Category: Endurance Racing

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24H Series – 24H of Dubai Qualifying

 

Photo Credit: (c) 24H Series

It was the moment cars in the classes of SP3-GT4, TCR, A3, CUP1 and A2 took to the track for the first of two half hour qualifying sessions. Mike Simpson in his #178 CWS Ginetta G55 was early on the pace and put in a time of 2:08.153 with Jann Mardenborough’s Nissan 370Z less than a second behind. Mardenborough did improve but it wasn’t enough to topple Simpson. In third place the Century Motorsport Ginnetta of Nathan Fricke waited, but he was taken over in the timings by Optimum’s Stewart Linn in his Ginetta who posted a time of 2;09.725.

In the TCR class it was Sebastiaan Bleekemolen who took the early lead and clocked a 2:12.327 in his Seat. He had a very big lead over James Kay in his #108 Audi with the Seat Leon of Red Camel’s Daniel Wheeler in third. Times were being swapped and by-passed throughout the TCR session but it was Mathias Beche who went to pole in the Modena Motorsports Seat. Bleekemolen and Kaye improved but for qualifying they had to settle for second and third in class.

Defending class champion Guillaume Roman held the early pace in the #303 Team Altran Peugeot with a time of 2:15.383 with his team mate Gonzalo Martin de Andres very close behind. Bernd Kupper sat third in the #131 BMW but not for long as Richard Verburg knocked him down in his Cor Euser Racing BMW.

The CUP1 class saw Stephan Epp put his #151 Sorg Rennsport BMW M325i on pole with another Sorg entry sitting in second courtesy of George Richardson and the QSR of Jimmy de Breucker in third. This was until the #146 Bonk Motorsport M325i of Max Partl jump up and take second in class.

Jacob Kristensen took the early lead in the A2 class in his Team K-Rejser Peugeot and stayed there. The Honda Integra of Ashan Silva sat second spot in class with Tanner Motorsport’s Andy Mollison pushing his Clio into third until Josh Cook put in an amazing lap which pushed him up to second.

It was time for the A6-Pro, A6-Am, SP-X, 991 and SP2 classes to take to the circuit and Christophe Haase managed the first flying lap of the day in his Optimum Motorsport Audi R8 LMS. His time only lasted for one lap as Mathieu Jaminet went below the two minute mark (1:58.917) in his IMSA Performance Porsche 991 GT3 R. It was then the turn of former Formula One ace Robert Kubica who posted a 1:59.116 in his Forch Racing Porsche 991 GT3 R to put him second overall and first in the A6-Am class, but this was cancelled due to exceeding track limits. Christopher Mies also broke the two minute barrier to go third in the A6-Pro class with other quick times coming from Paul Lafargue in the Mercedes AMG of IDEC Sport Racing and Michael Vergers in the Belgian Audi Club R8 LMS GT3.

Daniel de Jong was the early leader in SP-X, setting a 2:02.896 in the No. 19 Eurotrac Dodge Viper. Arnaud Gomez spooled up the exotic No. 204 “works” Vortex V8 to second in class with David Iradj Alexander next in the “customer” Vortex, No. 24 of the GPC team.

The venerable Porsche powered Silver Sting held the SP2 pole from start to finish, thanks to a 2:04.517 set by Jaap van Lagen. Mathieu Pontais was some distance further back with the older silhouette car, the No. 203 GC. Brett Sandberg was third in SP2 in the early part of the session with the No. 247 KTM X-Bow.

The fight for the top grid spots in 991 was fought by several teams. Initially the 2:04.623 of Christopher Zöchling (No. 92 MSG Motorsport) was good for top spot ahead of Klaus Bachler (No. 63 Race Pro Motorsport) and Anders Fjordabach (No. 68 Black Falcon). All were driving the requisite Porsche Cup cars comprising the one make class.

There was a new overall pole sitter halfway through the session when Jeroen Bleekemolen set a 1:57.705 in the No. 2 Black Falcon Mercedes AMG. Haase still held second but Maro Engel’s 1:58.248 in the other Black Falcon Mercedes was good enough for third. Kubica grabbed the lead in A6-Am with Lafargue next. Adding variety, Duncan Huisman moved to third in class with the No. 18 V8 Racing Corvette. In SP-X the No. 24 KTM moved into the class lead with a 2:02.533 by Iradj Alexander David. Van Laagen and Pontais maintained their 1-2 in SP2 while behind them Richard Verburg moved up to third in the No. 78 Speed Lover Porsche Cup car, opting for that category rather than the more restictive 991 class.

