On the 11th of June, the Mazda 787B returned to Le Mans for the twentieth anniversary of Bertrand Gachot, Johnny Herbert and Volker Weidler's win at the 24 Hours. Journey to the heart of the restoration of the car for the demonstration at Le Mans in these two videos.
Qualified 19th of 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991, Herbert, Weidler, and Gachot were in the top five after five hours of racing. The Mazda 787B ran like clockwork, and the troubles of the favourites (Peugeot 905, Jaguar XJR12, Porsche 962C ...) propelled them the second place, behind the Sauber-Mercedes of Jean-Louis Schlesser, Alain Ferte and Jochen Mass. The latter returned to the pits at 12:54 with a cooling problem, then retired. The 787B ws in the lead with less than three hours to the finish. Japanese television interrupted its programming to broadcast the race live, and Mazda became the first (and only to date) Japanese manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
The restoration: The Mazda 787B was fully disassembled, restored and rebuilt. After careful restoration, the rotary engine once again gave its characteristic high note: the car was ready to go to Le Mans!
Return to La Sarthe. On June 11, 2011 in the late morning, Johnny Herbert takes the wheel of the Mazda 787B (with onboard camera) on the 24 Hours circuit. After this demonstration, the British driver finally climbed the podium. In 1991 he was the victim of dehydration after crossing the finish line, and was unable celebrate his victory with his teammates.
Jean-Philippe Doret
Photo : 24 HEURES DU MANS, 22 & 23 JUIN 1991. Mazda 787B en route to glory !
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