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MAZDA767,MAZDA757 (1988)
Car No. 201 Y. Katayama / M. Duez / D. Leslie Car No. 202 T. Yorino / W. Hoy / H. Regout
Car No. 203 (757) Y. Terada / D. Kennedy / P. Dieudonne
Qualified 29th (#201), 28th (#202 = 3'39"32), 37th (#203)
Race 7th (#201), 19th (#202) ,15th (#203-337 laps)
This year's Le Mans saw more fierce battles between the three works' Porsches and the five Jaguars, joined by a pair of Mercedes in what people called the battle of Europe's big three manufacturers. A total of eight Japanese cars were entered in this year's competition. Among them, Mazdaspeed brought three cars for the first time, including a pair of the newly developed MAZDA 767, equipped with the improved 4-rotor 13J engine and a longer nose and shorter deck, teamed up with the 3-rotor MAZDA 757. In qualifying, the fastest lap was set by the Porsche 962C, but in the race, the WM Peugeot surprised by setting the first-ever recorded speed of over 400km/h. When Mercedes suffered a burst tyre for reasons that could not be determined, they abandoned starting the race. After 24 hours' running, Jaguar took victory, the make's first, some 31 years after their previous win, taken in 1957. The huge number of supporters from the UK all proudly sang their national anthem, "God Save the Queen" during the podium ceremony.
The newly developed MAZDA 767 showed great promise when it set the fastest lap in the race. People gradually started to set a higher target for the car, expecting it would easily take 6th overall. On the other hand, the team members were well aware that Le Mans had never accepted newcomers easily. In the early stages of the race, the 767 ran smoothly. The #201 car, which started 29th, had risen to 12th overall by 5 a.m., and was the highest of all the Japanese entries just before sunrise. However, moments after the sun appeared, both the 767s ran into trouble at almost exactly the same time and ended up getting stuck in the pits. Both cars' problems arose from cracked exhaust manifolds and broken chipped cog belts, requiring a considerable amount of time to repair. While this was unfolding, the #203 car ran trouble free, and ended up covering 337 laps or 250kms more than it had the previous year. This 10th attempt for Mazdaspeed at Le Mans saw a result of 15th overall for the MAZDA 757, and a win in the IMSA GTP class. The pair of 767s completed the race in 17th and 19th places respectively.
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