Things swapped around in the 991 class. Bachler improved to 2:03.566, good for the class pole. Zöchling slipped to third although his time improved slightly. Charles Espenlaub briefly held third in class with the No. 85 Pro Sport Performance Porsche until Bandar Al Esayi (No. 69 Black Falcon) eclipsed Espenlaub’s time.

Bleekemolen parked the Mercedes with several minutes left in the session. While his time held up for the overall pole, several cars behind him which had also stopped saw their cars demoted in the closing laps. Robert Renauer held second overall in the No. 911 Herberth Motorsport Porsche until the No. 963 Grasser Racing Lamborghini of Mirko Bortolotti bettered the mark. Fourteen cars ended with times under two minutes.

The No. 17 Mercedes, the No. 5 Audi, and the No 18 Corvetter held onto the top spots in A6-Am. Arnaud Gomez moved back into the SP-X lead with a 2:01.895 in the Vortex. Tom Dyer took over from Iradj Alexander and elevated the No. 24 Vortex to second in class while a late 2:02.771 by Ivo Breukers was just perfect to retain third place for the No. 19 Dodge.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Is There Life In The WEC After Audi?

The short answer is yes.

An OEM leaving the sportscar championship is not new, OEM’s will come and go as the board/committee see fit they are not in sportscar racing for the good of the spectator. They are there to learn & develop new technology to eventually end up on there road car production lines. The fact that Audi have been in sportscar racing for the last 18 year is something that we should be grateful for whichever team/driver we support.

It’s not the first time in the history of sportscar racing that we have been down to two OEM’s, indeed Audi were very nearly at one point the only OEM in sportscar racing after Peugeot pulled the plug in 2012 until the FIA/ACO asked Toyota to bring their plans forward. We can still have great racing with two OEM as we have seen with Audi/Peugeot, Porsche/Jaguar, Porsche/Ferrari, Porsche/Lancia, Jaguar/Mercedes, Peugeot/Jaguar (these are just of few the rivalries that I can think of). Even the greatest race of them all, the Le Mans 24 hours in 2011 came down to a battle not only between two OEM’s but just two cars.

A brief look at Audi’s 18 years in sportscar racing and most importantly, Le Mans.

Audi’s sportscar story starts eighteen years ago with four cars in two classes at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours, the open-topped Audi R8R and the Audi R8C coupe in the LMP and LMGTP classes.

The two R8Cs that were in the race both failed to finish due to gearbox issues, the highest placed R8R of Frank Biela, Didier Theys and Emanuele Pirro came home third overall and started an amazing unbroken run of an Audi being on the overall podium at Le Mans from 1999 to 2016. The second R8R crossed the line in fourth place.

2000 see’s Audi return to Le Mans with three of the new R8’s to face competition from Cadillac, Panoz, Pescarolo Sport (Courage chassis), seeing off the competition and leading to Audi’s first win at La Sarthe with Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuelle Pirro finishing ahead of the other two R8s in the race & taking Audi’s first 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans.

2001 see’s Audi once more enter two R8’s at Le Mans going on to finish first & second with their closest challenger finishing 15 laps behind. It was the second year in a row that the trio of Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen & Emanuelle Pirro would go on to claim the top spot.

2002 see’s Audi enter three cars at Le Mans going on to finish first, second & third for the second time in three years. Not only that but Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen & Emanuelle Pirro went on to claim the top spot for the third year in a row and claim a “hatrick” of Le Mans wins making them, so far, the only trio to have won Le Mans three times in a row.

2003 see’s Audi represented by three privately entered R8’s, one car each for Champion Racing, Audi Japan Team Goh & Audi Sport UK. The top Audi would go on to finish third behind the two works Bentley’s.

2004 see’s Audi represented by four privately entered R8’s by three teams, one car each for Audi Japan team Goh & Champion Racing & two cars from Audi Sport UK team, Veloqx. Audi Japan team Goh took the top step of the podium with the other three Audi’s finishing in second, third & fifth position for the third time in five year Audi take a 1-2-3 at Le Mans.

