Photo : Jean-René ROGER - ACO/Nikon

Paris Motor Show

This 2010 show may be all about electricity, but Hall 8 has a superb exhibition devoted to "Treasures of manufacturers museums". Among them is a winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Qualified 19th in the 1991 race, the Mazda 787B of Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot and Volkert Weidler rose to the top 10 in the second hour of the race and moved into the top 5 three hours later. Problems encountered by favourites Peugeot, Jaguar, Sauber Mercedes and Porsche, and the reliability of the 787B saw them climb into second position just after the halfway point, behind the Sauber Mercedes of Jean-Louis Schlesser, Alain Ferte and Jochen Mass. The Mercedes that was several laps ahead, made an unscheduled at pitstop at 12:54, the victim of a leak in its cooling system. Although feverish efforts were made by the team to fix the problem, the car was ultimately forced to retire, leaving the Mazda of Gachot, Herbert and Weidler to take the lead with less than three hours left of racing. In the final pit stop, Johnny Herbert asked to stay in the car to take the chequered flag. He suffered dehydration in the last stint and had to be assisted from the car and taken to the circuit medical centre. He was unable to make it to the podium, leaving Weidler and Gatchot to lead the celebrations.

The success of the Mazda 787B in the Le Mans 24 Hours 1991 remains a double first; still the only victory by a Japanese manufacturer in La Sarthe, and the final appearance at Le Mans of a rotary engine.

Jean-Philippe Doret – Translated by Dave Davies