1991 was the last gasp of the real Group C races...
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| IXO #LMC023 - Mazda 787B - Le Mans 1991 |
Let's get one thing clear. Japan is a country that is completely made out of awesome. Any society that produces Pokemon, octopus-tentacle-pornography, Hibachi tricks, unfathomable game shows, Hello Kitty, and "Battle of the Planets" gets my full approval. But the best thing about Japan was that in the late 1980's they were considered to be on the verge of total world domination.
But they never did. Instead, their economy went into a spiral of deflation from which they have not yet emerged. China has taken the mantle of BigEconomicAsianThreat, and the Koreans make the electronics.
And to their credit, the Japanese did not get mad and overthrow their Emperor and Prime Minister. No, they took it upon themselves to just be even more wacky, and went to cosplay conventions. But this car is an artifact from that time before...
This excellent-looking car was first produced in a small run by Quartzo, and even those original units came in various boxes and labels. It was right around the time when Vitesse/Onyx/Quartzo became IXO, so there were some irregularities in distribution and packaging. However, IXO has produced a new run, which features tighter quality and improved wheels.
This was the car that started somewhat of a Minichamps backlash. PMA put out an expensive and bulky "box-set" version of this model, which when compared to the Ixo version was not necessarily any better...
Le Mans 1991 (Part of the FIA Sportscar World Championship) | |||||
Place |
Car |
Car # Class |
Model |
Ref. # |
Image |
| Category 2 (Fuel Consumption Formula) | |||||
| Mazdaspeed Works Team | |||||
| 1 | Mazda 787B 'Renown' Volker Weidler  Johnny Herbert  Bertrand Gachot  | 55 Cat. 2 | IXO Classic Le Mans | LMC023 |  |
| Altaya '24 Heures du Mans' | ? |  | |||
| HPI | 937 | ||||
| Quartzo | QLM032 | ||||
| Minichamps | 436 911655 | ||||
| Spark (Kokusai Boeki) Mazda History | MC9116 | ||||
| 6 | Mazda 787B 'Mazdasport' David Kennedy  Stefan Johansson  Maurizio Sala  | 18 Cat. 2 | IXO Classic Le Mans | LMC028 | |
| 4 | Jaguar XJR-12 'Silk Cut' Derek Warwick John Nielsen  Andy Wallace | 33 Cat. 2 | Spark Model | S0753 |  |
| 3 | Jaguar XJR-12 'Silk Cut' Teo Fabi  Bob Wollek  Kenny Acheson | 34 Cat. 2 | Spark Model | S0752 |  |
| 2 | Jaguar XJR-12 'Silk Cut' Davy Jones  Raul Boesel Michel Ferté | 35 Cat. 2 | Spark Model | S0751 |  |
| DNF | Porsche 962C '0123' Eje Elgh Roland Ratzenberger  Will Hoy | 52 Cat. 2 | Spark Kokusai Boeki Edition | KBS046 | |
| Category 1 (3.5 Litre 'Atmos') | |||||
| Peugeot-Talbot Works Team | |||||
| 3 | Peugeot 905 'Esso' Mauro Baldi Philippe Alliot Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 5 Cat. 1 | Quartzo Classic Le Mans | QLM003 |  |
| Vitesse | 652A | ||||
| DNF | Peugeot 905 'Esso' Keke Rosberg  Yannick Dalmas Pierre-Henri Raphanel | 6 Cat. 1 | Quartzo Classic Le Mans | QLM004 |  |
| Vitesse | 652B | ||||
The Lemans race of 1992 was, by all expert accounts, a friggin' disaster. Only 28 leftover Group C cars raced.
1992 Le Mans Classes | |
|---|---|
Name | Description |
Cat. 1 | 3.5 Litre Atmos "Formula One with fenders" |
Cat. 2 | Old Group C cars |
Cat. 3 | 3.0 Litre Turbos |
Cat. 4 | 2.0 Litre Spyders |
Le Mans 1992 (Part of the FIA Sportscar World Championship) | |||||
Place |
Car |
Car # Class |
Model |
Ref. # |
Image |
| Peugeot-Talbot Works Team | |||||
| 1 | Peugeot 905 'Esso' Derek Warwick Yannick Dalmas Mark Blundell | 1 Cat. 1 | Quartzo Classic Le Mans | QLM009 |  |
| Vitesse | 654 | ||||
| 3 | Peugeot 905 'Esso' Mauro Baldi Philippe Alliot Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 2 Cat. 1 | Quartzo Classic Le Mans | QLM010 |  |
| Vitesse | 028 | ||||
| Toyota Team Tom's | |||||
| 2 | Toyota TS010 'Casio' Masanori Sekiya  Pierre-Henri Raphanel Kenny Acheson | 33 | IXO Classic Le Mans | LMC031 | |
| 8 | Toyota TS010 'Zent' Jan Lammers  Andy Wallace Teo Fabi | 8 | IXO Classic Le Mans | LMC033 | |