2005 see’s Audi represented by two privately entered R8’s one car each for Champion Racing & Audi Playstation Oreca with the Champion R8 taking top spot on the podium & the Oreca R8 going on to finish fourth.

2006 see’s Audi back as a works entry entering two all new R10’s power by a 5.5 litre twin turbo V12 diesel engine (not the first diesel to have been entered at Le Mans) going on to make Le Mans history as Audi take the first win at La Sarthe for a diesel powered car when Frank Biela, Emanuelle Pirro & Marco Werner took the top step with the other Audi R10 finishing third.

2007 see’s Audi back with three R10’s but facing a strong challenge from Peugeot who also enter a diesel engine car. Frank Biela, Emanuelle Pirro & Marco Werner go on to claim there second consecutive win at Le Mans with the other two R10’s failing to finish after both suffered accidents.

2008 see’s Audi back for the third & final time with their three R10 Tdi’s facing a even stronger challenge from Peugeot who also enter three cars. After a race long battle it’s the R10 of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen & Rinaldo Capello that came out on top with the other two R10’s finishing fourth & sixth.

2009 see’s Audi back but this time with the new R15 Tdi entering three cars, think it’s fair to say this wasn’t Audi’s finest hour at La Sarthe with the top Audi finishing third, 6 laps behind the winning Peugeot. Of the other two R15’s one finished seventeenth & the other failed to finish due to an accident.

2010 see’s Audi come back with a vengeance entering three R15 plus Tdi’s. after the race was dominated by Peugeot it was Audi who took yet another 1-2-3 finish and set a new distance record in the process of 397 laps & 5410.71kms (a record that still stands today).

2011 see’s Audi return with three new car’s in the form of the Audi R18 which was also Audi’s first closed car to race at Le Mans since the Audi R8C in 1999. After an epic race long battle, once again with Peugeot, it was the R18 of Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler & Benoit Treluyer taking the top spot by 13.854 seconds from the leading Peugeot after 24 hours of racing. The other two R18’s failed to finish due to two huge accidents which both drivers were lucky to walk away from. 2011 would also see another piece of history being made when Leena Gade became the first female to win the race as lead engineer.

2012 see’s Audi come back with four R18’s two of the new R18 Etron Quattro’s & two of the R18 ultra with competition this year from Toyota as Peugeot had withdrawn from sportscar racing. Audi went on to take a 1-2 with the R18 E-tron Quattro driven by Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler & Benoit Treluyer finish first ahead of the other E-tron Quattro thus making history once again for Audi being the first hybrid engine car to win at the 24 hours. The two R18 ultra’s ended up finishing third & fifth.

2013 see’s Audi back with three R18 E-Tron Quattro’s and a stronger challenge from Toyota. After a race long battle the R18 of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen & Loic Duval came out on top, with the other two R18’s finish third & fifth and Tom Kristensen taking his ninth victory at Le Mans.

German Andre Lotterer in his Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro Hybrid #2 competes during the 82nd Le Mans 24 hours endurance race, on June 14, 2014 in Le Mans, western France. Fifty-six cars with 168 drivers are participating on June 14 and 15 in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race. AFP PHOTO / GUILLAUME SOUVANT (Photo credit should read GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP/Getty Images)

2014 see’s Audi with three R18 E-tron Quattro’s, but this time not only did they have competition from Toyota but from Porsche as well. Once again it was the R18 of Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler & Benoit Treluyer that came out on top. Out of the other two R18, one finished second and the other failed to finish due to an accident.

2015 see’s Audi enter once again with three R18 E-tron Quattros. This time, however, there was not to be success at La Sarthe as the the competition from Toyota and in particular from Porsche had become much stronger, with Porsche coming out on top and the best place Audi finishing third with the other two R18 finishing fourth & seventh.

2016 see’s Audi back with two R18’s for what would be the last time in their eighteen year history in sportscar racing and arguably their worst performance with the top R18 ending up in third, but 12 laps behind the winning Porsche and the other R18 finishing in fourth.

Not only have Audi been busy in the World Endurance Championship, but over the years they have been in the American Le Mans Series, winning nine races in their first season in 2000, including it’s first win at Sebring and Petit Le Mans with the R8.

