24h Le Mans
Galvanized by a resounding and historic success at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, the official Mazda team continued its offensive the following year in La Sarthe and throughout the (shortened) calendar of the Sport-Prototypes World Championship
Photo : Copyright - Mazda
You can call it the Mazda MXR-01, or more pragmatically the TWR-Judd! Explanation… Beginning in 1992, the technical regulations of the World Championship called for 3.5L engines in endurance and the Japanese maufacturer found itself in a technical deadlock as it did not develop any engine of this kind to power its new car. To overcome the setback, the men of Mazdaspeed approached Judd and signed a partnership agreement to equip their next car with an English V10 (GV10), rebranded Mazda MV-10 for the occasion. At a lower cost, the Hiroshima manufacturer also acquired a mandatory engine, effective and deemed reliable to confront its competitors, namely Peugeot, Toyota, Euro Racing and Lola.
Similarly, for its chassis Mazda went to the U.K. and more precisely to Tom Walkinshaw Racing's workshops near Oxford. World Champion, the Jaguar XJR-14 (replaced in Le Mans by the XJR-12) was available for sale to private outfits after Jaguar's world program ended. Mazdaspeed didn't waste a second getting its hands on the exceptional car. Once the Judd V10 took the Ford V8's place under the TWR's hood, the Japanese team, in collaboration with Oreca, was able to present its new weapon: the Mazda MXR-01.
Second at the Silverstone 500 kilometers, the Franco-Japanese delegation arrived in Le Mans more motivated than ever with the entry of two cars for the driver line-ups Volker Weidler, Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot (No. 5) and Maurizio Sandro Sala, Takashi Yorino and Yojiro Terada (No. 6). Despite terrible weather conditions and cool temperatures, spectators enjoyed a thunderous race start by the No. 5 Mazda. By eclipsing, lap after lap, the official Peugeots and Toyotas, the trio Weidler/Gachot/Herbert made it through the first hour in the lead, went into the 13th hour in third position and finished the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans in fourth place overall. A wonderful performance by a car whose livery, sound and lines are definitely unforgettable.
Pierre-Yves Riom / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