| DNF | Toyota TS010 'Nippodenso' Geoff Lees David Brabham  Ukyou Katayama | 7 | IXO Classic Le Mans | LMC032 | |
1993 saw the reintroduction of GT cars at LeMans. Porsche 993 Carrera 2 Cup and RSR's come back to La Sarthe
1993 Le Mans Classes | |
|---|---|
Name | Description |
Cat. 1 | 3.5 Litre Atmos "Formula One with fenders" |
Cat. 2 | Old Group C cars |
Cat. 3 | Open small-bore spyders (2.0 litre?) |
Cat. 4 | GT's Return! |
Le Mans 1993 | |||||
Place |
Car |
Car # Class |
Model |
Ref. # |
Image |
| Category 1 | |||||
| Peugeot Talbot Sport | |||||
| 1 | Peugeot 905C 'Peugeot' Eric Hélary Christophe Bouchut Geoff Brabham | 3 Cat. 1 | IXO | LM1993 | |
| Vitesse | 039A | ||||
| Vitesse ('Dirty' Version) | 039D |  | |||
| 2 | Peugeot 905C 'Peugeot' Thierry Boutsen Yannick Dalmas Teo Fabi | 1 Cat. 1 | Vitesse | 039B | |
| 3 | Peugeot 905C 'Peugeot' Philippe Alliot Mauro Baldi Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 2 Cat. 1 | Vitesse | 039C | |
| Toyota Team Tom's | |||||
| 4 | Toyota TS010 'Nippodenso' Eddie Irvine Toshio Suzuki Masanori Sekiya | 36 Cat. 1 | IXO | LMC054 | |
| DNF | Toyota TS010 'Nippodenso' Pierre-Henri Raphanel Kenny Acheson Andy Wallace | 37 Cat. 1 | IXO | LMC055 | |
| 8 | Toyota TS010 'Nippodenso' Geoff Lees Jan Lammers Juan-Manuel Fangio II  | 38 Cat. 1 | IXO | LMC056 | |
This was a strange year, as it was still in the aftermath of the group C implosion, but the GT1's of the BPR series had not yet arrived.
German race team Dauer created a street-legal version of the Porsche 962 that was intended for rich supercar customers. It had distinct bodywork, no ground effects, and other unique components. It should not be confused with the true 962's that had won previously. This is probably the only occurrence of a racing car that was based on a road car that was based on a racing car.
Whoever thinks Eddie Irvine is a no-talent playboy never heard of his excellent 1994 Le Mans drive. He was subbing for the freshly-dead Roland Ratzenberger, and put in a blistering performance during his "weekend off" of F1.
IXO has promised a replica of this car, one of the best second-place finishes ever.
Le Mans 1994 | |||||
Place |
Car |
Car # Class |
Model |
Ref. # |
Image |
| GT1 Class | |||||
| 1 | Dauer (Porsche) 962 GT LM 'Fat Turbo' Yannick Dalmas Hurley Haywood Mauro Baldi | 36 GT1 | Minichamps | 430 946436 |  |
| Spark | 43LM94 | ||||
| Altaya '24 Heures du Mans' Collection | 23 | ||||
| Minichamps Le Mans Edition | |||||
| 3 | Dauer (Porsche) 962 GT LM 'Shell' Hans-Joachim Stuck Danny Sullivan Thierry Boutsen | 35 GT1 | Minichamps | 430 946435 |  |
| Spark | S1900 | ||||
| Altaya 'Legends of Le Mans' Collection | 34 | ||||
| Minichamps Le Mans Edition | |||||
| 12 | Dodge Viper R/T-10 'Rent-A-Car' René Arnoux Justin Bell Bertrand Balas | 40 GT1 | Minichamps | 430 941440 |  |
| Universal Hobbies | |||||
| N/C | Dodge Viper R/T-10 'Rent-A-Car' François Migault Denis Morin Philippe Gache | 41 GT1 | Minichamps | 430 941441 |  |
| Universal Hobbies | |||||
| N/C | Venturi 600LM Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière Bernard Chauvin Hervé Poulain | 30 GT1 | IXO | LMC144 | |
| Altaya 'Legends of Le Mans' Collection | 57 | ||||
| N/C | De Tomaso Pantera | 37 GT1 | Spark | S0529 | |
| DNF | Ferrari F40 Turbo 'Totip' Anders Olofsson Sandro Angelastri  Luciano della Noce | 29 GT1 | IXO | FER010 |  |
| LMP1/C90 Class | |||||
| 2 | Toyota 94C-V | 1 LMP1/C90 | Altaya 'Legends of Le Mans' Collection | 29 | |
| IMSA GTS Class | |||||
| 5 | Nissan 300ZX Turbo | 75 IMSA GTS | Kyosho | ||
| DNF | Nissan 300ZX Turbo | 76 IMSA GTS | Kyosho | ||
| GT2 Class | |||||
| 11 | Ferrari 348 GT 'Repsol' Alfonso de Orleans  Tomas Saldana Andres Vilarino | 57 GT2 | Bang | 8020 |  |
| DNF | Lotus Esprit S300 Turbo | 62 GT2 | Spark | ||
| DNF | Lotus Esprit S300 Turbo | 61 GT2 | Spark | ||
| DNF | Ferrari 348 GT 'Totip' Oscar Larrauri Fabio Mancini Joël Gouhier | 64 GT2 | Bang | 8021 |  |
| Test | Lotus Esprit S300 Turbo | 53 GT2 | Spark | ||
| LMP2 Class | |||||
| DNF | WR LM93 | 21 LMP2 | Spark | S0340 | |
| DNF | WR LM93 | 22 LMP2 | Spark | S0341 | |