Audi also competed in the Le Mans Endurance Series taking first in all four races of the opening season & winning the championship in 2004.

Regardless whether you’re a Audi fan or not, you have to stand up and applaud their achievements over the last eighteen years. After one hundred & six race wins, thirteen Le Mans wins in eighteen years, eighty pole positions and ninety-four fastest race laps, nine American Le Mans Series titles, two World endurance Championship, one Le Mans Endurance Series title, eleven Sebring wins, nine Petit Le Mans wins and multiple other achievements, it is now time to say goodbye to Audi.

Will Audi be back?

Who knows but for now they are off to join in the ranks of Formula E. Maybe one day we will see Audi return with an electric powered car at Le Mans and add to their history making efforts at La Sarthe. First Diesel to win Le Mans, first hybrid to win Le Mans & distance record at Le Mans.

There is no denying it is a sad time for sportscar racing & the World Endurance Championship as the departure of Audi will leave a big hole to fill, but as I said at the start of the article Audi, will not be the first or last OEM to leave a sportscar championship.

But for now it’s Auf Wiedersehen & Danke to Audi

Matthew Pigg

Twitter: @photopigg

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PACE BRINGS A PODIUM FOR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING

Stephane Sarrazin (FRA) Mike Conway (GBR) and Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)
Toyota Racing TS050
World Endurance Championship. 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, USA.
14th-17th September 2016

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned another podium finish after a strong performance in a closely-fought 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, the sixth round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

The #6 TS050 HYBRID of Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi finished third for their fourth podium of 2016, finishing just 26.096secs behind the winner after an exciting victory battle between all three LMP1 hybrid manufacturers.

Toyota Racing TS050
World Endurance Championship. 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, USA.
14th-17th September 2016

Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima in the #5 suffered another unfortunate race, with several minor issues combining to keep it out of the podium fight, finishing in fifth.

The race had started promisingly for the #5, when Sébastien moved from sixth on the grid to fourth place during a charging first stint under blazing sunshine and with air temperatures over 35°C.

Mike took the start in the #6 and ran sixth during the opening stint before handing over to Kamui at the first pit stops. At the same time, great pit work on the #5 allowed Anthony to emerge in third, an issue on the wastegate of the turbo began to compromise performance and the #5 slipped to sixth by the 90-minute mark.

Toyota Racing TS050
World Endurance Championship. 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, USA.
14th-17th September 2016

As darkness fell and the race reached half distance, the #5 lost more time when a damaged front end was changed after Kazuki’s stint, then suffered again soon after when a rear left puncture forced an unplanned pit stop for Sébastien.

But the #6 was lapping very quickly and continuing to push the Porsches. Mike took fourth place before dramas for the #8 Audi helped Kamui, now at the wheel, to run third as the race entered its final two hours.

That became second, with the #5 also moving up a place when the #7 crashed as the close fight at the front began to take its toll. A three-way fight between three different manufacturers for victory developed in the final hour.

Stéphane took over from Kamui for the final stint in third place, with the Audi #8 not changing tyres during its last stop. Stéphane had fresh tyres and pushed to close the gap, with the race leader also not far away.

A fighting performance in the final laps saw the gap close, but second place was just out of reach, with Stéphane taking the chequered flag only 2.455secs behind the second-placed Audi #8 and 26.096secs behind the winning Porsche #1. Sébastien brought the #5 home two laps down in fifth.

Stephane Sarrazin (FRA) Mike Conway (GBR) and Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)
Toyota Racing TS050
World Endurance Championship. 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, USA.
14th-17th September 2016

TOYOTA will now travel with optimism to its home race, the 6 Hours of Fuji on 16 October, which takes place just a few kilometres from the Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre where the 1,000hp TOYOTA HYBRID System – Racing is developed and built.

Toshio Sato, Team President: “I am pleased with our performance here in Austin. We have focused all week on race pace and it paid off today because we showed strong performance. It was a great fight with Porsche and Audi all the way to the end of an exciting race. I am particularly proud of the job done by everyone in the team, especially considering how difficult it has been in this heat. Our quick pit stops and effective strategy helped to achieve a strong result. This has been a good step towards our home race at Fuji Speedway, where we want to give our Japanese fans and colleagues a result to enjoy.”

