2015 WRC RGT Championship

[Jim Garfield]

This should be good.

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The FIA has just announced a new WRC RGT championship: the 2015 R-GT Cup. Held over five European rounds of the 2015 World Rally Championship, it is tailor-made for the Tuthill Porsche 997 RGT car and other similar challengers.

The FIA is pleased to confirm the calendar for the 2015 FIA R-GT Cup, an exciting new competition for drivers and co-drivers using a car of Class R-GT with a valid FIA Passport.

The calendar is a mix of FIA World Rally Championship and FIA European Rally Championship events and points from all five rounds will count towards the title:

Rallye Monte-Carlo
GEKO Ypres Rally
Rallye Deutschland
Rallye International du Valais
Tour de Corse

The FIA has worked hard to incorporate this spectacular class of car into the framework of the World Rally Championship and is delighted to have issued its first Passports and finalised a calendar for the 2015 season.

“We have been working closely with our technical department for some time to see how we can correctly include this class of car into our rally pyramid,” commented Jarmo Mahonen, FIA Rally Director. “To have achieved this now is great news for all the rally fans that have been waiting to see these cars out on the world stage. Each R-GT car is very individual and has to be treated as such, so there will always be work in progress, but we have had good collaboration with some tuners who have helped us establish the best way forward with the Passports. The creation of the R-GT Cup was a natural progression and we really hope to see more cars out in competition in the future; certainly from the reaction we have seen so far, the fans love the sight and sound of these iconic cars.”

The first Class R-GT car – a Porsche 911 (996) GT3 RS – appeared on the World Rally Championship during the 2014 Rallye Monte-Carlo piloted by Belgian race and rally driver Marc Duez. Since then, Jani Ylipahkala entered a Porsche 997 GT3 on Neste Oil Rally Finland and Richard Tuthill rallied a 997 GT3 Cup on ADAC Rallye Deutschland. And two 997 GT3s have also been entered in the upcoming Rallye de France Alsace for French aces François Delecour and Romain Dumas.

Tuthill Porsche welcomes this exciting new championship! We can offer RGT-compliant Porsche 911 rally cars to compete in the newest series in World Championship rallying. Email Tuthill Porsche to discuss our R-GT customer car programme.

[Jim Garfield]

Video of Chris Harris driving the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7afNZsAvqI

[Chuck Miller]

Thanks Jim.............

[Jim Garfield]

Francois Delacour testing his RGT for the Monte Carlo Rally, starting next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4sj4letECY

[reedminor]

Fantastic, I really wish them well.

How good is Chris Harris... 6th gear, sliding all over the place, and still informative, entertaining, and (above all) enthusiastic?

[Jim Garfield]

Romain Dumas is running his GT3 RS 4.0 in a livery that's a homage to Waldegard's 1970 Monte Carlo winning 911. Dumas is fast becoming one of my favorite drivers. He just finished competing in the Dakar Rally last week, and immediately flew home to participate in the Monte Carlo Rally, and then will be off to test the improvements to the 919 in preparation for LeMans and the the '15 WEC. What a guy!

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http://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/r...e-monte-carlo/

"Romain Dumas is certainly showing his versatility this month of January!

After tackling the Dakar with the Ecurie du Coeur, and before testing begins with the Porsche Team ahead of the World Endurance Championship, the French driver will be at the start of the Rally Monte-Carlo, with a Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0l developed by his own team and outfit.

For this first round of the FIA R-GT Cup, Romain will fly the very same colours that made their mark on the Monte-Carlo’s history : the livery worn by the Porsche 911 S driven by Björn Waldegard and Lars Helmer in 1970 during one of four successes at the famed event for the Zuffenhausen firm.

« A humble hommage for a great champion »

There’s no time to rest for Romain Dumas who heads straight to the Monte-Carlo Rally after the Dakar, going from dunes to asphalt (and perhaps snow !) It’s with this in mind that he conducted various tests in December, both in the Gard and Jura regions of France, in order to experience various conditions. « We are well prepared, but I think you can never be fully prepared for the Monte-Carlo» declared the factory Porsche driver.

« It’s such a unique rally ! I will certainly need a little time to get back into the right rhythm, with the goal of gaining speed and confidence from stage to stage and day to day. It’s a special event for me and I hope to shine in the R-GT class, where there will likely be some good battles. I’m looking forward to discovering this legendary event which is also full of traps. »

The Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0l is a unique model developed by RD Limited. After making its debut at the Rallye de France-Alsace, then the Tour de Corse, Romain Dumas’ car has benefited from another round of evolutions. The car will run the No. 23 at the Monte-Carlo, and the livery has been inspired by the Porsche 911 S that won in 1970 the hands of Björn Waldegard.

