The Mazda 323 or Familia was a regular yet unsuccessful competitor in the WRC during the early nineties. The type BG8 GTX was underpowered at first when it replaced the BF 4WD in 1990. It also developed serious heat issues. To compensate for these problems, the GTR with more power and a different intercooler was introduced in 1992 and homologated in January 1993. The car was much more up to the competition, but couldn't ever show it's real potential because the works team withdrew in 1992 due to financial problems. It was still used by many privateers and had some success at national level, with overall victories dating as late as 2019.
The group N versions were much more successful on WRC level, following a drivers' and manufacturers' title for the BF 4WD, the GTX and GTR also won the FIA Cup for Production Rally Drivers once each in 1991 and 1993 respectively.
The video shows the best scenes of the Mazda 323 GTX and GTR that I captured during the last decade in Austria, Germany and Australia. Enjoy!
This is part three of a series of compilations, every Saturday we will take a look back on a specific car in rallying. The series will go on until the restrictions are lifted and rallying in Central Europe is possible again. Stay home, stay healthy and enjoy the incredible amount of rally footage on the internet...

Cars featured in this episode:
Mazda 323 4WD
Mazda 323 GTR
Mazda 323 BG8 4WD
Mazda 323 BG8 GTX
Mazda 323 BG8 GTR
Mazda 323 GTR Proto
Mazda Familia BG8 4WD
Mazda Familia BG8 GTX
Mazda Familia BG8 GTR
マツダ・ファミリア BG8 4WD
マツダ・ファミリア BG8 GTX
マツダ・ファミリア BG8 GTR