TS050 HYBRID #5 (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima)

Race: 5th, 184 laps, 8 pit stops. Grid: 4th. Fastest lap: 1min 48.482secs

Anthony Davidson: “That was another disappointing day for car #5. It feels like we just keep getting bad luck. We had a technical issue which hindered our performance and seemed to get worse as the race progressed. We just had to keep fighting and do the best we could, which was fifth.”

Sébastien Buemi: “Congratulations to car #6; they had a strong race and another podium which is good. For us it was another tough race. We were up to third after the first stop and it looked good, but then we had some technical issues and we had no chance after that. Nothing is going our way at the moment but we will try to change this in the next race.”

Kazuki Nakajima: “It was a difficult race for us. We had many small issues and it just wasn’t possible to overcome that. So it was more bad luck for us in a tough season but that’s life; we just need to get on and keep pushing. It’s our home race next so we will pick ourselves up and fight for a good result.”

TS050 HYBRID #6 (Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi)

Race: 3rd, 186 laps, 7 pit stops. Grid: 4th. Fastest lap: 1min 48.544secs

Stéphane Sarrazin: “It was an incredible race. Kamui, Mike and me did a strong job and the team gave us a good car. Our pace just got better through the race and the last hour was incredible. We were really competitive today. Audi have been so fast this weekend so to be so close is a positive sign. Now we keep pushing for our home race.”

Mike Conway: “I’m very happy to be on the podium again, for the fourth time this season. Our car came alive halfway through the race when we had strong pace. It was nice to see the pace we could get out of the car today. Stéphane and Kamui did a great job and the mechanics as well were really good in such tough conditions.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “I am pleased with our performance. We closed the gap to Audi and Porsche at the end and were part of an exciting race. I appreciate the job from the mechanics who did great pit stops and thanks to the whole team for helping us to be on the podium for the second race in a row; we had absolutely no mistakes.”

6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas results:

1st #1 Porsche (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) 186 laps

2nd #8 Audi (di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis) +23.641secs

3rd #6 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +26.096secs

4th #2 Porsche (Dumas/Jani/Lieb) +1 lap

5th #5 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +2 laps
6th #7 Audi (Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer +6 laps

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 2016 Results:

Silverstone: #5: Qualifying 6th; Race 16th / #6 Qualifying 5th; Race 2nd.

Spa: #5: Qualifying 5th; Race 26th / #6 Qualifying 3rd; Race DNF.

Le Mans: #5: Qualifying 4th; Race NC / #6 Qualifying 3rd; Race 2nd.

Nürburgring: #5: Qualifying 6th; Race 5th/ #6 Qualifying 5th; Race 6th.

Mexico: #5: Qualifying 5th; Race DNF/ #6 Qualifying 6th; Race 3rd.

COTA: #5: Qualifying 6th; Race 5th/ #6 Qualifying 4th; Race 3rd.

See you at the chequered flag

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

Photo Credits: Toyota Motorsport

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CoTA – 6 Hours Of Smiles

The blue, ocean like, Texan sky welcomed us to the magnificent Circuit of The Americas. As the crowds sauntered around this wonderful place the excited hum began to build in the stands as much as it did in the garages. Some drivers were commenting that the opening laps were going to be difficult due to the heat and the tyres.

That was going to be the issue, in and out of the car. The heat. A baking day and one can only imagine how it felt flying round the circuit.

From qualifying, the talk was of the Audi’s and how they were going to dominate the race. Duval pushing Webber, but Toyota were not going to let the two leading P1 teams have it all their own way. Buemi and Conway giving everything they had, leaving nothing on the track. This was just the start!

Back in the GT ranks, the home crowd were hoping for Ford to perform at home but it wasn’t to be with the #66 having early issues so it was left to Aston Martin and Ferrari to battle it out. Manor were charging early in P2 but it would end in tears for the British team.

All over the track, throughout the six hours there were mini battles going on all over the place. It was very reminiscent of Mexico, a continuation of the hard working determination that has existed all season.

The 6 Hours of CoTA has always been a fantastic arena for these monster machines and their gladiators. A spectacle of wonder and an atmosphere to match.

It would also be a repeat of Mexico for Audi, a sad duplication of disappointment for the team who genuinely believed they could have locked out the top two positions. Reigning champions Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley would be the drivers standing victorious on the top step of the podium, taking their third consecutive victory of the season. The #8 Audi and #6 Toyota would stand on the podium, Toyota taking advantage of the woes that befell the #7 Audi over the six hours.

