LE MANS miniatures Mazda MXR01 Le Mans 1992

Choose a version :

• N°5 : Johnny Hebert – Volkert Weidler – Bertrand Gachot
  4th place
  4569,600 km @ 190,144 km/h
• N°6 : Maurizio Sandro Sala – Takashi Yorino – Yojiro Terada
  Abandon 10th hour (accident)

Specifications :

• Body : Polyurethan resin
• Injected chassis plate
• Inline motor mount
• Polyurethan painting
• Injected rims and tires
• Weight : 99.4 g

Following Mazda's success in winning the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans with their rotary powered 787B, Mazda had hoped to continue in sportscar racing and prove that their lone win was not a fluke. However, with the reorganizing of the World Sportscar Championship in 1992 by the FIA, Mazda found itself with a problem in that their rotary engines were now banned. Instead, teams would be required to use technologically advanced V10 powerplants similar to those used in Formula One. Mazda, not having had many racing engines outside of their rotaries, decided that the cost of developing an entirely different engine was not worth it, especially with budgetary concerns within the company. At the same time, if Mazda were to use a V10 powerplant, they would be required to build an entire different car, since the 787B could never hold a V10.Thus, Mazda came to the decision of buying an existing V10 engine.

They turned to Judd (Engine Developments), who had developed their GV10 3.5L V10 for Formula One in 1991, and arranged a deal in which the Judd engines would be badged as Mazdas, carrying the name MV10.

For a new chassis, Mazda also turned to an existing design, this time going to Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), who had worked with Jaguar until they dropped out of sportscar racing at the end of 1991. Jaguar's final entry, the XJR-14, was offered by TWR to customers for 1992, and Mazda jumped at the opportunity to use the car which helped win the 1991 championship for Jaguar. Again, the car would be rebadged and renamed as the Mazda MXR-01.

A total of five MXR-01s were built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing for use by Mazda.

• MXR-01 #001 - Raced exclusively in the JPSC
• MXR-01 #002 - Spare used as a test car at Le Mans
• MXR-01 #003 - Spare used as a test car at Le Mans
• MXR-01 #004 - Ran entire WSC schedule
• MXR-01 #005 - Second car for Le Mans only

Four cars have been presented to the technical checking proving that despite the technical change Mazda did not want to give up its title without defending itself.

Besides the adoption of big necessary headlights for driving by night in Le Mans on the MX-R01, the XJR-14 received deep modifications on the body. The airintake on the roof was completely redrawn; sides were modified to include new air inlets for radiators. The louvers on the front bonnet were filled, and rear-view mirrors were replaced.

Both cars differ by their decoration and their rear wing: biplane for car #5, very close to that of the XJR-14 and by the same of the Peugeot. As for that on car #6, it is monoplane.

Unfortunately, although the XJR-14 was the 1991 champion, it had not been updated since the end of that season, and Mazda had neither the technical understanding of the XJR-14 nor the cash flow to continually upgrade their MXR-01 on the same scale as Peugeot and Toyota were able to do in 1992. Their Judd powerplant was also considerably underpowered in comparison to the other factory teams.

In 1992, only 28 cars take the start of the 60th edition of 24 Heures du Mans. Nobody saw that since 1932. The rain is there for the major part of the race. Nevertheless Toyota and Mazda are completely engaged from the start to the arrival to give a headache to Peugeot obliging the French teams to support a high rhythm.

The Peugeot car numbers 1 and 2 take the lead of the race in front of Toyotas and Mazda car number 5 that started in the 7th position and which does not intend to be outstripped. It even takes the head of the race against all expectations during some laps further to the attack of Weidler in the 5th lap. Nevertheless in the 24th lap it is overwhelmed by the Peugeot of Dalmas-Warwick-Blundel who will not give up anymore the lead until the end. The “beautiful” weather comes back during the fourth hour of racing. The track dries out and it allows Herbert on Mazda car number 5 to improve the record of the fastest lap in 3 ' 57 " 821. But while the rain had stopped, it  starteds again during the sixth hour and the second Peugeot car number 2 takes advantage of the Mazda. The Peugeot succeeds even in digging the distance when the MX-R01 car number 5 is delayed by troubles of lighting. Whereas he was in sixth position after nine hour racing, Terada on Mazda MX-R01 car number 6 lost control of his car at the White House corner during the night and crashed quite heavily, without hurt, during the tenth hour and retired.

Peugeot’s quiet optimist was disturbed when Alliot/Baldi/ Jabouille 905 hit all sorts of problem from the sunrise. in the 17th hour. The Mazda car number 5 lost time too with a faulty gearshift, a holed radiator and a faulty hub bearing.

Mazda was able to successfully finish third in the teams championship of the 1992 World Sportscar Championship season, with a best result of second in the 500km of Silverstone. At Le Mans the team was able to briefly lead the race at various parts of the first hours in front of the dominant Peugeot squad before finishing an honorable 4th. Throughout the season the team ran only a single-car effort, with the exception being two cars for Le Mans.

In Japan, Mazdaspeed campaigned a single MXR-01 in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, was equally unsuccessful, finishing 2nd in the constructor's championship, although it had only two other competitors in Toyota and Nissan, although in races where the MXR-01 had no competition in its class, it did not score points, which affect its points total.

After the 1993 seasons of both the WSC and JSPC were cancelled, and with the RX-792P shutting down after the 1992 IMSA season, Mazda found itself out of sportscar racing altogether.