In retrospect, did Group B really need to die?

[SUPAstarr]

I was watching some vids and wondering, knowing what we know now with regards to advances in technology, safety and overall better organization. Did group B really need to die? At the level cars are at now, can there be a conversation about its return (or basically an OPEN/anything goes classification)?

ICYMI

Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built and is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying.[1] However, a series of major accidents, some of them fatal, were blamed on their outright speed and lack of crowd control. After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class, which was replaced as the top-line formula by Group A. The short-lived Group B era has acquired legendary status among rally fans.

[VexXx Dogg]

Man Group B was the freaking shiz

[cinco]

Spectators killed group B plain and simple

[RBphoto]

Spectators killed group B plain and simple

When you playing GT4 on the PS2 it always has spectators and photographers in the middle of the road in the Grand Canyon Stage.

[PariaMan]

You sure was not Group B killed spectators?

[MG Man]

Spectators killed group B plain and simple

not only spectators.....first the RS200 burst into flames when it rolled into the trees, then the Delta.....
Toivonen's death was what finally killed it
There were concerns about the drivability of the cars, not just the horsepower...aside from the Audi and maybe the Delta, the rest were a handful on a good day.....and they were also fragile.....
it wasn't so much that GpB died as it was the cars underwent transformation to make them safer...current WRC cars aren't exactly slow, but they are a lot safer

[cornfused]

Group b cars were among the fastest race cars at that time . They were a handful and sometimes has deadly results with drivers and fans . Looking at drivers driving a Lancia Delta S4 recently on youtube . You can appreciate how difficult these power full (turbo and supercharged ) most had over 500hp and difficult some of these cars were . With power limited to 300hp today it simply does not compare . One Group B driver I believe it was Juha Kankkunen compared the WRC to Group B with something like Group B was from Man and WRC is for Boys. He is a 4 time World Rally Champion who first competed in 1979 and last competed in 2010.

[MG Man]

the comparison was in terms of drivability, not outright speed
Look at the driveline of the GpB cars....when for example you have a viscous coupling centre diff vs what the WRC cars have now, it's not hard to see why those cars were hard to drive....
WRC cars simply lay down power and traction better than the old beasts