In relation to motorsport, Group T1 is a set of technical specifications for prototype cross-country cars used in

off-road Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events w ...

Cross-Country Rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

(also called Rally Raid). The group is governed by the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...

(FIA) and defined in appendix J, article 285 of its

International Sporting Code The International Sporting Code (ISC) is a set of rules applicable to all four-wheel motorsport as governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was first implemented in 1926. The ISC consists of 20 articles and several Adde ...

. The cars are single unit builds and may be based on a spaceframe chassis unlike the strict series production bodyshell requirement in

Group T2 In relation to motorsport, Group T2 is a set of technical specifications for series production cross-country cars used in off-road Cross-Country Rallying (also called Rally Raid). The group is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Auto ...

. However, the engine must come from, or be derived from a production car able to be homologated in

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

, Group GT or Group T2. The cars must be powered by one engine and without driving aids such as

traction control A traction control system (TCS), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction (i.e., wheelspin) of the driven road wheels. TCS ...

or ABS.

History

Group T1 was first introduced in 1990 when the generic Group T, introduced the year before, was divided into four specific categories of cross-country vehicles. Until 2003 T1 was for series production cross-country cars, and prototype cars were placed in Group T3. However the modern arrangement, with T1 vehicles in Category II for competition vehicles, has been in place since 2004. These cars have been competing in Baja Cross Country Rallies, Rally Raids and Marathon Rallies since their inception, including in the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.

Classes

When competing in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, which includes the long established

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

, there are four classes within the group: * T1.U - 'Ultimate' cars powered by electric motors, hydrogen combustion engine or hybrid combustion and electric * T1.1 - 4x4 cars (includes T1+ cross-country-type vehicles which permit larger size vehicles) * T1.2 - 4x2 cars * T1.3 - Cars complying with

SCORE International SCORE International (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) is an off-road racing sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. Founded by Mickey Thompson in 1973, SCORE International was purchased from Sal Fish in late 2012. and is run ...

regulations

Cars

Examples of each class include: * T1.U **

Audi RS Q e-tron The Audi RS Q e-tron is an off-road competition car, built by Audi under the Audi e-tron (brand), e-tron battery electric sub-brand. Unveiled in 2021, it is specially designed for competing in rally raids. An upgraded model, dubbed the Audi RS Q ...

* T1.1 **

Mini John Cooper Works Rally The Mini John Cooper Works Rally is an off-road competition car based on the Mini Countryman, which is built and used by the German racing team X-Raid around team manager Sven Quandt. The John Cooper Works Rally was first used in the 2017 Dakar R ...

Mini All4 Racing The Mini All4 Racing is an off-road competition car, built by X-raid between 2011 and 2015, specially designed to take part in the rally raids with the main objective of winning the Dakar Rally. In 2017 Mini All4 Racing was succeeded by Mini John ...

** Bowler Wildcat ** Prodrive Hunter ** Toyota GR DKR Hilux **

Dacia Sandrider The Dacia Sandrider is an off-road competition car, built by Dacia together with Prodrive to participate in various competitions in the rally raid. It has been used in the FIA Ultimate T1+ class since the end of 2024 at Rallye du Maroc for the fir ...

** Ford Raptor T1+ * T1.2 **

Peugeot 3008 DKR The Peugeot 3008 DKR is an off-road competition car specially designed to take part in rally raids with the main objective of winning the Dakar Rally. The team is Team Peugeot Total. Engine Specifications Dakar victories See also *Peugeot 300 ...

Mini John Cooper Works Buggy The Mini John Cooper Works Buggy is an off-road competition car, built by X-raid under the Mini marque. The car won the 2019 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies and the 2020 and 2021 Dakar Rallys. The German racing team X-raid has been usin ...

* T1.3 ** Volkswagen Tarek ** Chevrolet LCR30

References

External links

FIA World Rally Raid ChampionshipFIA Cross Country Rallies Regulations
{{Authority control Dakar Rally Off-road racing Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile Racing car classes Rally raids