Group A Volvo 240 - Info and pics thread

[Splendid Cat]

Originally Posted by KA

That makes sense- it's a pretty vague recollection after 20 years, but as quick as they were, the Volvos did sometimes look at bit of a handful, compared to something like a Rover or 635...

The, still awesone, "Magnificent Seven" video (BHP) really emphasises this through the Woodcote chicane.

I was thinking about Zolder was well and the stop-start nature of the circuit suiting the 240. But then again the car was really successful at the very fast Salzburgring and Oesterreichring (albeit DQ in 86) circuits and the indecently quick Brno street circuit.

Doesn't appear to be a linear equation.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Splendid Cat

The, still awesone, "Magnificent Seven" video (BHP) really emphasises this through the Woodcote chicane.

I was thinking about Zolder was well and the stop-start nature of the circuit suiting the 240. But then again the car was really successful at the very fast Salzburgring and Oesterreichring (albeit DQ in 86) circuits and the indecently quick Brno street circuit.

Doesn't appear to be a linear equation.

Brno had a lot of long straights thanks to its +10 kilometer circuit and the aerodynamically arguably much better Ford Sierra showed everybody the way in the '86 race untill delays. The two Austrian circuits gave room for stretching out. As I remember the Rovers drove themselves to destruction in Austria '85 in trying to keep up with the Volvos. Ironically Anderstorp seemed to suit the Rovers better than the Volvos. In '85 the Rover suffered total destruction, but in '86 they crossed the line nose to tail, although the Volvo lost that to legal issues. Funny to think about such caracteristics.

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Thought it might me graphic to post a grid lineup from the 1989 Swedish Group A series to give an idea of how many Volvos were around.

Kvällspostans Newsrace - Ring Knutstorp, August 6 1989

Pos.	#	Driver (nat.)	Car
1.	21	Anders Lindberg (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
2.	15	Per-Gunnar Andersson (S)	BMW M3 Evolution
3.	2	Ulf Granberg (S)	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
4.	14	Bengt Thenander (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
5.	16	Nettan Lindgren (S)	BMW M3 Evolution
6.	24	Thomas Lindström (S)	Maserati Biturbo
7.	47	Hans Berglund (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
8.	6	Svenn-G. Josefsson (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
9.	10	Bill Berggren (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
10.	28	Peter Pettersson (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
11.	53	Tom Jansson (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
12.	55	Bengt Emilsson (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
13.	64	Joachim Waljé (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
14.	1	Lennart Bohlin (S)	BMW M3 Evolution
15.	51	Thomas Zimdahl (DK)	Peugeot 309 GTI
16.	63	Poul B. Nielsen (DK)	Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9
17.	34	Gert Rasmussen (DK)	Volvo 240 Turbo
18.	33	Kaj Bornebusch (S)	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
19.	17	Bertil Engström (S)	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
20.	65	Molle Robertsson (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo
21.	?	Hugo Jensen (DK)	Peugeot 309 GTI
22.	56	Per Sikström (S)	Volvo 240 Turbo

Grid transcribed from a video recording of the race transmitted on Swedish TV4?
12 from 22 being Volvos.
Looking at some of the positions weather might have played a part.
Some of the Volvos were likely former Turbo Cup cars.
The Danish Peugeots were running to Group N specifications.

Jesper

[VolvoGroupA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Thought it might me graphic to post a grid lineup from the 1989 Swedish Group A series to give an idea of how many Volvos were around.

Kvällspostans Newsrace - Ring Knutstorp, August 6 1989


Grid transcribed from a video recording of the race transmitted on Swedish TV4?
12 from 22 being Volvos.
Looking at some of the positions weather might have played a part.
Some of the Volvos were likely former Turbo Cup cars.
The Danish Peugeots were running to Group N specifications.

Jesper

I can at least say that nine of the Volvos are former Turbo Cup cars, at the time only Anders Lindberg, Hans Berglund and Peter Pettersson were the only infact real group-A Volvos.

But even the Turbo Cup Volvos are very rare today, almost as rare as the genuine group-A Volvos. Its strange since there were many Turbo Cup cars around. But most of the Turbo Cup cars was reused as Rally or Iceracing cars...

