Sauber Mercedes C9
Encyclopedia
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
prototype
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
race car introduced in 1987 as a continuation of the partnership between Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....
as a constructor and Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
as an engine builder for the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
. The C9 replaced the previous Sauber C8
Sauber C8
The Sauber C8 was a Group C prototype race car introduced in 1985 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the first in a partnership between Sauber and Mercedes-Benz....
.
For its debut season in 1987
1987 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1987 World Sportscar Championship season was the 35th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship racing. It featured the World Sports-Prototype Championship which was a series which ran from March 22, 1987 to September 27, 1987 and was composed of ten races. The series was open to cars running...
, the cars were run by Kouros Racing, named after the fragrance brand of its sponsor, Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent (brand)
Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.-History:...
, although officially backed by Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
. The team managed a mere twelfth in the teams standings, scoring points in only a single round. For 1988
1988 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1988 World Sports-Prototype Championship season was the 36th FIA World Sportscar Championship season. It was a series running under the Group C formula, running cars in two classes known as C1 and C2. An invitational GTP class was also run for IMSA-spec cars...
, Kouros was dropped as a sponsor, forcing the team to be renamed Sauber Mercedes. As a result, Mercedes used AEG-Olympia
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
for sponsor – AEG being owned by Daimler-Benz at the time. They managed to finish second in the championship behind Silk Cut
Silk Cut
Silk Cut is brand of low tar cigarette produced by the Gallaher Group. The packaging is characterised by a distinctive stark white packet with the brand name in a purple, blue, red, silver, white or green square....
Jaguar
Jaguar (car)
Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
with five wins for the season. Unfortunately at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
, the team suffered an embarrassing setback when they were forced to withdraw due to concern over their Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
tires.
Finally, in 1989, the car was able to achieve great success. Beside replacing the black color scheme for its national plain silver scheme, reducing AEG as a minor sponsor, the older M117
Mercedes-Benz M117 engine
The Mercedes-Benz M117 engine family is an OHC design with 2 valves per cylinder V8 automobile engine made by Mercedes-Benz between 1969 and 1992.-Technical details:-Applications:...
5.0L turbocharged V8 engine was upgraded to the M119
Mercedes-Benz M119 engine
The Mercedes-Benz M119 was a V8 automobile engine produced from 1989 through 1999. It was available in 4.2 L; 5.0 L; and 6.0 L displacements. It was a double overhead cam design with 4 valves per cylinder and variable valve timing on the intake side...
, which replaced steel heads with new aluminium. The C9 was able to win all but one race in the 1989 season
1989 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1989 World Sportscar Championship season was the 37th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1989 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship, which was open to Group C1 Sports Prototypes, Group C2 Sports Prototypes and IMSA GTP cars...
, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1989 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 57th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 10 and 11 1989.-Race:The race was the last time the 24 Hours of Le Mans ran without the two chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight; for the interest of safety to reduce speeds after speeds reaching in the previous...
. During qualifying for Le Mans, the C9 recorded a speed of 247 mph (398 km/h) on the Mulsanne Straight, a record. Mercedes driver Jean-Louis Schlesser
Jean-Louis Schlesser
Jean-Louis Schlesser is a French racing driver with experience in circuit racing and cross-country rallying. He is known for his successful wins of many different competitions...
would end up taking the driver's championship that season.
The C9 would be replaced by the Mercedes-Benz C11
Mercedes-Benz C11
The Mercedes-Benz C11 was a Group C prototype race car introduced in 1990 for the World Sportscar Championship. Built by Sauber as a successor to the Sauber C9, the C11 used the same Mercedes-Benz M119 5.0L Turbocharged V8 from the C9...
for 1990
1990 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1990 World Sportscar Championship season was the 38th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship racing. It featured the 1990 FIA World Sports-Prototype Championship for Drivers and the 1990 FIA World Sports-Prototype Championship for Teams, both of which were contested over a series for cars...
.
Le Mans Results
- 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans1987 24 Hours of Le MansThe 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 55th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 13 and 14 1987. It was also the fifth round of the 1987 World Sports-Prototype Championship.-Track alterations:...
- #61 - Kouros Racing - Mike ThackwellMike ThackwellMichael Thackwell is a former racing driver, who competed in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula One. The second youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in five of them, making his first start on 28 September 1980 at the Canadian Grand Prix. He...
