Quote:
Originally Posted by chunterer
Ok, let that be the end of this little episode please Volvo and splendid.
This is a discussion forum not a points scoring excercise!!  |
My point too, but lacking the words.
To lead the thread back on track I would like to ask about the Ruedi Eggenberger year, 1985. By then the Swiss was an aknowledged master of both the European championship and Group A regulations with some kind of inside look at BMW Motorsport. Hired by Volvo he brought home the '85 drivers title with Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindström (but lost the division 3 manufactures title to arch rival Rover), but felt strangled by interference by Volvo Motorsport in Göteborg/Gothenburg and left at a late stage before the 1986 season to join Ford.
From the Group 2 days Eggenberger had fielded cars under the BMW Italia name as well as under his own Eggenberger Motorsport and still did so by 1984. But when did Volvo approach him about 1985 and when was a deal signed? Eggenberger retained the driving services of Gianfranco Brancatelli and Sigi Müller junior into the new season.
For 1985 Volvo Motorsport seems to have streamlined their ETCC from four semi factory cars of 1984 to two factory cars and a semi-privateer car in 1985.
The Belgian Guy Trigaux/Michel Delcourt two car effort was axed but Pierre Diedonné employed as new Eggenberger driver partnering Müller (vaguely remembering this to be a reunion!). Of the two Swedish teams, the Thomas Lindström father-and-son effort was "rested" for '85 with cars sold off to Finland and Portugal and Thomas moving to the Eggenberger team too. Magnum Racing of Magnus Magnusson was retained on a semi-factory basis with continuing with Ulf Granberg as main driver, supported variously by Anders Olofsson and Ingvar Carlsson but also others.
Eggenberger Motorsport seemed to be a relative prolific car builder during the Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth days that followed in a few years, and looking at the numbers of CiBiEmme Sport BMW 635CSi in former BMW Italia-colours racing alongside the Swiss Volvos would suggest that a fair few of these were build too. But how many Volvos were build for and during 1985? I have seen no reference to Eggenberger Volvos being ex-something or for that matter that later Volvos were ex-Eggenberger. Did RAS Sport build their own cars - they had little time to do so as I understand it - or was this rejigged Eggenberger cars, as an example.
Hope this question will get things back on track
Jesper