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Thirty years after the end of Group B rallying, film-maker Helmut Deimel has launched his latest film on rallying’s wildest era. For “Riding Balls of Fire”, the Austrian legend behind the hugely popular “Evolution of Rallying” has gathered together the finest archive footage of the 500 bhp Group B supercars in their prime. Watching this film really shows the extreme pace of evolution of the cars and the sport in the three short years from 1983 to 1986.
In the 1980s rallying was more popular than Formula 1. 'Group B' machines had taken the world by storm. De-regulation opened the way for the most exciting cars ever to hit the motor sport scene. Nothing like it has ever happened since. 'This is the fastest rallying there has ever been' - Peter Foubister. For four wild and crazy years manufacturers scrambled to build ever more powerful cars to be driven by fearless mavericks who could handle the extreme power. The sport was heading out of control and the unregulated mayhem ended abruptly in 1986 after a series of horrific tragedies. This is the story of when fans, ambition, politics and cars collided.
A jam-packed overview of the cars that have transformed the world rally scene! Ace driver Colin McRae talks about the modern giants of the sport, while Markku Alen, Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola and Bjorn Waldegaard demonstrate the awesome Group B cars of the Eighties. Action footage of the Audi Quattro, Lancia Stratos, Monte Carlo 037 and Delta Integrale plus Ford’s RS200, Escort MkI and II, Cosworth and Focus - and the mighty Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo feature. Extras exclusive to DVD include info on over 25 rally cars, fact files on famous drivers and an absolutely stunning rally on-board experience that will leave you gasping!.
Even more from the full story behind the awesome Group B Rally cars, featuring mind-blowing contemporary and archive racing footage of these fire-breathing rocket ships at blistering speeds! Declared “too fast to race” at the end of the 1986 season, the Group B cars changed the face of rallying! The Lancia Delta S4 could accelerate from 0-100km/h in 2-3 seconds on a gravel road, and Nigel Mansell is reputed to have said that the Peugeot 205 T16 could out-accelerate his F1 car! All were built to reach at least 400bhp, so we pushed these super-charged beasts to their absolute limit to see what else they could do, with legendary ex-World Rally champion Stig Blomqvist behind the wheel!
On the Line - The Race of Champions documentary celebrates the 30th birthday of the Race Of Champions, from its off-road beginnings on Gran Canaria to its popular stadium events in some of the most iconic venues around the world. For over 30 years the Race Of Champions has brought together the world's greatest drivers from Formula 1, Rally, NASCAR, IndyCar, Le Mans, and more to answer one simple question: If you let them loose in equal cars, who's actually the fastest of them all?
