2011 marks the 20th anniversary of Mazda's victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours Race. In celebration of this anniversary, and at the invitation of the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO), Mazda will demonstrate the Mazda 787B on the Sarthe Circuit on Saturday, June 11, just before start of this year's 24-hour race. The Mazda 787B has been specially restored and already shaken-down in preparation for the demonstration at Le Mans
Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda's president and CEO, said, "Mazda is founded on a desire to 'never stop challenging.' This spirit brings Mazda Group employees together across the globe, and it inspires us to achieve the demanding goals we set ourselves. Exactly 50 years ago, in 1961, Mazda commenced development of the rotary engine. The road from this beginning until our 1991 victory at Le Mans, and on to our current SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY development program, is built upon our spirit of challenge. 2011 is set to be another landmark year for the entire Mazda Group, as we enter our SKYACTIV era with the global introduction of our next-generation vehicles."
In preparation for the demonstration at Le Mans, Mazda has carefully restored the winning 787B racecar back to driving condition. The work was carried out by current Mazda employees who participated in the company's original Le Mans Challenge Project, along with engineers from Mazda's subsidiary engineering company Mazda E&T. The restored 787B has been tested by one of Mazda's in-house top gun drivers, and its performance has been confirmed by former Mazda factory drivers Yoshimi Katayama, Takashi Yorino and Yojiro Terada at Mazda's Mine Proving Ground.
As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, various members of the 1991 Mazda team will also return to Le Mans. The winning driver Johnny Herbert (England) will be joined by 1991 Mazda drivers David Kennedy (Ireland), Pierre Dieudonn? (Belgium) and other team members. Patrick Dempsey, the American actor and racing driver currently competing in GRAND-AM GT racing with a Mazda RX-8, also plans to attend this special occasion.
