Mazda marks 30th anniversary of legendary Le Mans victory

MANILA: Mazda recently celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the overall victory of the Mazda 787B at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Mazda 787B Chassis No. 002 is currently on display at the Mazda Museum. It has received enthusiastic support over the years, giving customers many opportunities to see it in person at fan meetings and other special events. The Mazda 787B is considered as a symbolic icon of the brand, especially among young customers who have no personal memory of its performance at Le Mans.

Mazda continues to promote participatory motorsports for customers who enjoy racing using their vehicles. It has also ventured into digital motorsport to allow customers experience the thrill of racecar driving, even if it’s only virtually.

Mazda has always been an active participant in motorsport, especially in Europe and America. It joined in various European endurance races in the late 1960s and early 1970s to showcase the high-speed performance, durability, and dependability of the Wankel rotary engine (RE), which was put to practical use in 1967. Moreover, Mazdaspeed, the brand’s motorsport division, joined the 24 Hours of Le Mans with RE cars for many years. In 1991, it became the first Japanese car to become the race’s overall champion.

The Mazda 787B that was used in the race had undergone a 24-hour simulation test at Paul Ricard Circuit to ensure its durability. The car was based on the 1986 Mazda 757 with a series of design changes made by Mazdaspeed’s design group to improve the RE-equipped Group C car.

The cockpit was made of a bath-tub type twin-tube monocoque molded using the prepreg method, in which lightweight and robust carbon composite fiber materials were laminated and heat-treated in a special kin. The power unit and transmission are vertically assembled at the rear.

Since Mazda did not have a gearbox that matches the RE, the forward five-speed transmission assembly for the Porsche 956/962C was used as the transmission mechanism. The gearbox has a conventional shifting mechanism with the shift linkage extending to the rear gearbox through an H-pattern shift control panel.

In 2011, the Mazda 787B unit that won at Le Mans in 1991 was invited by the organizer of the race series to carry out a demonstration run at the Circuit de la Sarthe. It was the car’s first appearance in 20 years. At the 90^th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mazda 787B participated in a parade run as it was voted as the most popular car of 1990s.

The winning car also ran on a hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) in United Kingdom. FOS is said to be the largest motor show in the UK as it attended by around 300,000 motorsports enthusiasts.

The Mazda 787B also appeared at the Automobile Council 2021 last April. It was displayed alongside other epoch-making race cars for fans to see.

Aside from its remarkable win in Le Mans, Mazda has also made a name in various motorsports events across the globe. In 2002, Mazda kicked off the Roadster Party Race series, the longest running one-make race in Japan. Participants compete using the based grade Roadster NR-A with no modifications. To ensure safety, the vehicles are equipped with options such as a roll cage and full harness seat belts.

Meanwhile, Mazda North America organizes the MX-5 Cup, a one-make race for the current-generation MX-5, which has developed into a semi-professional category that travels around circuits across the United States.

Mazda also participates in various racing events in ASEAN and China. In 2017, the Mazda team in Thailand bagged its first championship with Mazda2 Skyactiv-D model in the Thailand Super Series. In 2020, the team took the overall championship in the same race series.

Meanwhile, the Mazda team in China participated in the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC) from 2015 to 2017 using the Mazda3 Axela and Mazda 6 Atenza. The Mazda3 Axela won the Production Class in the second race of the CTCC’s seventh round in 2016.

Around 10 Mazda cars, including roadsters and Mazda2s, participate in the Super Taikyu series in Japan. It is an endurance race that travels across the major circuits in the country.

Mazda has also expanded its motorsports presence in the digital world. Mazda is an official partner of the FIA Gran Turismo Championship, which is played using the PlayStation 4’s Gran Turismo Sport released by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Inc. In 2020, Mazda and Polyphony Digital Inc. jointly created the Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Concept virtual race car. As of June 2021, the total number of downloads has reached 880,000 units.

Photos from Mazda

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