This weekend the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans were once again celebrated, a meeting dreamed of by any motor enthusiast. The 89th edition will be remembered as the ill fortune of Robert Kubica , who made his iconic test debut and seemed destined for success when his car had a mechanical failure with one lap to go. From the crown of laurels to the purest frustration, this is how this race is year after year. This time dominance was up to the Toyota and the team of Kamui Kobayashi, José María ‘Pechito’ López and Mike Conway was finally champion. The Japanese team is going for its fourth consecutive victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans , a test that is now part of the FIA Endurance Championship, but it has not always been that way. What’s more, the first Japanese manufacturer to climb to the top in France was Mazda, and that was 30 years ago. On the occasion of this anniversary, from the firm they have wanted to commemorate this milestone, very special if we take into account the type of engine that led them to glory.
It was on June 23, 1991 at 4:00 p.m. At that precise moment Johnny Herbert crossed the line of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in first position. Mazda thus became the first Japanese brand to achieve victory in the most famous, recognized and difficult endurance race in the world. The team with the number 55 got it behind the wheel of the Mazda 787B , a jewel of mechanics with a four-rotor rotary engine and 700 hp. There were 362 laps but there was really much more after that test, the firm had to demonstrate the reliability of that propulsion. In the 28 pit stops it only needed an oil refill, a change of discs and shoes and a replacement of the front section of the body, nothing more. Thus, the robustness, efficiency and performance of the rotary engine technology was certified.
Youth
Not only was the propulsion technology young, so was the team. It consisted of fellow Formula 1 teammates Johnny Herbert and Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot. They started from 23rd on the grid and Weidler’s overtaking placed the 787B in the top ten two hours after the green light . Around 4 in the morning, an iconic hour for fans of this 24-hour competition on the French track, they were already third. The reliability and pace of the team was impeccable, so it was just a matter of consuming laps without pause but without haste. Three hours from the end, when the team had placed the 55 car in second position, the Mercedes-Benz leading the race had to withdraw due to engine problems .
This is how Mazda, with the 787B, and its rotary engine , crossed the finish line in first position of the general classification. Not only was it an unparalleled victory for Hiroshima, it also ushered in a new era for Japanese builders. Previously, brands such as Toyota and Nissan had tried the feat without success and, today, the first is the clear candidate edition after edition.
Thunderous sound
It was the last chance for Mazda’s rotary engine, which was no longer able to participate in the 1992 Le Mans edition. It was, then, more important. The 700 hp were essential for victory , as well as the endurance of a propellant that was in question on the old continent. Johnny Herbert recalls that that engine was “silky smooth and bulletproof reliability.” And he adds: ” Mazdaspeed was a very small team compared to Mercedes and Jaguar, but in 1991 the team was in the perfect situation due to its impressive learning process during the previous years.”
The chassis designed by the British Nigel Srtoud and the carbon brakes that were a first for that time also helped. Fans of that era fondly remember the Mazda 787B, especially for its sound and the flames that expelled its exhaust . It was something magical to see, and hear, on the dead of June 23, 1991.
