24h Le Mans
In 1992, one year after its historic win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mazda returned with a new prototype called the MX-R01. Here's its journey, starting out as a Jaguar and ending with its triumph as a Porsche!
It all began in 1991 when Ross Brawn and John Piper sketched out the Jaguar XJR-14 with its closed cockpit. Powered by a Ford 3.5-liter V8 engine from Formula 1, the TWR team (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) fielded the car and went on to win the Drivers and Teams titles in the World Sportscar Championship.
In 1992, TWR partnered with Mazda for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The XJR14 traded its Ford V8 for a Mazda V10 from Judd and got rid of its mauve livery. Two of the prototypes, renamed the Mazda MX-R01, took the start at the 60th running of the race.
One was entrusted to Maurizio Sandro-Sala, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino. The other was driven by Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot and Volker Weidler, the trio that had made Mazda the first Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans the year before. Their car took the lead from the Peugeot 905s early in the race and remained in the top 3 for 14 hours, finishing fourth in the end.
For the next phase in the Jaguar-turned-Mazda's life, the transformation was even more radical. A six-cylinder flat-turbo Porsche engine powered the now open cockpit prototype!
Winner at Le Mans in 1984 and 1985, Reinhold Joest decided to take his chances with the car at the 1996 and 1997 24 Hours under the name Joest-Porsche TWR WSC. He won both editions (with Alexander Wurz-Manuel Reuter-Davy Jones and Michele Alboreto-Stefan Johansson-Tom Kristensen, respectively), beating out the factory Porsche 911 GT1s.
The prototype pulled off a stunning upset as the only one of its kind at the start, then going on to claim the top step on the podium. The previous year, the second car driven by Alboreto along with Pierluigi Martini and Didier Theys was forced to retire.
Understanding that Reinhold Joest makes a better ally than foe, it was under the banner of the Porsche factory that the car ended its journey at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998. Sadly, both prototypes (called Porsche LMP1 98) fielded were forced to retire as the 911 GT1 won thanks to Laurent Aiello, Allan McNish et Stéphane Ortelli.
PHOTOS (Copyright - Christian Vignon/ACO Archives): At the top, the 1992 Mazda MX-R01; in the gallery below, its various incarnations (from left to right), the 1991 Jaguar XJR-14 (#4), the 1996 and 1997 Joest-Porsche TWR WSC (#7) and the 1998 Porsche LMP1 (#8).
