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1989 TIGA GC288/9

 

Winner of the C2 class in 2017

Ready to race

ELIGIBILITY

GROUP C RACING by PETER AUTO

LE MANS CLASSIC

MASTERS ENDURANCE LEGENDS USA

DAYTONA CLASSIC 24 HOUR by HSR

ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPOSTS REUNION

SEBRING CLASSIC 12 HOUR by HSR

VEHICULE ENQUIRY
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
PRICE

UPON REQUEST

Make

TIGA

Model

GC288/99

Year

1988

Chassis number

366

Chassis

ALUMUNIUM HONEYCOMB UNIBODY

Body

KEVLAR CARBON FIBRE

Engine

COSWORTH DFZ V8 3,5 LITRE

Power

520 HP @ 9 500 RPM

Gearbox

HEWLAND 5 SPEEDS

Weight

800 KG

 

During the 1980s, Tim Schenken and Howden Ganley, the founders of the Tiga brand, built numerous chassis for the C2 category. These two former Formula 1 drivers, with the first two letters of the first name of one, "Tim",  and of the surname of the other, "Ganley", forming the name "Tiga", produced more than 400 cars before ceasing operations in 1989. Tiga chassis were entered for the Sports Cars World Championship (and in particular at the Le Mans 24 Hours ) but also for the Interseries, and in America for the US IMSA Lights series.

The peak of the Tiga epic was undoubtedly the year 1987. At the Le Mans24 Hours, the English constructor was present with seven cars! Far behind the victorious Rothmans Porsche 962C, the first Tiga finished in 9th place. It was a GC287 fitted with a Ford Cosworth DFL engine, entered by Cosmik GP Motorsport. The other cars were fitted with a large variety of engines, which demonstrated the adaptability of the cars produced by Tiga. As a result, in 1987, we could see Tigas powered by Ford Hart DBT-E 2.3L Turbo I4 engines, a Rover V64V 3.0L V6, a Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6 ... and the older Tigas were even powered by Ferrari engines!

 

In 1988, following the changes made to its designs each year, the Tiga firm produced three new chassis. Called the GC288, they had very different destinies. Chassis 367, fitted with a Buick block, went to the United States to compete in the IMSA Lights Championship. The 365 and 366 chassis  were bought by the Kelmar Racing team, and were entered for the Sports Cars World Championship. The 366 chassis competed twice at the Le Mans24 Hours. The 365 chassis being offered for sale here, regularly competed in the Sports Cars World Championship, with one category victory at the Nürburgring. A unique victory, since the Nürburgring race was the only one during the 1988 season that was not won by Spice Engineering in the C2 category.

 

The two cars, chassis 365 and 366, were "sisters", but they were far from being twins. Although they both bore the name GC288, they did not subsequently evolve in the same way from the season 1989 onwards. The 365 was the only one to be adapted and transformed into the GC289, ie possessing the most recent developments available at the time (which were to be the last ones proposed by Tiga before the firm shut down). This explains why it is sometimes referred to as the GC288 / 9, the car having raced as the GC288 during the 1988 season, and then as the GC289 from 1989 onwards. It was raced successively by Kelmar Racing, by Porto Kaleo Team and then by Berkeley Team, with Pasquale Barberio at the wheel each time.

 

The GC289 configuration is still that of the present-day car, since it has conserved the GC289 update ever since it was first installed. How may it be identified? It has a very different radiator system compared to the original GC288. The water radiator is at the front (hence its wide-open front cover) and it has NACA air intakes on its sides for the oil radiators. The exhaust is also placed on the side.

The car was white throughout its initial season as the GC288, but then raced with a red livery. The successive owners maintained the confusion between the two "Kelmar Racing" GC288s, with chassis 365 adopting racing colors similar to those seen at the Le Mans 24 Hours of 1989 on chassis 366.

The car is today eligible for the Group C Racing Championship for which it has been entered for several years now. It distinguished itself in 2017 by quite simply winning the C2 title. During the previous season, it was often more competitive than its Spice rivals .... Chassis 365 is in perfect condition to compete in major events such as the Spa Classic, the Dix Mille Tours du Castellet or the Le Mans Classic, for which it has already been entered. The engine has just been overhauled (0 km), the crack-test has just been completed (valid until 2020) and the tank is valid until 2023.

It's now just waiting for its driver! Might it be you?

 

Race history:

06/03/1988 - 800 km of Jerez - World Endurance Championship - 15th (7th C2) - Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata (n ° 106)

03/13/1988 - Jarama Supersprint - World Endurance Championship - 13th (5th C2) - Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata (n ° 106)

03/27/1988 - Silverstone - BRDC C2 - retired - Pasquale Barberio / John Sheldon (n ° 106)

04/10/1988 - 1000 km of Monza - World Endurance Championship - entered but did not start - Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata (n ° 106)

05/08/1988 - 1000 km of Silverstone - World Endurance Championship - 10th - Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 109)

07/10/1988 - 360 km of Brno - World Endurance Championship - 11th (4th C2) - Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata (n ° 106)

07/24/1988 - 1,000 km of Brands Hatch - World Endurance Championship - entered but did not start - Maurizio Gellini / Ranieri Randaccio / Pasquale Barberio (n ° 106)

04/09/1988 - 1000 km of Nürburgring - World Endurance Championship - 12th (C2 winner) Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata (n ° 106)

09/18/1988 - 1000 km of Spa - World Endurance Championship - 13th (7th C2) - Pasquale Barberio / Vito Veninata / Stefano Sebastiani (n ° 106)

05/21/1989 - 480 km of Dijon - World Endurance Championship - retired (driver fatigue) - Pasquale Barberio / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 106)

06/25/1989 - 480 Km of Jarama - World Endurance Championship - retired - Pasquale Barberio / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 106)

07/23/1989 - 480 km Brands of Hatch - World Endurance Championship -22nd - Pasquale Barberio / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 106)

08/20/1989 - 480 km of Nürburgring

03/09/1989 - Donington - World Endurance Championship - retired - Pasquale Barberio / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 106)

09/17/1989 - Spa-Francorchamps - World Endurance Championship - 15th (4th C2) - Pasquale Barberio / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 106)

29/10/1989 - Mexico City - World Endurance Championship - 18th (3rd C2) - Pasquale Barberio / Ranieri Randaccio (n ° 106)

07/06/1992 - Brands Hatch - Interseries - Pasquale Barberio - entered but did not start (n ° 56)

08/30/1992 - Most - Interseries - Pasquale Barberio - entered but did not start (n ° 56)

09/13/1992 - Siegerland - Interseries - Pasquale Barberio - entered but did not start (n ° 56)

11/10/1992 - Zeltweg - Interseries - Pasquale Barberio - 13th time in practice / did not start (n ° 56)

01/11/1992 - Jarama - Interseries - Pasquale Barberio - entered but did not start (n ° 56)

06/12/1994 - Nürburgring - Interseries - Pasquale Barberio - 7th / 15th (n ° 56)

1995 - Participation in the Interseries championship.

2017 - Group C2 Champion

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