THE PIT STOP issue 6
q u a r t e r l y
m o t o r s p o r t
m a g a z i n e
RALLYTO
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RESCUE
WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY VALKYRIE RACING
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Jaguar provided the late race action when gearbox issues forced Lammers to hold the car in fourth gear to prevent any further damage, while the chasing 962C of Hans-Joachim Stuck/Klaus Ludwig/Derek Bell draw ever closer to snatching the laurels. It was by sheer uncharacteristic error that, when Stuck’s car was thwarted by running out of fuel close to home, the Jaguar finally snatched its first victory since those monochrome days of the D-Type. The Jaguar fold would add to the salt-in-the-
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wound trend by taking the 1988 World Sportscar Championship, propelling Martin Brundle into the star-studded-stratosphere of motorsport hot property resurgence following a slightly stalled Formula 1 foray, and beating out the Sauber Mercedes C9s to the overall honours. As the final year of the decade crested in a crescendo of vivid colour, Sauber’s disappointment of both losing the title and having to pull their blacklivered C9s out of the previous year’s Le Mans was
met with an audacious new silver hue, bringing the 1950s narrative back to life in a waft of Mercedes silver. Despite the best efforts of Patrick Tambay, Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace to haul the XJR-9 and its successor, the XJR-11, to title glory, the German giants swung back with a vengeance. After the laurel-lifting performance of the 1988 season, the Jaguar camp failed to notch up a single victory, and the updated Sauber Mercedes C9 rumbled its’ way to the 1989 World Sportscar title in the hands of the fancied Jean-
Louis Schlesser, with Jochen Mass, Mauro Baldi and Kenny Acheson completing the C9 whitewash of the top four spots in the Championship. So crushing was Stuttgart’s retaliation that the Saubers failed to win on just one occasion - the second round at Dijon. However, before the completion of German domination of the 1989 championship, as the fraternity rolled into the summer-kissed paddock of Le Mans in June, there was a distinct air of quiet revenge accompanying the Bratwurst in the pit garages. Having
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CHASING VICTORIES
FELIPE NASR WASN'T CONTENT RACING IN THE MIDFIELD. HE HAS TO WIN. AND ALTHOUGH HIS CAREER CHOICES MAY SEEM ODD TO SOME, IT'S PAYING DIVIDENDS FOR HIM.
WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY PFAFF MOTORSPORT/ CHRIS LAZENBY/GIRARDO & CO 52 | THE PIT STOP
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FULFILLING A MISSED DREAM DARIO FRANCHITTI NEVER GOT TO RACE AT THE LE MANS 24 HOURS, BUT HE FINALLY REALISED HIS DREAM IN 2021, WHEN HE TOOK TO THE WHEEL OF AN ASTON MARTIN DBR9
WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY ROB OVERY
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MANSELL ON HIS WAY TO FINISHING SECOND AT THE MONACO GRAND PRIX
Girardo & Co archive
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BOTTL E WORDS BY LUKE BARRY IMAGES BY M-SPORT/TOYOTA/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
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AN ELITE
DREAM WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY PHD PHOTO THE PIT STOP | 119