24h Le Mans
Photo : - Mercedes-Benz
|
|
|
 |
The story began in 1990 in the heart of the dual beween Mercedes and Jaguar in endurance racing. In addition to star duo of Schlesser and Baldi, Germany had three national hopes: Heinz-Harald Frenzten, Karl Wendlinger and Michael Schumacher. The three young drivers shared the wheel of a Mercedes C11 alongside the experienced Jochen Mass. Schumacher raced four times and won in Mexico City.
His performance earned him tenure in 1991 with Karl Wendlinger. Dominated by the Jaguar XJR-14 and the Peugeot 905, the new Mercedes C291 non-turbo motor did not allow young drivers to do better than second place at Silverstone.
For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mercedes had confidence in the good old V8 turbo. The drivers of the "Junior Team" had a good start to the race but in the early evening, Wendlinger came off at the Dunlop chicane. This loss of time encouraged Michael Schumacher to attack, and he set the fastest lap (3'35 "564), but his efforts were in vain. In the middle of the night, delays due to transmission problems set them back and they finished fifth, seven laps behind the winning Mazda.
A few weeks later, Peter Sauber, who entered the Silver Arrows in endurance, gave 1.5 million francs (then) to Michael Schumacher to allow him to make his debut in Formula 1. On August 25, 1991, the German joined Jordan at Spa Francorchamps. Twelve months later, he won the same Grand Prix with Benetton!
Photo 1 : AUTÓDROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ (MEXICO), TROFEO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ, 7 OCTOBER 1990. The world championship was the biggest prize for Schumacher in Endurance.
Photo 2 : SILVERSTONE (ENGLAND), 430KM OF SILVERSTONE, 19 MAY 1991. Schumacher-Wendlinger finished in 2nd place behind works Jaguar of Warwick and Fabi.
Photo 3 : AUTOPOLIS (KAMITSUE, JAPAN), 430KM OF AUTOPOLIS, 27 OCTOBER 1991. Michael Schumacher hands over to Karl Wendlinger in the Mercedes-Benz C 291.
