Clean SHS C6
The Sauber SHS C6 was a sports car prototype of Group C , which in winter 1981/1982 with Sauber Motorsport has been developed.
Development history and technology
The development of the Sauber SHS C6 was originally a commissioned work. This order came from the Swiss plastics and bodywork company Seger & Hoffmann . Seger & Hoffmann had already supplied body parts made of plastic for the BMW M1 of the Procar series and had made the entire plastic body out of Kevlar for Saubers Group 5 -M1 . This order background was also reflected in the type designation. The SHS stands for Seger-Hoffmann-Sauber. The C has always stood for the first letter of the first name of Peter Sauber's wife Christine.
This order came in very handy, as it financed the entry into the 1982 sports car world championship . During the conceptual work, Peter Sauber turned to the Technical University of Stuttgart , where aerodynamics engineers were working on the development of the Porsche 956 . It was through their mediation that Sauber came to Daimler-Benz and their young chassis engineer Leo Rees . The racing car was developed with support from Stuttgart, where Sauber was also able to use a wind tunnel. In the course of the design work, Seger & Hoffmann withdrew from the project; Nothing can be found in the specialist literature about the reasons.
The shapely racing car developed too little downforce; this became clear after the first test drives. The distinctive feature of the car was the delta wing in the rear. The chassis of the C6 was almost completely taken over from Group 5 BMW M1 and optimized by Leo Rees and adapted to the requirements of the technical regulations of Group C. The weak point of the prototype was the engine. As with some other teams and due to the lack of alternatives, the DFL V8 engine from Cosworth, enlarged to 3.9-liter, was used, the original DFV form of which had made its debut in the Lotus 49 of Formula 1 in 1967 . The engine was converted to a long-haul version with new pistons and connecting rods, but it generates enormous vibrations in the vehicle. The electronics in the C6 in particular suffered from constant shaking, which led to increased defects.
Racing history
Two chassis were built at Sauber. One stayed with Sauber for the time being and was later sold to the Swiss racing driver Walter Brun . The second was delivered to the German racing team GS-Tuning at the beginning of the season .
The racing debut of the C6 took place at the Monza 1000 km race in 1982 . Walter Brun and Siegfried Müller drove the Sauber factory car . Hans-Joachim Stuck and Hans Heyer sat in the GS-Tuning-C6 . The works car broke down after 14 laps due to a defective radiator, the GS tuning car stopped seven laps later with a defective fuel pump. In the third round of the German racing championship in 1982 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring , the works car also failed; Walter Brun had an accident after four laps.
The first finish was at the 1000 km race at Silverstone . While the Stuck / Heyer-C6 failed again, this time due to ignition damage - the vibrations had permanently damaged the electronic ignition system - the works car made 13th overall. However, 32 laps behind the victorious Lancia LC1 of Michele Alboreto and Riccardo Patrese . There was also a double retirement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . For Walter Brun and Siegfried Müller the retirement came on the evening of Saturday when the starter had no function after a pit stop. Hans-Joachim Stuck, who drove the number 20 C6 together with Dieter Quester and Jean-Louis Schlesser , stopped after driving 76 laps because the vibrating engine knocked out a bearing.
The best placing of the year was Hans Heyer's fourth place in the DRM race in Hockenheim . In the 1982 World Sports Car Championship , the most successful race was the Mugello 1000 km race . Müller and Brun finished fifth in the GS-Tuning-C6.
In 1983 the SHS C6 was replaced by the C7 .
Two years later, in 1985 , another SHS C6 was reported at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . The Frenchman Roland Bassaler had acquired chassis 82-C6-02 and used the car sporadically in sports car races in the following years. He replaced the problematic Cosworth engine with a BMW 6-cylinder turbo engine. The Le Mans race ended with the trio Bassaler, Dominique Lacaud and Yvon Tapy in 23rd place overall. So there was no chance of a class win in the C2 class either. The best place that Bassaler achieved was 12th in the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1986 .
When the Frenchman started his C6 at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1993 , the chassis was already 12 years old. Bassaler and his co-drivers Patrick Bourdais , the father of Sébastien Bourdais , and Jean-Louis Capette dropped out after an accident after 166 laps.
literature
- Thomas Nehlert, Group C: The sports car races 1982-1992 , Verlag Petrolpics, Bonn 2011, ISBN 3-940306-14-2 .
- Mike Rieden, Mercedes-Benz. The new Silver Arrows , Stadler, Konstanz 1989, ISBN 3-7977-0252-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sauber SHS C6 in the BASF paint scheme
- ↑ Rear of the SHS C6 ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Monza 1000 km race in 1982
- ^ German racing championship 1982, race at the Nürburgring
- ^ 1982 Silverstone 1000km race
- ^ DRM race in Hockenheim 1982
- ↑ 1000 km race at the Nürburgring 1986
