Mazda 787B
- NMC
- Jun 25, 2021
- 2 min read
A special anniversary for Mazda – this weekend is the 30th Anniversary of their historic 1991 Le Mans win when Britain’s Johnny Herbert, with Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot drove the rotary engined 787B monster to a first place finish in the world’s toughest race.
Mazda were the first Japanese manufacturer to win the race – a record it held until 2018 when Toyota won. It still holds the record for the only rotary engined car to win. The R26B four rotor engine produced a maximum output of over 900hp, but was often limited to 700hp for the sake of endurance. Outlawed at the end of the ‘91 season after rule changes for 1992 limiting engine displacement effectively barred rotary power from Le Mans.
Running faultlessly, the 787B, which could hit 210mph, completed 362 laps (3,065 miles) at an average speed of 127.62mph to take the chequered flag. Engineers reported that the engine could have completed another 24 hour race without any maintenance. Car 55 was then retired to the Mazda Museum in Hiroshima.
Mazda had already tasted some Le Mans glory in 1989 - the 767B with the 13J 2.6 L rotary engine, winning the GTP Class - David Kennedy / Pierre Dieudonne / Chris Hodgetts at the wheel.
My photo was taken at the Goodwood FOS in 2015 when Mazda had the honour of being the featured marque. The Gerry Judah sculpture has been a prominent feature of the FOS for 23 years. At a height of 131 feet, the two cars featured were the Le Mans winning 787B (not the actual car) and a modern day homage to the Le Mans winner in the form of the Mazda LM55, a digital vision, designed for the GranTurismo 6 game, made real.
It could be said that the sculpture is the essence of Kodo Design, Mazda’s successful ‘Soul of Motion’ ethos that shapes all the road cars.
At the 2015 Goodwood FOS, the actual race winning car, now fully restored and released from the Mazda Museum, had a very special driver – Moto GP legend, and very handy rally driver, Valentino Rossi. The Doctor was making his only ever appearance at Goodwood, and had asked Mazda if he could drive the car – of course the answer to the GOAT was yes!
Check out this great video from 2015 of a run at Goodwood in the 787B from the drivers viewpoint. Just listen to the sound of that rotary engine!
#LEMANS24 @24hoursoflemans @MazdaRacing @MazdaFrance #Mazda #Mazda787B #Heritage
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