, Henri PescaroloHenri PescaroloHenri Pescarolo is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 64 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 22 September 1968. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 12 championship points...
, Hideki Okada - DNF - #62 - Kouros Racing - Chip GanassiChip GanassiFloyd "Chip" Ganassi, Jr is a former American racecar driver and current racecar owner.He is currently the owner and president of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates which operates teams on the IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series circuit...
, Johnny Dumfries, Mike ThackwellMike ThackwellMichael Thackwell is a former racing driver, who competed in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula One. The second youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in five of them, making his first start on 28 September 1980 at the Canadian Grand Prix. He...
- DNF
- #61 - Kouros Racing - Mike Thackwell
- 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans1988 24 Hours of Le MansThe 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 56th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 11 and 12 1988. It was also the fifth round of the World Sports-Prototype Championship season.-Race:...
- #61 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Mauro BaldiMauro BaldiMauro Baldi is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the Arrows, Alfa Romeo and Spirit teams.He started his career in rallying in 1972 and turned to circuit racing in 1975 with the Italian Renault 5 Cup...
, James Weaver, Jochen MassJochen MassJochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix...
- Withdrawn - #62 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Klaus NiedzwiedzKlaus NiedzwiedzKlaus Niedzwiedz is a former professional race driver and motoring journalist.- Driver :His greatest success came in the 1980s, as a driver for Ford....
, Kenny AchesonKenny AchesonKenneth Henry Acheson is a British former racing driver who participated during the 1983 and 1985 Formula One seasons for the RAM team. He completed only one of his three race starts, finishing in 12th position in the 1983 South African Grand Prix...
- Withdrawn
- #61 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Mauro Baldi
- 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans1989 24 Hours of Le MansThe 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 57th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 10 and 11 1989.-Race:The race was the last time the 24 Hours of Le Mans ran without the two chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight; for the interest of safety to reduce speeds after speeds reaching in the previous...
- #61 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Mauro BaldiMauro BaldiMauro Baldi is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the Arrows, Alfa Romeo and Spirit teams.He started his career in rallying in 1972 and turned to circuit racing in 1975 with the Italian Renault 5 Cup...
, Kenny AchesonKenny AchesonKenneth Henry Acheson is a British former racing driver who participated during the 1983 and 1985 Formula One seasons for the RAM team. He completed only one of his three race starts, finishing in 12th position in the 1983 South African Grand Prix...
, Gianfranco BrancatelliGianfranco BrancatelliGianfranco Brancatelli is a former racing driver from Italy. His racing career began in 1973, in the Formula Abarth series. In 1975, he advanced to Italian Formula 3 racing...
- 2nd - #62 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Jean-Louis SchlesserJean-Louis SchlesserJean-Louis Schlesser is a French racing driver with experience in circuit racing and cross-country rallying. He is known for his successful wins of many different competitions...
, Jean-Pierre JabouilleJean-Pierre JabouilleJean-Pierre Alain Jabouille is a former racing driver from France.-Biography:A native of Paris, Jabouille was one of the last of a breed of Formula One drivers who were also engineers....
, Alain Cudini - 5th - #63 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Jochen MassJochen MassJochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix...
, Manuel ReuterManuel ReuterManuel Reuter is a German former race car driver.He has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice:*in 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans for Sauber-Mercedes*in 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans for Joest Racing...
, Stanley DickensStanley DickensStanley Dickens is a Swedish race car driver who won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1989 driving a Sauber C9-Mercedes.-External links:*http://stanleydickens.com/...
- 1st
- #61 - Team Sauber Mercedes - Mauro Baldi
Reaching 248.0 mph (400 km/h) during the qualifying sessions of the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Sauber C9 has set one of the fastest top speeds ever in the history of the competition at Le Mans. These speeds led to the cessation on the huge Le Mans Mulsanne Straight and the introduction of two chicanes, from 1990 onwards.
The C9's top speed was only beaten by the WM Peugeot prototype, with a speed of 251.1 mph (405 km/h) in the 1988 race. However the WM, optimized for a low drag setup and high straight line speed, suffered from handling problems elsewhere on the circuit and the engine was prone to overheating. Indeed the car's fastest time was set with tape applied over the ducting for aerodynamic purposes and was withdrawn as soon as a new record was set to avoid an expensive rebuild.