Rally Legends Ready to Shred at WTAC!
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
The 2026 Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge will bring the sights and sounds of 1970s and ‘80s WRC madness to Sydney Motorsport Park! Four examples of rallying’s history will hit the track to show spectators some wild two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive action, covering Group 4, Group B and Group A eras of the sport.
The 1970s Group 4 era are represented by a 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB (yes, they used to rally Ferraris) and a 1977 Fiat Abarth 131 coupe. The Ferrari 308 GTB which will be run at WTAC was originally run in SCCA racing events in America with a 300hp 2.9-litre V8 powering only the rear wheels, as was normal in the years before Audi introduced the world to Quattro four-wheel power, and a kerb weight of around 900kg thanks to its body being made from fibreglass.
The 1977 131 was one of the superstars of 1970s rallying, taking the fight to Ford’s iconic RS Escorts, and this exact car was used as a racing machine across both European rallies and hillclimbs, before being sent to Japan in the late ‘80s to live in a museum for a quarter-century. These wide-body two-door, lightweight machines were homologation special variants of the regular Fiat 131 featured fibreglass and aluminium body panels to drop weight to as little as 970kg but packed an Abarth-built DOHC two-litre four-cylinder producing only 140hp in road car guise, but up to 245hp in race-tuned, fuel-injected Corsa spec.
Only 400 131 Abarth Rally models were built between 1976 and 1978; just enough to qualify to compete in the World Rally Championship under Group 4 regulations. And it competed well, winning three constructor championships (1977, 1978, 1980) and 18 WRC rallies, while Markku Alen and Walter Rohrl both won driver’s championships (1978 for Alen, 1980 for Rohrl) behind the wheels of Group 4 131s.
The third car is a mid-engined, rear-drive legend which was made famous by hard-charging madmen like Jean Ragnotti. The 1981 Renault 5 Turbo 1 is an earlier Group 4 variant of the Group B-spec Turbo 5 Maxi which scored WRC titles despite going up against more powerful all-wheel-drive competition, and this particular Renault competed in nine rallies around Europe from 1981 to 1983, spanning both the end of the Group 4 and start of Group B eras.
Finally, the 1991 Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 1 brings some Group A flavour to WTAC. One of the most-successful Group A rally cars of all time, the Delta Integrale racked up six consecutive WRC constructors’ titles and 46 WRC round wins between 1987 and 1992.
The Delta Integrale running demos at WTAC was built into Group A specs in the late 1990s featuring an upgraded Garrett turbo, titanium headers and rear suspension cradle, Sparco roll cage and 17-inch magnesium wheels. This put it in the era-correct spec for an Evo 1 Delta, up against the Toyota Team Europe ST165-series Celica GT-Four, Mitsubishi Galant VR-4, Subaru Legacy RS, and Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4, but which still triumphed in the driver’s and constructors’s titles.
These four epic rally-bred machines will take to the track for demo runs during the day at WTAC, but also participate in the Mayhem After Dark on-track afterparty on Saturday night!
We’ll see all four running multiple sessions through Friday and Saturday at the 2026 Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge. Do you want to be part of the action? The action runs all day and night Friday 4 September and Saturday 5 September, with an epic Saturday night finale. Get your tickets online at the WTAC website or at the gate to be a part of this epic festival of fast.
