Peugeot Sport equipped three young British drivers with Group N (the production car class) 309GTIs for the 1988 National Rally Championship, Englishman Warren Hunt, Welshman Iwan Roberts and Scot Colin McRae. They were christened the ‘Young Lions’ by Peugeot team boss Des O’Dell and much was made of the rivalry between the three by Peugeot’s marketing team.
Although all three were undoubtedly quick, McRae and Ringer were usually the quickest, and duly won the Group N class of the National Rally Championship in a busy year for McRae which also included victory in the Scottish Rally Championship. Their prize for winning was a full works drive, McRae’s first, in a 205GTI on the RAC Rally. Despite an early off track excursion McRae and Ringer were leading their class on one of the coldest RAC rallies for years when an engine mount broke, holing the car’s radiator in the Penmachno forest.