To explain this, let's start with a bit of history:
The European Touring Car Championship, originally called the European Touring Car Challenge, was established in 1963 by Willy Stenger at the behest of the FIA. The cars competed under the improved touring car regulations of FIA Group 2, which allowed a variety of touring cars of different sizes and engine capacities to race together, from the small Fiat 600 and Mini to the large Jaguar Mark 2 and Mercedes-Benz 300SE. Starting in 1963, races and hill climbs that counted towards the ETCC took place at venues such as the Nürburgring, Mont Ventoux, Brands Hatch, Mallory Park, Zolder, Zandvoort, Timmelsjoch, and even Népliget (People’s Park) in Budapest.
In 1968, the regulations were changed to allow the participation of Group 5 vehicles, although these heavily modified special touring cars were only permitted for two years. In 1970, the series was renamed from the European Touring Car Challenge to the European Touring Car Championship. Group 2 became the main category again, although the regulations for Group 2 cars were now much more liberal than those of the old Group 2. After the 1973 oil crisis, there were only a few participants in the following two seasons. To fill the grids, Group 4 GT cars were now also allowed to participate. It wasn't until 1977 that the situation normalized with the return of factory teams. The rules allowed cars from Group 2, Group 1B "National," and Group 4 to compete together, as seen in the 24h of Spa Francorchamps.
As a tribute and homage to this golden era of touring car motorsport, particularly for the supposedly smaller, lower-capacity vehicles, the 1300 ETC, or 1300 European Touring Car Challenge, was established.
The 1300 ETC offers all interested parties the opportunity to compete in historic motorsport with their touring car or GT up to a maximum of 1300cc and to enjoy a pleasant weekend in a community of like-minded individuals.
The 1300 ETC is for vehicles up to and including
Appendix J 1981 and will be classified according to their engine capacity and period.
