In 1990, the battle between Jaguar and Mercedes in endurance racing was raging. To support the Schlesser-Baldi 'star' duo, the German manufacturer decided to give a chance to three national hopes: Heinz-Harald Frenzten (German F3 champion), Karl Wendlinger and another chap called Michael Schumacher. The three young drivers shared the car with the experienced Jochen Mass. Michael participated in four races that season. Disqualified at Silverstone for non-compliance of the C11, made up for that by finishing second in Dijon and the Nürburgring, finally winning the 480km of Mexico, following the disqualification of the sister car.

In 1991 the turbo was replaced by the 3.5 litre normally aspirated engines. Michael Schumacher and Karl Wendlinger in the new C291, and Jean-Louis Schlesser withJochen Mass in the old C11. The Mercedes team,lacked experience with the non-turbo racing engines and the season was dominated by Jaguar and Peugeot. Schumacher and Wendlinger after many retirements took second place at Silverstone.

For the 24 Hours of Le Mans,Mercedes HQ decided not to introduce the C291, but to trust the good old V8 turbo the C11. Schumacher and Wendlinger were joined by Fritz Kreuzpointner, from the DTM Mercedes Junior Team. After a good start to the race, Wendlinger slightly damaged the car at the Dunlop chicane. That loss of time encouraged Michael to attack, and achieve the best lap in 3:35.564. His efforts were in vain, in the middle of the night, the repairs due to a transmission problem caused an insurmountable delay to the team who finished fifth, seven laps behind winning Mazda.

A few weeks later, August 25, 1991, Schumacher made his debut in Formula 1 at Spa Francorchamps. He won the same Grand Prix, twelve months later. A star is born.

Julien Hergault - Translated by Dave Davies