Welter Racing
Welter Racing is a former French motorsport team.
Naming
The Peugeot designer Gérard Welter founded his racing team together with Michel Meunier in 1969, with the aim of regularly participating in the Le Mans 24-hour race over the next few years . Hence the type designation WM for Welter-Meunier.
Racing history
In 1976 he made his debut on the Sarthe with his third racing car, the WM P76 . The flat, closed prototype was powered by a 2.7-liter Peugeot engine. The three French racing drivers Guy Chasseuil , Claude Ballot-Léna and Xavier Mathiot sat at the wheel . The first appearance in this endurance race ended after driving 125 laps. A leak in the fuel tank could not be closed and the vehicle had to be parked.
Over the next few years, Welter and his team kept coming back to Le Mans. The team reached the finish line for the first time in 1977, when Mathiot and his partners Max Mamers and Jean-Daniel Raulet finished in 15th place. In 1978 Welter was able to secure the support of the mineral oil company Esso , which from then on financed the development of its extremely fast, but defective-prone racing cars. In 1980 Roger Dorchy and Guy Chasseuil drove their World Championship P79 across the finish line in fourth place overall.
In 1988 the team wrote motorsport history. Roger Dorchy reached the top speed of 405 km / h with his WM P88 at the end of the Hunaudiers straight. This record is still valid today and can hardly be broken after installing the two chicanes on the straight. Welter had set out to achieve the record. Defined as "Project 400", the car had hardly any downforce in the curves. The French tire manufacturer Michelin supplied tires with a special compound and guaranteed a speed of 410 km / h.
In 1995 both WR LM94s were on the front row at Le Mans. In a year of upheaval, almost only GT vehicles were at the start on the Sarthe . Nevertheless, it was remarkable that the Frenchman William David achieved the best training time of 3: 46.050 min - which corresponded to an average of 216.589 km / h - with an LMP2 prototype. Both Welter cars led the race at the beginning but were canceled.
The team had its hardest hour in 1997 when Sébastien Enjolras had a fatal accident on a WR LM97 during training for the 24-hour race. Because the Automobile Club de l'Ouest then refused to start the second car, there was a conflict between Welter and the officials. The team stayed away from the race for three years.
The racing team was particularly unlucky in 2002 when the WR LM2001, who was in the lead in the LMP675 class and driven by Stéphane Daoudi , had a break in the rear suspension in the final laps and the team lost the class win. Between 2006 and 2010 Welter was not at the start on the Sarthe. Further engagements failed due to the lack of financial resources.
Welter Racing returned to the race tracks in 2008 , but only contested selected races in the Le Mans Series with the new racing car - the WR LMP2008 . After four years of absence, Gérard Welter presented his new prototype at Le Mans and took part in the race again. The French brothers Philippe and Stéphane Salini and their compatriot Tristan Gommendy achieved 23rd place in the overall ranking.