[Peggen Andersson]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

But internationally renowned Mauro Baldi (F1/Group C) and obvious national Swedish talent Per-Gunnar "Peggen" Andersson didn't ecxactly flattened the Atlantic coast and their opponants. How would the post race report look like for this team?
http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jon...20Estoril.html

Jesper

The new car was not used in the race at Estoril! We did test it only before the race and on monday after the race. As the car was brand new, despite built on a old shell from Magnum, it was decided that it was to risky to use it in the race. So I and Mauro had to stick to our old car used in Spain and Belgium. The car is now at the Volvo Museum with Thomas Lindström And Johnny Cecotto´'s name on it. But they newer drove it!

[Jesper OH]

You ask, and you get an answer

Welcome to 10-tenths, "Peggen" - one of my Group A heroes, that I actually saw in action! Grand Prix Danmark Jyllands-Ringen 1986 and 1987 winner in Volvos...

Surprised by how few factory Volvos that excisted, it's amazing that four cars was around at those final moments of the 1986 season.

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Peggen Andersson

The new car was not used in the race at Estoril! We did test it only before the race and on monday after the race. As the car was brand new, despite built on a old shell from Magnum, it was decided that it was to risky to use it in the race. So I and Mauro had to stick to our old car used in Spain and Belgium. The car is now at the Volvo Museum with Thomas Lindström And Johnny Cecotto´'s name on it. But they newer drove it!

Welcome Peggen!

That's answered a question that I'd been puzzled by- There are a couple of photos of your 'No26' car at Estoril here...
http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jon...20Estoril.html
...which clearly seem to show different cars (spot the fuel filler in the panel between the tail-lights that magically seems to appear between the photo in the pit garage and the photo on track)

Now I understand why....

[Peggen Andersson]

Originally Posted by VolvoGroupA

But I've learned now that the wider back fenders was done here i Sweden not in England with TWR.

The wider fenders was made by TWR. In fakt the car vas cut from the buklhed to the rear lamp on both sides.

[Peggen Andersson]

Originally Posted by KA

Welcome Peggen!

That's answered a question that I'd been puzzled by- There are a couple of photos of your 'No26' car at Estoril here...
http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jon...20Estoril.html
...which clearly seem to show different cars (spot the fuel filler in the panel between the tail-lights that magically seems to appear between the photo in the pit garage and the photo on track)

Now I understand why....

The new car has a blue roolcage and the old alu.

[chunterer]

Peggen looking forward to your further contributions.

Any chance you could give us some anecdotes and stories from your Group A days about drivers and teams etc?

Things like who was the hardest rival, who prepared the 'cleverest' cars etc??

[dtm-archives]

When Per Sturesson grew tired of the lack of success with the 190e he moved back to Sweden, When Günther Schons and Jochen Mass bought the team in ´88 Ingmar Persson continued as technical manager for the team up to 92, when he first moved back to Sweden, before returning setting up the new Persson Motorsport team in the old MS-Racing facilities.

Anyway took this picture of the Heico 240 last year at the Tourenwagen Revival at the Nürburgring, according to their website its build number is: R-Sport 006.

Originally Posted by Herbert

I don`t have access to all of my literature but I assume that IPS needed a different car after the 1987 season, because the Volvo just wasn`t competitive anymore. So for 1988 they entered two 190 for Stureson and Siggi Müller jr. (who currently works as team manager at the F3 team HBR Motorsport). They also planned to add their 1987 driver Anders Lindberg later that year, but it never happened.
After the 1987 season the team was sold to Günter Schons (Schons already was involved with IPS since mid 1985 as Team Manager) und Jochen Mass. It became MS Racing. I'm not sure what happend to Persson in the following years. I have to look it up. I only have access to the old DTM Media Guides at the moment and Persson isn`t mentioned till 1992. In 1992 the team moved to new premises in which it is still today with Persson at the helm who bought out Schons at the end of 1992.

[VolvoGroupA]

There are some words from Peggens own site at my site as he is telling the story of his racing career so to speak.

