The Worst Sportscar Effort? - Page 3

Chofar · 5 Jul 2005, 07:35 (Ref:1347457)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woolley

I have to nominate the FIA for ruining Group C and introducing the 3.5litre formula. How to destroy a thriving championship in one easy decision.

Add Peugeot to the lot. They built a car that was at the time illegal. The rules were then changed. After that Todt wanted Le Mans to be run in two 12 hours legs. That WSC championship was a sad farce. Do you remember the Monza race with one car at the finish line ?
Let's thank the FIA for not having anymore real World Championship for Sportscars for at least 15 years (1990 is for me the deadline...)

cybersdorf · 5 Jul 2005, 08:46 (Ref:1347498)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chofar

Let's thank the FIA for not having anymore real World Championship for Sportscars for at least 15 years (1990 is for me the deadline...)

Very true, thanks Bernie.

Peugeot has a chance of making up for it all (to some extent) by putting a decent prototype effort together now.

Chofar · 5 Jul 2005, 10:03 (Ref:1347530)

Yes, this time it won't be so easy to overweight the other cars. I bet Audi won't give its OK

As for the WR comments, the Peugeot project could put WR on hold for a moment if Gerard Welter is involved , as he seems to be.

jna · 5 Jul 2005, 10:24 (Ref:1347550)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chofar

Add Peugeot to the lot. They built a car that was at the time illegal.

Remember also how they rebuilt Alliot's damaged and allegedly beyond repair tub overnight - or did they?

Chofar · 5 Jul 2005, 11:04 (Ref:1347585)

At least, if it's true it means that someone succeeded in repairing one of Alliot's off , unlike Courage and others.
Seriously I stopped going to Le Mans after the 1991 race and believe that 1992 and even 1993 were some of the worst years for the race.
As for the two 12 hours legs asked by Todt, I 'm sure I read it somewhere at the time. It made me sick. That WSC joke smelled like an FIA-Peugeot arrangement after the 1986 Group B brutal end (Conspiration theory mode off).

ss_collins · 5 Jul 2005, 12:14 (Ref:1347645)

For the record I really like WR

Pete Fenelon · 5 Jul 2005, 12:56 (Ref:1347695)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

There was never one.

Indeed. Lancia had a Ferrari V8; quite a lot of cars in GTP and particularly CL over in the States had Ferrari V8s - some of which were fairly successful. But no Ferrari GpC car.

lj79 · 5 Jul 2005, 13:28 (Ref:1347729)

[QUOTE=Chofar] Do you remember the Monza race with one car at the finish line ?QUOTE]

There were two cars that finished - Toyota and Spice

Pete Fenelon · 5 Jul 2005, 13:29 (Ref:1347731)

Wasn't that Monza one the one where trees kept falling onto the track?

Chofar · 5 Jul 2005, 14:05 (Ref:1347759)

No, the tree-falling episode was in 1985 i think with the Kremer-Porsche winning the race.
That Monza race I mentioned was run in 1992 as a season-opener with so few cars that it was a pity to compare with the former glory of those races.
It might be Dalmas who led with a comfortable margin upon the last Toyota and did a rollover in the kitty-litter on the last laps giving the victory to that said Toyota.

And so they just had to kill the championship...

isynge · 5 Jul 2005, 15:29 (Ref:1347888)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chofar

And so they just had to kill the championship...

I wish I could track down the report in Motor Sport from the tail end of that season. It summed up the pointlessness of miniscule grids of overexpensive "sports"cars racing over artificially short distances.

For a real exercise in getting it wrong, March's turnkey customer car for 1992 wasn't too impressive...

Pete Fenelon · 5 Jul 2005, 16:05 (Ref:1347923)

The 3.5l WSPC was Bernie's attempt to revive Procar. Something that made the same noises and had the same working parts as a GP car, that could run for two hours on weekends that the big boys weren't at play (and might also cross-fertilise and provide some engines for the F1 grid).

The early 90s recession hit F1 hard (39 cars down to 26 in about 5 years) and zapped high-tech sports car racing completely.... there just wasn't the money to sustain that knid of prototype.

To ensure the survival of sports car racing - if anyone had wanted to - the correct thing to do would've been to prolong C2, not migrate it up into "Category 1" 750kg/3.5l...

RobertPrange · 5 Jul 2005, 17:23 (Ref:1347997)

Spinnaker Clandesteam

no idea what these guys did to receive the Le Mans entry in 2004 but the whole effort was a joke. They didnt even had a spare gearbox , did a few laps at the testday and were never seen again.

Pete Fenelon · 5 Jul 2005, 18:40 (Ref:1348063)

I can trump the lot of you.

Alan Randall.

Did he ever actually enter a car, or was he just full of hot air?

What was the largest number of cars he promised? Something like four Jags and a couple of Spices, wasn't it?

The Badger · 5 Jul 2005, 19:32 (Ref:1348125)

I got there first mate ..... him and Major Tom Walkinshaw !!! He promised 5 jag's if i remember correctly with backing from Kuwait or Q8 ?

lj79 · 5 Jul 2005, 22:49 (Ref:1348317)

IIRC TW was not involved in this.

2 x xjr14s and 2 x xjr17s promised for the championship, with 12's for le mans.

The Badger · 5 Jul 2005, 23:08 (Ref:1348328)

He was asked to guarantee the entries from Randall which he did !!!

Chofar · 6 Jul 2005, 08:07 (Ref:1348536)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Fenelon

To ensure the survival of sports car racing - if anyone had wanted to - the correct thing to do would've been to prolong C2, not migrate it up into "Category 1" 750kg/3.5l...

Did anyone really wanted to ?
they should have kept C1 too with a lot less weight. I'm sure Peugeot (and Jag) would have won anyway. The Porsches were old but numerous, the grids would have been bigger. The race format was guilty too, they turned their backs to history, a very important point for endurance aficionados (cf "The Legend lives on").

**Aysedasi** · 6 Jul 2005, 18:25 (Ref:1348966)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Fenelon

....(and might also cross-fertilise and provide some engines for the F1 grid).

There's your truth Pete. Neither Bernie or Balestre ever gave a monkey's about Le Mans or sports car racing. Their only concerns were to make sure they took the ACO down a peg or two (hence the arrival of the 1990 "carbuncles" at Le Mans) and to use whatever means they could to get Peugeot involved in F1.

TheNewBob · 6 Jul 2005, 22:45 (Ref:1349167)

...and look what happened to Peugeot once it did go to F1...

superfox2000 · 8 Jul 2005, 13:46 (Ref:1350321)

Cosworth in the early 80's with their 3.9 litre engines.

marcosgt · 11 Jul 2005, 12:43 (Ref:1352535)

The 1979 Aston V8.

Cheers.

**John Turner** · 11 Jul 2005, 18:13 (Ref:1352853)

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcosgt

The 1979 Aston V8.

Explain, please!

superfox2000 · 11 Jul 2005, 19:06 (Ref:1352880)

The Mirage that Andretti hope to race in 1983 has to be ranked here!

superfox2000 · 11 Jul 2005, 19:07 (Ref:1352882)

Various Darrian efforts which had one major problem! The build schedule! Great car but the production rate is non existent!

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