24h Le Mans
24 HOURS CENTENARY – MAKES, MARQUES and IMPRINTS ⎮ More than 25 years after Ivor Bueb and Ron Flockhart's win in 1957, Jaguar returned to Le Mans with the goal of ending Porsche's domination at the race. The comeback fired up British fans during the second half of the 1980s and added two more victories to the five won between 1951 and 1957.
Jaguar's return to Le Mans was primarily an American initiative thanks to Group 44. The team was founded in 1965 by driver Bob Tullius, building its reputation by racing British cars including Triumphs, MGs, Jaguar E-Types and XJSs.
In 1983, Group 44 clinched four wins in the IMSA American endurance championship with its own Jaguar prototype called the XJR 5 powered by a 6-litre V12. In 1984, Tullius fielded two in the 24 Hours. The owner-driver marked his own reappearance in the race (his last participation dated back to 1968 with the gas turbine Howmet) and the British constructor's return.
On the heels of a double retirement that year, Tullius finished 13th overall and won the GTP class (the main prototype class in the IMSA at that time) in 1985 in the #44 shared with fellow countryman Chip Robinson and French driver Claude Ballot-Léna. In the #40 sister car, 1977 24 Hours winner Hurley Haywood and teammates Brian Redman and Jim Adams were forced to retire.
Then came on the scene British driver and team owner Tom Walkinshaw. When Tullius brought Jaguar back to Le Mans in 1984, Walkinshaw won the FIA European Touring Car championship trophy as well as a prestigious victory at the 24 Hours of Spa driving an XJS prepared and modified by TWR. Jaguar's chief executive John Egan entrusted Walkinshaw with the marque's programme at Le Mans.
Dethroning Porsche (undefeated since 1981 and new win record-holder after Ferrari in 1985) was a monumental undertaking for TWR. But Walkinshaw had a plan. He entrusted the design of his Group C prototypes to Tony Southgate, a highly reputable engineer who had worked with Lotus in Formula 1. He also recruited drivers from all backgrounds until 1990: 24 Hours winners (Hurley Haywood and Henri Pescarolo), endurance experts, young hopefuls and seasoned veterans from Formula 1, touring car racing contenders and an Indianapolis 500 winner. Jaguar driver at the 1988 24 Hours, Henri Pescarolo: "Jaguar was an extremely professional team and the cars were very fun to drive."
This was also a fight between two different technical engine configurations: a 2.8-litre turbocharged flat-6 cylinder for Porsche and a naturally aspirated 7-litre V12 for Jaguar. After a triple retirement in 1986, TWR held the lead during the first hours of the race the following year and finished in the top 5 with fifth place for Raul Boesel, Eddie Cheever and Jan Lammers.
In 1988, five TWR Jaguars were entered against three factory Porsches, and the battle did not disappoint. In the wake of a long struggle with Vern Schuppan/Sarel van der Merwe/Bob Wollek's Porsche, Johnny Dumfries/Jan Lammers/Andy Wallace snatched the lead in the 10th hour and never let go. After 31 years, Jaguar won its sixth victory ahead of the Porsche of Derek Bell/Klaus Ludwig/Hans-Joachim Stuck and with fourth place going to Kevin Cogan/Derek Daly/Larry Perkins. Having come to the race in droves, British fans were overjoyed. Initiator of the official 24 Hours yearbook, and a great rugby fan like any self-respecting native of South West France, Jean-Marc Teissèdre: "The atmosphere in the pit straight grandstands was worthy of the Twickenham stadium during the 5 Nations Tournament."
Jan Lammers: "At that time, TWR included drivers from Italy, France, the United States, Denmark and all over the world. That was nice actually, because with rather cosmopolitan drivers, TWR could not operate like a full English team and so ran a very broad-minded operation at that time. There were so many people from everywhere. We had a fantastic time all together."
In 1987 and 1988, Jaguar brilliantly restored the tradition of great duels at the 24 Hours. After the official Porsche team retired, new rivals emerged in 1989 and 1990: Sauber-Mercedes and Nissan.
In 1990, Jaguar triumphed in a duel with Nissan (who that year became the first Japanese manufacturer to take the pole at the 24 Hours), refereed early in the race by the private Porsche 962 C of Walter Brun/Oscar Larrauri/Jésus Pareja. The British marque pulled off a one-two thanks to winners Martin Brundle/Price Cobb/John Nielsen followed by Franz Konrad/Jan Lammers/Andy Wallace. Martin Brundle: "I will never forget the podium in 1990. Jaguar was my first experience in endurance racing. You can’t drive for such an iconic brand and not think and read about C-Types, D-Types and even the Bentley Boys, and such history and heritage. It’s all part of the experience and the story, and of course it was something very special to be part of the large, competitive TWR Jaguar team and to have the support of tens of thousands of Jaguar fans."
The TWR Jaguar saga ended the next year with a group finish behind the winning Mazda, with Raul Boesel/Michel Ferté/Davy Jones (second), Kenny Acheson/Teo Fabi/Bob Wollek (third) and John Nielsen/Andy Wallace/Derek Warwick (fourth). The TWR team continued on, scoring two victories in 1996 and 1997 with a TWR-Porsche chassis based on the Jaguar XJR-14 seen during the free practice at the 1991 24 Hours. Jaguar's seven wins still make the British marque the fourth most successful manufacturer at Le Mans behind Porsche (19), Audi (13) and Ferrari (9).
PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 1984-1990 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom: the Jaguar XJR-12 winner in 1990 (#3); the Group 44 Jaguar XJR 5s (here in 1984) triumphed in the U.S. before leading the marque's return to the race; the XJR-9 LM (#2) earned Jaguar's sixth win in 1988; the winning trio of Andy Wallace, Johnny Dumfries and Jan Lammers (left to right) in 1988; the XJR-12 of 1988 winners Lammers and Wallace with Austrian driver Franz Konrad before the start in 1990.
