In the 1960s, motorsport racing was becoming widely popular. Ford and Ferrari had a fierce rivalry on the race track, Team Mini was dominating the rally circuit, Formula One and Indy Car became separate racing events, NASCAR was booming with new spectators, and muscle cars became as wanted and desirable as iPods are now. Back in these early race days, there were little if any regulations and safety was a low priority.
Fast foward to two decades later to the 1980s and you will see the age of the Group B rally cars and Formula One. Group B rally cars boasted an amazing 600 hp and only weighed just over a ton. These cars would fly through narrow, tree-filled trails at 80mph. The racing events took place on dirt, gravel, snow, mud, and occasionally tarmac(paved roads). No matter what the weather was, these rally events went on, pushing the limits of the cars, drivers, and co-drivers. Sometimes, these events would take place at night. These high speeds combined with sharp turns and unpredictable terrain caused a number of accidents. In one instance, Portuguese national champion Joaquim Santos was driving up a crest when he had to swerve around spectators and lost control of his vehicle. The car skidded in to another crowd of spectators injuring 31 and killing 3. Due to the staggering cost of these machines and a series of fatal accidents, Group B rally was cancelled and replaced after only having 5 years in the spotlight. The era of Group B may have been short, but its reputation will always be legendary.
Back to the more sane side of motorsports, there is Formula One. Formula one cars are at the tip of the spear when it comes to automotive technology. The engines in F1 cars produced anywhere from 550 hp to 1,500 hp with the help of a turbocharger. During the 90s, turbos were banned which in turn, lowered the horsepower ratings of these cars and slowed the cars down. Advancements in technology gave F1 cars the capability to reach over 1,000 hp without the use of a turbocharger.
During the mid and late 2000s was when motorsports started to become less entertaining and dull. F1 cars went from using 1,000 hp V10 engines to 800 hp V8 engines. In a move to make the sport more economically friendly, F1 cars will switch to V4 engines in the year 2014. These engine will produce between 500-700 hp. For rally cars, they are now more "bare bones" and power has been cut from 340 hp to 300 hp.
Throughout the entire motorsport industry, racing cars are becoming slower and slower. Newer regulations either require smaller engines or larger restrictor plates(these plates limit the amount of airflow to the engine which lowers the power output). Making these cars slower takes away the excitement in automotive racing. Honestly, if we had high-definition cameras and tv's in the 80s, I would rather watch the racing from then instead of now.
