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MAZDA 727C, Lola T616 (1984)
Lola T616 Car No. 67: J. Busby / B. Heye / R. Knoop
Car No. 68: J. Austin / J. Morton / Y. Katayama
MAZDA 727C Car No. 86: Y. Terada / T. Yorino / P. Dieudonne
Car No. 87: D. Kennedy / J-M. Martin / P. Martin
Qualified: 40th (#67), 39th (#68), 33rd (#86), 43rd (#87)
Race: 12th (#67), 10th (#68), 20th (#86), 15th (#87)
This year (1984), with the works' Porsches staging a boycott, the Lancia LC2 put on a strong performance in qualifying. The pole-sitting Lancias were not only 9 seconds quicker than the fastest privateer Porsche in qualifying, but also dominated the front row. Among the MAZDA runners, two Group C-spec MAZDA 727Cs were sent by Mazdaspeed (which had become an independent company in June the previous year, and was now Mazda's works' team, both nominally and virtually). BF Goodrich in the U.S. also brought two Lola T616 C2s, making the battle at the top of the class one among family members. Ace works' driver Yoshimi Katayama joined the U.S.-based team in a show of support.
The MAZDA 727C had been modified from the previous year's spec and given a slanted nose, while the removal of the unique rear wheel arch cover was undertaken to take advantage of the car's handling capabilities over maximizing overall speed. The Lola T616 which had been taking part in the U.S.-based IMSA series and in endurance races in Europe had the 13B-RE powerplant onboard, in the same spec as the 727C. However once the race got underway, those four cars ran their initial laps all the while warily sizing each other up. One could readily see the advantage the Mazdaspeed-run cars had with their greater experience of Le Mans. However, the BFG Lola had better luck. The #86 727C lost some time early on in the race due to contact, and then a gearbox failure saw the car stuck in the pits for a time. The #87 car suffered from a broken suspension, requiring considerable time to repair. In contrast, the BFG Lola was almost trouble-free and won the Group C2 class while the #67 finished 3rd. All the RE-equipped machines completed the race, however it was a bittersweet Le Mans debut for the all-new Mazdaspeed squad.
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