[VolvoGroupA]

The Heico-car is a former Turbo Cup car from Sweden. And is originally built on a 242GT chassis from -78, so the rear end have been rebuilt to -81 rear end. And is still fitted with a early rollcage from Matter, the same used a present time. However the build number R-Sport 006 have I never heard of....

There are even fact that Hecio them self have presented that their car is the former Eggenberger ETC-Winner 1985 car (driven by Lindström/Branactelli), and its soooo wrong. Since the RAS team who ran Volvo in ETC 1986 used both the former Eggenberger Volvos from 1985 in 1986. And both cars, No. 1 and No. 2 of the RAS team was scraped at Volvo the same year. So how can this car be the car they say it is? Its like they are trying to manufacture a history that never have existed...

Originally Posted by dtm-archives

Anyway took this picture of the Heico 240 last year at the Tourenwagen Revival at the Nürburgring, according to their website its build number is: R-Sport 006.

[VolvoGroupA]

So finally AUTOart released their Volvo 1/18 models! I already got three!

Two final versions and one and the only prototype ever released from the AUTOart factory, lucky me!

[chunterer]

Nice one.

I've seen they're already listed on ebay outside of the UK? That is, a plain white car, DTM Peggen Andersen car and the RAS ones.

Late July or Auguist release date was mentioned?

[KA]

Originally Posted by VolvoGroupA

The Volvo that Erle McRae Racing leased, this Volvo caught fire and burned up on Donington -85. The car was leased from Greger
Petersson-Sportpromotion, Sweden. However I find this very strange why like you say KA a team from Australia leases a Volvo from
Sweden to race in England at Donington.

According to Autosport, a couple of weeks before the 1985 Donington ETC round, the 'Erle McRae' Volvo was, as you said a Greger Petersson/Sportpromotion car. However, Autosport seemed pretty certain that it was intended as more than just a one-off rent-a-drive at Donington:

Aussies in ETC Volvo

Charlie O'Brien and Graham Baker are expected to take part in the Donington Park round of the ETC with a Volvo they have acquired from Greger Petersson. The Volvo is the car that took Ulf Granberg and Robert Kvist to victory last year at Zolder, and O'Brien and Baker are both highly rated down under.
The venture will be sponsored by Anglo-Pacific Ltd, and will be managed by New Zealander Erle McRae who has been with O'Brien for the last three years in Australian single-seaters. Although there is nothing finalised, it is thought that the car might run on Bridgestone tyres.
After the race, the Volvo will be shipped to Australia to take on the Mark Petch Volvos which have been showing sparkling form so far this year in the ATCC.
(Autosport, 18 April 1985)

(Didn't Petch just have a single Volvo in '85? I thought it only became a two-car operation when it became an official Volvo Dealer Team in 86)

Whatever the intention might have been, the deal to run the Pettersson Volvo in Australia obviously fell through, as O'Brien and his sponsors bought one of Frank Sytner's BMW 635CSis later in the year and ran this at Bathurst

[racer69]

Originally Posted by KA

A(Didn't Petch just have a single Volvo in '85? I thought it only became a two-car operation when it became an official Volvo Dealer Team in 86)[/I]

Correct and correct..... plus Graham Baker was hardly a highly rated driver downunder (he certainly didn't do much touring car racing here, did he?)

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by racer69

Correct and correct..... plus Graham Baker was hardly a highly rated driver downunder (he certainly didn't do much touring car racing here, did he?)

I was thinking who was Graham Baker in the first place? But, as a press release, the formulation seems "standard".

Jesper

[VolvoGroupA]

Originally Posted by [I

Aussies in ETC Volvo[/I]

Charlie O'Brien and Graham Baker are expected to take part in the Donington Park round of the ETC with a Volvo they have acquired from Greger Petersson. The Volvo is the car that took Ulf Granberg and Robert Kvist to victory last year at Zolder, and O'Brien and Baker are both highly rated down under.
The venture will be sponsored by Anglo-Pacific Ltd, and will be managed by New Zealander Erle McRae who has been with O'Brien for the last three years in Australian single-seaters. Although there is nothing finalised, it is thought that the car might run on Bridgestone tyres.
After the race, the Volvo will be shipped to Australia to take on the Mark Petch Volvos which have been showing sparkling form so far this year in the ATCC.
(Autosport, 18 April 1985)

