Although when is an F1 Constructor not a winner at
Le Mans?
Yeah, its another long winded No Fenders story
turned into two part harmony. Or is that more groaning I hear?
As I’ve already covered the most successful
Formula 1 constructor to win Le Mans overall. With the rest of the grid paling
in comparison.
As
I came up with the following trivia question. What do Mercedes and Williams
share in common? As here’s what I came up with for winners, beside Ferrari.
Aston
Martin: 1959
The Aston Martin DBR1 is the only other front
engine winner at Le Mans. And yes, I realize that today’s Aston Martin F1 Team
began life as Jordan Grand Prix, before Lawrence Stroll cleverly rebranded it
as Aston Martin in 2021. Born out of the ashes of Force India and its interim
name of Racing Point. Which dovetails nicely with His owning the controlling
interest of their road car company.
As many will known, the David Brown owned Aston
Martin Racing team designed the DBR1 for the 1956 Sports Car Championship
season, before the upgraded 3.0-liter straight six cylinder lump’ was
introduced in 1957.
After three years of frustration, Aston Martin
achieved their greatest glory, winning that year’s 24 Heurs du Mans with
Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori at its controls. While Aston Martin would also
win the Sports Car Championship title that year. Only achieved three times that
decade. With Ferrari doing likewise in 1954 and 1958.
Yet how many remember that Aston Martin during
the David Brown Corporation era also entered Formula 1 briefly between 1959-60?
Although by the time they got round to introducing the DBR4 it was obsolete.
Along with the lighter, replacement DBR5, both being front engine layouts with
straight six engines. When Sir Blackjack’, aka Jack Brabham was dominating the
sport in His Cooper rear engine racecar…
Alpine:
1978
Alpine has a long, tangled relationship with
Renault, its parent company. With today’s Alpine F1 Team having been rebranded
from the latest iteration of Renault in 2021.
Although Alpine had been merged into Renault
Sport in 1976. Nevertheless, it assimilation included its Sports Car racing
programme. Which Renault wished to win
Le Mans for the prestige of winning on home soil.
Interestingly, there were actually four
Renault-Alpine’s entered in the 1978 race, one being a customer entry, with
different models entered. Including the controversial ‘Bubble” top roof which
was only raced upon the winning Alpine A442B.
As Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille
in the latest A443, said the acrylic bubble top partial roof made them feel
claustrophobic and trapped engine heat in the cockpit. Along with obscuring
vision. Even though Depailler set a top speed of 236mph on the Mulsanne
Straight! As the acrylic “canopy” gave the car an extra 5mph…
Thus it was Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
winning aboard their bubble roof A442B.
And with the victory complete, Renault withdrew
from endurance racing to focus their energies upon Formula 1. Before returning
to endurance racing first with the A480, a rebadged Rebellion R13.
Grandfathered into the ACO’sLMP1 Hypercar rules between 2021-22. And then
today’s current factory Alpine A424 Hypercar programme. Which includes the
likes of Mick Schumacher as one of the team’s six drivers.
Sauber:
1989
Peter Sauber began His long motorsports career
by racing in Hill climbs in 1970 in a car of His own construction. While Sauber
first competed at Le Mans in 1978 with its C5 Sports Car.
Sauber’s association with Mercedes Benz began
in 1985, supplying engines for the Sauber C8 Group C chassis, with the C9 being
introduced in 1987.
Sauber officially became the Mercedes Benz
Werks Sports Car team the following year, and the C9 not only won at Le Mans in
1989, but also claimed the Constructors and Drivers titles that year.
The C9 was the second fastest car ever at
Circuit de la Sarthe, recording a terminal velocity of 248mph, the magic
400kp/h on the Mulsanne Straight!
The renamed Mercedes Sauber C9 was replaced by
the C11 for 1990, which also won the Constructors and Drivers titles again,
before ultimately being replaced by the C291.
It was these “Silver Arrows” Sauber Sports Cars
that I believe first brought my Attenzione to a young German driver named Herr
Schumacher. As I tend to recall that Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen
and Karl Wendlinger drove together as Junior Drivers for Mercedes in Group C,
before all three advanced to formula 1.
Sauber itself made the leap from Sports Car
racing at the end of the Group C era to F1 in 1993 with Mercedes backing,
taking over the supply of Leyton House March’s Ilmor V-10 lumps’. Having
remained in F1 ever since under various guises. And will become the Werks Audi
F1 Team next year.
McLaren:
1995
Presume everyone knows of the evocative McLaren
F1 GTR winning le 24 Heurs du Mans with Lanzante Motorsports in 1995. With J.J.
Letho, Yanick Dalmas and Kokusai Kaihatsu at the controls of the No. 59 LMGT1
entry.
As the racecar was developed from the original
McLaren Supercar designed by Gordon Murray, with its unique three seat layout,
seating the driver’s lone seat in the cabin’s centre.
As I’m guessing that McLaren is the only
Constructor to have won Frederico Suave, nee Fred Alonso’s mythical “Triple
Crown”, i.e.; Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and either the Monaco Grand Prix or the
F1 World Championship…
Williams:
1999
Yeah, technically Team Willy’s never won Le
Mans, which I’m aware of. Yet I included them since Williams Grand Prix
engineering designed, built and developed the winning BMW V-12 LMR Prototype
that Yanick Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini and Joachim Winkelhock drove to victory
that year.
RETRO:
Remembering some of BMW’s Sports Racing Cars
The quick answer to my trivia question above is the year 1999. Although it was also when Mark Handlebarz’ Webber and other members of the Mercedes Werks team went airborne and spectacularly barrel-rolled their CLR Prototypes. Which had a nasty habit of somersaulting due to high speed aerodynamic deficiency, Youza!
