It's June 22nd, 1991. It's the day the legendary 24-hour endurance race of Le Mans begins. Amongst Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche, Peugeot, Peugeot, Ferrari, Lancia, Mazdaspeed descends with three brand new 787Bs. They are the only ones with wankel - four-rotor - engines. Two are painted in the traditional green-blue of the Mazda and the third, No. 55, has the colours of the clothing sponsor, the Japanese clothing company Renowned. Green-orange. No one expects that the next day when the sun comes up, the three Mazda's will have any luck. After all, they start from positions 19, 23 and 30...
The night before, Mazdaspeed's team manager, Ohashi, has hardly slept at all. He decides to change the conservative strategy he has been following so far - with poor results. He instructs the three drivers in the #55 (Weidler, Herbert and Gachot) to run without any power maintenance, as if it were a short sprint race. To their protests that the car will not hold up, Ohashi responds with certainty. Nothing will happen to it. It'll hold up comfortably. Push it all the way.
Indeed, the race starts and the drivers push the #55 to its limits. They're going so fast that they're quickly climbing into third place, and they've dropped two laps on the No. 18 (which had a top speed 20 mph lower). The opportunity Mazdaspeed has been waiting for will come when the leading Mercedes-Benz C11 driven by Michael Schumacher pits with a gearbox problem. First place is held by another C11 driven by Alain Ferte. The 787B, driven by Herbert, is pushing.
At the 22nd hour of the race, Mercedes-Benz goes to the pits with a mechanical problem. The 787B takes the lead. At the pit stop, the Mazdaspeed mechanics will find that all the car needs, despite the pressure, is a... bulb.
The anxiety for Mazda to win is such that in this position, the driver is not allowed to get out of the car. Two hours later, having completed 362 laps and 4,932.2 kilometres, the 787B will cross the finish line first, marking the first victory for a Japanese company at Le Mans (and the only one, until that of Toyota, in 2018) and the last rotor car participation in an endurance race.
When he finishes, Herbert is so dehydrated that he can't even get out of the car. He's semi-drunk. He is taken to the hospital and does not participate in the finishes. But history is written...
The reappearance
Fast forward to today: Mazda would have raced the 787B in the Le Mans Classic last year, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its victory. Unfortunately, however, the event was postponed until this year due to Covid-19. The time is now coming and, on June 30, the 787B will once again haunt the Circuit de la Sarthe, in France, with that legendary, unique rotor howl.
The Mazda 787B, will run in demonstration rounds at the 2022 Le Mans Classic, which will take place from 30 June to 3 July. Its participation is significant, given that Mazda has decided to "kill" the legendary rotary engine as the main powerplant in a production model.
For the first time in almost a decade, spectators will be able to enjoy the legendary and distinctive sound of the Mazda 787B rotary engine at the 2022 Le Mans Classic. The last two times the public had the opportunity to see this legendary vehicle were at the 90th birthday of the 24 Hours Le Mans endurance race in 2013 and the 20th birthday of Mazda's Le Mans victory in 2011.
Thanks to support from model car company Spark, 29-time 24 Hours Le Mans endurance racer Yoriho Terada, known in Japan as "Mr. Le Mans", will drive the Mazda 787B on the demonstration laps on July 1 and 2 during the Group C race.
At the Le Mans Classic, a very popular event, numerous well-known race cars that have completed the 24 Hours Le Mans race come together to make one appearance every two years at the Circuit de la Sarthe. In the Group C race, participating vehicles are divided by historical period and compete in 60-minute races. This year, cars that have etched their names in history, such as Toyota Tom's 85c, Porche 962, Jaguar XJR and Peugeot 905, will also participate.
About the Mazda 787B you can also visit the special website in honour of the 30th anniversary of Mazda's Le Mans victory: https://www.mazda.com/en/innovation/lemans30th/