Well I'm pretty sure that that info is wrong. The Volvo that Granberg/Kvist took to Volvos first win on Zolder 1984 is an other car. First Kvist wrecked one Luna/Sportpromotion Volvo on Brno -84, so a new car was built, and this by Magnum Racing. So on Zolder the Luna/Sportpromotion team had a new car. After 1984 this car was sold by Volvo Motorsport via a Volvo dealer to a privateer in Portugal, Artur Mendes. At the same time one of Thomas Lindströms Volvos was sold to Portugal to. The cars still remains to this very day.

The car Greger Petersson rented to the Erle McRace team was his own car he built himself, since the car from 1984 was owned by Volvo. And this car was sold do a Danish guy in 1986.

[crocko05]

Hi guy's,

Haven't posted here very often (as you can see), but use this site often for reference for specs/details (building/modifying cars for computer racing sims, especially rFactor Touring Car Legends (Grp A's)).

You may find this site very interesting and helpfull (especially for the Aussie 240T's); http://people.physics.anu.edu.au/~am...olvo_specs.htm .

Has complete specs and details (more or less) of the Grp A Volvo 240T.

...,
Bruce

[Jesper OH]

Speaking of Australian Volvo 240 Turbos, what kind of specifications was the Laurie Hazelton 240 build to? It was rarely seen during 1986-early 1987, when it had a bad crash at Oran Park in about February 1987.

Jesper

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Speaking of Australian Volvo 240 Turbos, what kind of specifications was the Laurie Hazelton 240 build to? It was rarely seen during 1986-early 1987, when it had a bad crash at Oran Park in about February 1987.

Jesper

Would he have been running an ex Petch/Dealer Team car?

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Would he have been running an ex Petch/Dealer Team car?

From what I know it was a Hazelton build car, that has turned up in recent historic racing in Australia, even running 5-stud wheels. So, likely not a car with a racing history older than 1986. From what I know all (two?) Petch/Dealer Team cars were shipped back to Europe and distributed to various Scandinavian teams. VolvoGroupA has the story of were they ended up.

Jesper

[racer69]

A brief history of the Hazelton Volvo can be found here http://www.ovlov.net/page.php?page_name=history

The car was originally a 242GT prepared for the 1979 REDEX Round Australia Rally.

After the REDEX Rally, the mechanicals were stripped out and sold as spares. The shell lay at A-Class Parts and Service, Revesby until bought by Laurie Hazelton in early 1985 to build up a privateer 240T GpA for the Bathurst 1000, but his entry was not accepted.

Laurie ran the car in Qualifying for the GpA races at the 1986 Adelaide F1 GP, but did not make the cut.

The car ran in the Castrol “Clash for Cash” GpA race ($25,000 prize money!) at the Oran Park 25th Anniversary meeting in February 1987. On the second last lap, in the wet on slicks, Laurie spun and backed into the pit entry Armco.

The car was taken back to Wollongong, had a rear “cut and shut” then sat in Laurie’s Mum’s garage at Shellharbour for 17 years until Dick bought it on 31 July 2004.

[racer69]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

From what I know all (two?) Petch/Dealer Team cars were shipped back to Europe and distributed to various Scandinavian teams.

I think there were three cars used during 1985/86

The Mark Petch run, Robbie Francevic driven ex-ETCC car was used extensively during 1985 and early 1986.

When Volvo & John Sheppard took over with the "Valvoline Volvo Dealer Team" from the 3rd ATCC round at Sandown, the original car went with it. A new locally built car appeared for John Bowe at rd4. Another new car appeared for the Sandown 500 (not sure if it was locally built or imported though?).... not sure if there was any new cars inbetween.

Interestingly, a deal was done in late-1986 for Lyndon Reithmuller and Phil Ward to take ownership of two ex-VDT cars and run them in 1987. The deal was undone though when Volvo Sweden called the cars home... from there Reithmuller/Ward regrouped and bought the two Martins/AMG 190Es from Bathurst 1986, and preceeded to not run them until the 1987 Sandown 500...