Supporter of the R-GT class

« I’m an ardent supporter of the R-GT class in rallying and I’m thrilled to take part in the Monte-Carlo with a Porsche » he said.

« Along with the team, we’ve had this idea for a few years now, to take a look back at one of the four wins for Porsche. The year 1970 was marked by an historic third win in a row for Porsche and Björn Waldegard made an impact by, among other things, being the first World Rally champion, and winning the Monte-Carlo twice with Porsche. He passed a way last summer and it’s a humble hommage that we wanted to do for a great champion. We all have to be on our game, because I see it as our responsibility. Nous devons tous être à la hauteur car je considère que c’est une responsabilité. It’s not a trivial matter. A Porsche in these colours is immediately remembered for its successes at the Monte-Carlo. I hope that will be the case for us in R-GT. »

Team owner/driver Romain Dumas will be joined by his usual co-driver Denis Giraudet. Romain’s father, Maurice Dumas, who has already participated in the Monte-Carlo, and mother, Geneviève, will open the road for their son. The duo is accustomed to running in the VHC (vintage), with several successes in a Porsche 911 SC3.0l also prepared by RD Limited."

[CurtEgerer]

Looks like there may be a contender to the 911 GT3 afterall. Makela Auto Tuning in Finland - the guys who do the incredible restoration work on historic rally cars - have converted an Aston Martin to WRC RGT specs. You can click thru this gallery and see the build: Makela Aston Martin

Makela Aston.jpg

Sounds like they're going to shake this thing down at the Arctic Lapland Rally this weekend. As a side note: they have 150 entries for the rally We consider 50 entries a huge event in the US ....

[Jim Garfield]

That's great, I hope more teams develop cars for this class. The more cars, the more chance this class will thrive. I think this class with bigger, more powerful, two wheel drive cars is going to be fun to watch.

[Yellow491]

Tutts wins monte.

[Jim Garfield]

It seems the times for the RGT cars are comparable to sharp end of the WRC3 class. I'll bet they were a lot more fun to watch. Let's hope more teams jump in with RGT cars.
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Tuthill Porsche wins in Monte Carlo Rally
Posted on January 25, 2015

Tuthill Porsche is celebrating tonight, following victory in the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally. Driving a Tuthill Porsche 911 in the R-GT category, Frenchman François Delecour finished almost three minutes ahead of rival, Romain Dumas, to win the opening round of the inaugural R-GT Cup.

“We’ve won rallies in Porsche 911s on every continent, but no rally means more to Porsche fans than Monte Carlo, site of so many classic moments in Porsche history,” said delighted team boss, Richard Tuthill. “To win this event with a personal hero, the great François Delecour, is extremely special and something I will always remember.

“An overall Porsche win is no longer possible in the modern World Rally Championship, but we treasure this win just as much. Fighting equally committed competitors in capable cars right to the finish was incredible. This year’s Monte Carlo Rally showed just how exciting R-GT rallying can be with more cars taking part.

“It also proved that the spirit of competition is alive and well and living in rallying, when a technical query before the event required the agreement of our competitors for us to continue. Huge thanks for their wholehearted support, and huge thanks also to our sponsors: Visit Romania, EXE-TC Suspension, Millers Oils and Michelin Tyres. Their excellent products undoubtedly helped us to win this event.”

François Delecour and co-driver Dominique Savignoni set quick times from the start of the 2015 Monte Carlo Rally, building a lead of more than three minutes as they entered the fourth and final day’s rallying. Over the last three stages, including the treacherous Col de Turini, Delecour shrugged off extreme pressure before sealing a memorable victory: the first Monte Carlo Porsche win since 1978.

“This rally has been a huge challenge,” said François. “Snow and ice on the twisty mountain roads makes a great test for the driver! The final day of managing the gap to Dumas while driving quickly to keep concentration was not easy: I am just so happy now! We will celebrate tonight with family and friends, and this amazing team of Tuthill Porsche.”

The Monte Carlo win puts Tuthill Porsche and Delecour on top of the 2015 R-GT Cup: a five-round FIA championship for R-GT cars. The next R-GT round is the Geko Ypres Rally in June, which Tuthill Porsche has previously won in historics, as part of a victorious Belgian championship campaign.

“Ypres is a mega event,” says Richard Tuthill. “Starting with a Monte Carlo win in our pocket, a wonderful car that the fans absolutely adore and this incredible driver and co-driver pairing will be a dream come true. R-GT rallying is a brilliant experience: we want to see more drivers signing up for 2015, hopefully using Tuthill Porsche 911s!”