Let’s all meet up in the year 2000.
Rarely has a return to the top of the millennium seen so appealing. Or so achievable. There was much debate and much expectation that Thursday’s virtual meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council could bring news of hybrid being dropped from next year’s World Rally Championship. That story, we’re told, is still being written. Watch this space.
But instead of some potentially divisive news about tomorrow, the governing body delivered some excellent news for lovers of yesterday.
In its own words: “Changes to Appendix K of the International Sporting Code mean that, from 2025, racing [and rally] cars built between the years 1991 and 2000 will be able to carry the Historic Technical Passports that allow them to compete in FIA championships and international motor sport events.”
Happy days and another step towards Group A becoming the new Group B.
Didier Auriol's title-winning Toyota Celica ST185 can enter historic events from next year
This is the news Jari-Matti Latvala has been waiting for. For too long, he’s been pedaling a Celica GT-4, while building a beautiful Celica Turbo 4WD. It’s out with the ST165 and in with the ST185. And even the slightly more controversial ST205 – the historic Celica likely to be seen the least.
But that’s just the start. Subaru Impreza 555, hello old friend. Ford’s Escort RS Cosworth, Mitsubishi’s Lancer of many evos. They’re all coming our way on a wide variety of historic events. If you, for example, think Kalle Rovanperä coming to Killarney is adding some spice to next month’s event, just wait for the 2025 edition – it’s going to be the Irish Tarmac Championship at the very height of its Nineties pomp and power.
The good news doesn’t end there. What happened in 1997? That’s right, the arrival of the World Rally Car – meaning more metal and even more style. This regulation has opened the door to the first three incarnations of the stunning Subaru Impreza WRC. And Ford’s Focus, which caught the eye of Colin McRae and delivered the WRC’s bombshell storyline of the late 1990s as the Scot defected from Prodrive to M-Sport.
Whale-tailed Escort RS Cosworth was an early-'90s hit
Seat’s Cordoba WRC and Škoda’s Octavia are back in play, as is Hyundai’s original WRC warrior, the Accent WRC. And last but very much not least, there’s the car that made the biggest impact as the 20th century gave way to the 21st, the one that Marcus Grönholm made his own: the Peugeot 206 WRC.
The future of historics has never looked so good. You could, in fact, say it’s in a different class now. Apologies to non-Britpop loving readers out there, but the Pulp reference is a worthy one… Different Class and that album’s biggest banger Disco 2000 were released five days after McRae won the 1995 world championship.
This one’s for the common people.
