Toyota 87C-L
The Toyota 87C-L was a sports car prototype of Group C , which was used for sports car racing in 1987 and the 1988th
Development history and technology
In the winter of 1986/1987, those responsible for motor sports at Toyota decided to strengthen their involvement in the sports car world championship . First and foremost, this meant more money for the development and use of the racing cars. With the start of Group C in 1982, Toyota got involved in sports car racing. However, the vehicles have not yet been built or used by Toyota. The development and construction of the racing cars was in the hands of the technicians at Dome , a company founded by Minoru Hayashi in 1978 that specialized in the construction of racing cars. For example, the predecessor model of the 87C-L was officially called the Dome 86C .
TOM'S Co. Ltd. took over the races . - Tachi Iowa Motor Sport - named after the two founders Nobuhide Tachi and Kiyoshi Iowa. The racing team, founded in 1974, took care of the logistics of the operations, while the operational planning was partly in the hands of Toyota. This variant of team leadership is not uncommon for manufacturers in sports car racing. The connection between Audi and Joest Racing may serve as an example from the present .
The engine was an essential innovation in technology. The previous 4-cylinder 4T GT engine, the basis of which came from large-scale production, was retired. The new 2.1-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine was given a completely new engine management system and developed 620 hp. After the first test drives, the wall thickness of the engine block was increased, which made the unit heavier but also more durable.
Racing car designer Masahiro Ohkuni moved from Dome to the group and developed three aluminum chassis together with Dome technicians. The cars looked very successful and compact. However, the 87C-L lacked enough downforce from the start; the main reason why the cars were too slow on the fast Le Mans circuit . In 1987, Toyota was almost exclusively interested in the Le Mans 24-hour race , where overall victory had been the main goal since entering sports car racing. However, this focus on one race was a certain development disadvantage compared to the competition. Although the vehicles were registered for a few races before Le Mans, the car and team were missing racing kilometers, which also served to eliminate weaknesses in the aerodynamics and the set-up.
Two chassis were used by TOM'S; Chassis 001 was taken over by Dome and registered there as Dome 87C-L for a total of six races.
Races
The 87C-L made its racing debut at the 500 km race in Suzuka . The race was the first racing event of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship this year. No compromises were made with the drivers and the cockpits were entrusted to experienced pilots. In the 87C-L with the starting number 36 sat the Formula 1 world champion from the 1980 Formula 1 season , the Australian Alan Jones , who was signed after a failed Formula 1 comeback. His partner was the experienced long-distance pilot Geoff Lees . After finishing fifth in practice, the duo finished the race in third place overall, on the same lap with winners Hideki Okada and Mike Thackwell in a Porsche 962C and another Porsche, driven by Kunimitsu Takahashi and Kenny Acheson . In the second race, the Japanese championship run in Fuji , there was a surprising overall victory by Jones, Lees and Masanori Sekiya .
After a disillusioned Le Mans test weekend in May 1987, where the fastest cars, the 8 XJR Jaguar by Raul Boesel were almost 10 seconds a lap, the Tom's racing team in June came with two vehicles to the actual race . The car with the number 37 was driven by the two Japanese Masanori Sekiya and Kaoru Hoshino and the Englishman Tiff Needell . Alan Jones, Geoff Lees and the Dome works driver Eje Elgh presented the prototype with the number 36. The mission turned into a disaster. Alan Jones got stuck on the track after 19 laps without fuel because the team had miscalculated the amount of fuel after the second pit stop. The sister car only drove twenty laps longer, then the drive ended with an engine failure.
The type of race in the Japanese sports car championship was far more successful than at Le Mans. Lees, Sekiya and Hitoshi Ogawa won the 1000 km race in Suzuka . The 87C-L had its last works outing at the 1000 km race in Fuji , the last race of the sports car world championship in 1987 .
At the end of the year, a chassis was sold to a private team and presented as a new 88C works car .
literature
- Thomas Nehlert, Group C: The sports car races 1982-1992. Verlag Petrolpics, Bonn 2011, ISBN 3-940306-14-2 .
