<< Prev Page 3 of 3 During the race the Mazda drivers were given a very specific lap time to run with an eye on completing the calculated 367 laps without running out of fuel. This pace was higher than the competition could have imagined and especially caught out the Jaguar cars, which had to slow down in the morning to preserve fuel. Faster still were the Sauber-Mercedes C11s but the additional weight they were forced to carry also had an effect on reliability.
The bright-orange and green #55 turned out to be the faster of the two 787Bs and it was running second when the leading Sauber was forced into the pit for a prolonged stop. This handed the lead to the very skilfully driven Mazda 787B with less than three hours to go. The flawless performance resulted in the historic victory; the first for a Japanese car, the first for a rotary engine and the first with carbon-ceramic brakes. The other two Mazdas finished in a more than commendable 6th and 8th.
The Le Mans winning Mazda 787B was returned to Japan and disassembled in front of the gathered media. Close inspection of the parts suggested that the car could have run for another 24 hours without problems. A third 787B was built to replace the Le Mans winner in the remaining rounds of the championship. These 'sprint' races did not particularly suit the Mazda and no notable results were scored.
Reluctant on giving up on sports car races without defending the Le Mans crown, Mazda fielded a V10-engined, TWR developed car in 1992 but it would prove no match for the now thoroughly developed Peugeot 905s. Mazda's withdrew from sports car racing at the end of the year and since then has only supported privately backed efforts as an engine supplier. To date, the Mazda 787B remains the only Japanese machine to have ever mastered the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. << Prev Page 3 of 3
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During the race the Mazda drivers were given a very specific lap time to run with an eye on completing the calculated 367 laps without running out of fuel. This pace was higher than the competition could have imagined and especially caught out the Jaguar cars, which had to slow down in the morning to preserve fuel. Faster still were the Sauber-Mercedes C11s but the additional weight they were forced to carry also had an effect on reliability.