The #13 Rebellion would celebrate their privateer victory with Tuscher, Kraihamer and Imperatori leading that class. Signatech Alpine grabbed their fourth win of the season as Lapierre, Menezes and Richelmi reaped the spoils. Manor, who had forced the pace early on would retire from the race with twenty two minutes racing to go.

In the GT classes it was all about Aston Martin. The #95 of Sorensen and Thiim took the Pro class with the #98 of Dalla Lana and Lauda taking victory in the Am. Abu-Dhabi-Proton Racing would see their race finish with one hour and six minutes remaining as the car was retired and pushed back into the garage.

The Circuit of The Americas blows a kiss as the WEC adventure moves on to Japan and the 6 Hours of Fuji. We, as fans, love it here in Texas. The warm welcome, the hospitality and the exciting racing. We embrace The Lone Star Le Mans as it has quickly become one of the favourite venues on the racing calendar.

It was as the Texan sun dipped down and moved on to another part of the world that darkness came and the circuit took on a whole new, albeit as beautiful, lease of life. The glowing Texan moon now stared down at the mechanical monsters competing far below on the winding path to glory, or not in some cases.

Thank you for having us CoTA and we’ll see you soon.

What a fantastic six hours that was.

Neil Simmons

@world_racing

Photo Credits: (c) FIA WEC

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The Spirit Of Le Mans

Every person has a burning ambition inside them, born from a desire to test their resolve to the ultimate limit. Being able to reach those limits, to go beyond the boundaries, to come face to face with fear like nothing ever experienced before.

Not knowing whether the current lap will be the final chapter in the story. Holding on to every single piece of emotion so much, that the body tenses with every turn. Searching for ‘that’ zone, where the car becomes an extension of the mind through the curves and chicanes.

As the car begins to feel at ease gliding effortlessly through historic parts of the course another, more powerful, force enters the fray as Mother Nature calls upon all of her strength to cast sun, cloud, wind and rain into the dramatic opera. Responding. Reacting. Realising that this is all part of the test. Can the driver adapt and overcome to these powerful elements as the car speeds through treacherous rain on one side of the course to be met by dry conditions in another part?

Day becomes dusk. Dusk gently dissolves into night wrapping it’s cold arms around the circuit as the cars take on a new existence of life. The headlights flash at every turn, brake discs glowing hot in the cold night praying for morning to arrive, a step closer to that final chapter.

The field of gladiators dwindles, some temporarily but for others it is the end of the emotional journey.

On the horizon the first signs of daylight begin to appear as the sun rises to bring the start of a new day to this epic battle of endurance and speed. Drivers on the limit for every second of every minute of every hour.

There are no losers, not in this story, just the chosen men and women taking a journey into a world that few will ever experience. The crowd are roaring with delight, gasping at horrific crashes and applauding every driver that passes their vantage point. It is a distant respect of honour.

The excitement building to a crescendo of tears, laughter and sadness. To be victorious in unfavourable circumstances, humble in the disappointment of defeat and sombre at the loss of those who never returned from the journey.

Fireworks exploding along the grid as the hero crosses the line with the cast of equal heroes parading behind, every single one playing their part to perfection in this epic tale.

It is remembering why they do this, the reason that every single driver gambles with their life on every stretch of tarmac around this historic circuit and never forgetting that within a second everything can change.

That is the spirit of Le Mans.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Before F1 – Sauber

 

In the last two decades, motor racing fans have grown up with the name Sauber being part of the Formula One family. From their first appearance in 1993 at the South African Grand Prix to the present, they have competed in over 400 Grand Prix. But what about before? Before the hustle and bustle of the F1 circus?

They didn’t just appear on the scene out of nowhere with a V10 Sauber badged Ilmor engine bolted into their C12 chassis and backing from Mercedes-Benz. No they most certainly did not. They brought with them a wealth of racing experience.

Sauber had a past life, one which existed since the 1970s. It was a life of a different kind, but just as thrilling. I’m going to take you back in time, before 1993.

