with the 3.5s Sports (905 Peugeot, XJR-14 Jaguar, TS010 Toyota, etc), but that era is still considered as the Golden Age of endurance racing by most of specialists of this motor sports field.
Qualifying events
Held every other year, Le Mans Classic offers Group C Racing competitors the opportunity to compete in a 45-minute race held on Saturday lunchtime as a curtain-raiser of the event. Given the demanding nature of the circuit both for the cars and the drivers, and the biennial format of the meeting, competitors will have to take part in two qualifying events to validate their entry for the 2022 Le Mans Classic. These two competitions can be run as part of the 2021 or 2022 Series by Peter Auto. Participation in the Daytona Classic and the 12 Hours of Sebring Classic is also accepted, as the technical specifications of the Group C cars are common to both Historic Sportscar Racing and Peter Auto.