Before Formula One, Sauber raced Sportscars. Before Formula One, Sauber won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Peter Sauber began building sportscars in the 1970s. He would in the next decade go on to run turbo-charged Mercedes V8 engines as Sauber became the official Mercedes-Benz factory team.

In his parents basement, Peter Sauber built the C1. It was made of a tubular frame and powered by a Ford Cosworth engine. He drove it in the 1970 Hillclimb championships, but it was Friedrich Hurzeler who drove the same model to victory in 1974.

Sauber had, in 1973, built three C3 spec chassis for their customers. This was designed by Guy Boisson and competed predominantly in the Swiss Sportscar Championship. In 1975 Boisson was joined by Edy Wiss and together they created the first aluminium chassis. This was called the C4 and only one was ever produced.

The Sauber C5 was next and it carried a two litre BMW engine. Driven by Herbert Miller the car won the 1976 Interserie Championship. It was in the following two years that the C5 would see action at the greatest race in the world. Sauber entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1977 driven by Swiss pair Eugen Strahl and Peter Bernhard the car led its class before retiring. The following year they returned with the same two drivers being joined by Marc Surer who would go on to make 82 Grand Prix starts in Formula One. Unfortunately they succumbed again to the gruelling race and had to retire the car.

The focus changed for the team and Sauber began to build chassis for Lola Formula Two cars. Their three drivers finished first, second and fourth in 1979. One driver would become a team manager and later team principal for the A1GP Team Switzerland, Max Welti.

Together with Welti, Peter Sauber developed the M1 Sportscars and in 1981 they would see the car win the 1000km Nurburgring driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck and Nelson Piquet. The team were still involved at Le Mans that year. They entered their BMW M1 as Wurth-Lubrifilm Team Sauber. The car driven by Dieter Quester, Marc Surer and David Deacon would sadly face the same fate as their previous attempts and not finish.

Sauber would return to sportscar racing in 1982 with the C6. It was the first car to be tested in a wind tunnel and they had teamed up in sponsorship with BASF. It was during these tests that Peter Sauber built a friendship with Leo Ress who would become an important part of their journey into Formula One.

The team once again returned to the legendary French race in 1982 as supplying the chassis for the BASF Cassetten Team GS Sport using a Ford Cosworth, four litre, V8 engine inside its Sauber SHS C6. Both cars did not finish and so it was onto 1983.

As a team again in their own right, the Sauber Team Switzerland pitted their C7 with BMW M88, three and a half litre engine up against the dominant Porsche’s. This task was given to Diego Montoya, Tony Garcia and Albert Naon. The team finished 9th overall, a remarkable achievement given the performance of the Porsche cars in the day.

It was in 1985 that Sauber teamed up with Mercedes-Benz.

The team won the 1989 World Sportscar Championship with a Mercedes-Benz M119, five litre turbo V8 engine. Their drivers who made this winning transition were Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jochen Mass, Mauro Baldi and Kenny Acheson. In their cars they won every race but the Dijon-Prenois race.

1989 would also offer the greatest of all victories. After trying for a decade, Peter Sauber’s Mercedes-Benz “Silver Arrows” would conquer the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The C9 would finish first and second with the #63 car driven by Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens finishing five laps in front of its sister car the #61 driven by Mauro Baldi, Kenny Acheson and Gianfranco Brancatelli. The third Sauber C9 of Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Alain Cudini would also finish fifth.

Sauber had achieved something that for the last decade had eluded them. They were now written in history as winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The success would not stop there and in 1990 they retained their title in the World Sportscar Championship but this time they were joined by two, young stars. Karl Wendlinger and Michael Schumacher. Wendlinger would win at Spa and Schumacher in Mexico. Michael Schumacher would also finish second at Dijon-Prenois and the Nurburgring. Two stars were born. They returned in 1991 but this was not a championship winning season but they still managed wins in the C1 class with Schumacher and Wendlinger at Autopolis.

Whether your journey started when Sauber were in Formula One or if you remember the heady days of sportscar racing, it is with a warm smile and glint in the eye that we can look back and say thank you.

Through their highs and lows, their smiles and tears there is one thing they will not be taking away from Sauber’s history and that is they are winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Thank you to Peter Sauber for sharing his dream with us. Thank you for sharing the “C” models which have bore the letter of your wife Christiane throughout the years. Thank you for giving us Sauber.

Thank you for the memories.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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