ANOTHER tiny Rx7!
ANOTHER tiny Rx7!
Another tiny Rx7, this time the new 1/43rd scale 1980 Le Mans #86 Rx7 entry from Bizarre.
Mazda has had a time honored history at Le Mans dating back to 1970 when a 10A engine from the R100 coupe was placed in a Chevron B16 chassis but it retired after only 3 hrs.
In 1979 Mazdaspeed attempted to enter the first Rx7 into Le Mans with a 13B and Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection that developed 285 bhp. It failed to qualify by 69/100th of a second and despite being 5 s faster than an Aston Martin due to the byzantine rules of Le Mans.
The same complex rules were used to good effect in 1980 when a privateer entry Rx7 qualified. Pierre Honnegar was the Mazda dealer from Princeton, NJ and his car was much more like ours, 12A, heavy with no aerodynamic rear appendages and stock bodywork. #86 finished 21st overall and 7th in the IMSA class giving the Mazda factory team renewed determination.
Mazda retired both Rx7s within the first hour in 1981 but finally succeeded in 1982 and finished 14th overall ahead of a Porsche, 2 Camaros and a BMW. The team had hoped for a top 10 finish because by the midpoint the Rx7 was 13th up from starting as 51st out of 58 runners. But one of the Rx7 seized its engine on the Mulsanne Straight and the remaining suffered catastrophic gearbox failure and required 45 minutes to replace it!
The proud Rx7 Le Mans heritage is filled with drama and disappointment but certainly surprised competitors at how high the little car punched above its weight. Of course in 1991 the rotary potential was finally realized with an outright win.
Mazda has had a time honored history at Le Mans dating back to 1970 when a 10A engine from the R100 coupe was placed in a Chevron B16 chassis but it retired after only 3 hrs.
In 1979 Mazdaspeed attempted to enter the first Rx7 into Le Mans with a 13B and Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection that developed 285 bhp. It failed to qualify by 69/100th of a second and despite being 5 s faster than an Aston Martin due to the byzantine rules of Le Mans.
The same complex rules were used to good effect in 1980 when a privateer entry Rx7 qualified. Pierre Honnegar was the Mazda dealer from Princeton, NJ and his car was much more like ours, 12A, heavy with no aerodynamic rear appendages and stock bodywork. #86 finished 21st overall and 7th in the IMSA class giving the Mazda factory team renewed determination.
Mazda retired both Rx7s within the first hour in 1981 but finally succeeded in 1982 and finished 14th overall ahead of a Porsche, 2 Camaros and a BMW. The team had hoped for a top 10 finish because by the midpoint the Rx7 was 13th up from starting as 51st out of 58 runners. But one of the Rx7 seized its engine on the Mulsanne Straight and the remaining suffered catastrophic gearbox failure and required 45 minutes to replace it!
The proud Rx7 Le Mans heritage is filled with drama and disappointment but certainly surprised competitors at how high the little car punched above its weight. Of course in 1991 the rotary potential was finally realized with an outright win.
I don't know how much interest there is out there regarding Mazda and Le Mans racing but I just read a great behind the scenes article in the December issue of Thoroughbred and Classic Cars about the 1991 campaign ... so I'll summarize.
It was one of those perfect stories that novelist can never write. 1991 was the last year that rotaries would be able to compete in Le Mans (why????!!!) so this was Mazda's last chance ... and everything literally came together for them in the last few months. Engineers found an additional 100 bhp in the 4 rotor by 1990 so power was up to 703 bhp and months before the race torque was raised from 420 to 448 lb ft at 6500 rpm. The Mazda rotary always gave smooth power delivery which was a great advantage in the wet but it now finally delivered the torque that used to leave it short exiting the corners. Big gains in fuel economy were also delivered because calculations showed that the 787B needed to complete 367 laps and not stop for more than a combined 1 hr 15 min. The 787B was only race tested 2 months before Le Mans at Suzuka and even then it appeared that the Mercedes team was still in a different league. The Le Mans race was planned tactically as a military operation, there was to be no racing just consistent lap after lap with minimal fuel stops - playing the rotary reliability card. And it worked. By sunrise Mazda was running 2nd, 5th and 10th and the just after lunch the lead Mercedes broke an alternator bracket and pitted for 3 whole laps while #55 787B seized the lead! The Mercedes finally retook the track but retired after one lap and the victory was Mazda's for the taking. Johnny Herbert drove a double shift rather than risk a driver change to ensure a Mazda victory and collapsed at the finish line overcome from heat and exhaustion that he couldn't participate in the festivities.
What a story!
It was one of those perfect stories that novelist can never write. 1991 was the last year that rotaries would be able to compete in Le Mans (why????!!!) so this was Mazda's last chance ... and everything literally came together for them in the last few months. Engineers found an additional 100 bhp in the 4 rotor by 1990 so power was up to 703 bhp and months before the race torque was raised from 420 to 448 lb ft at 6500 rpm. The Mazda rotary always gave smooth power delivery which was a great advantage in the wet but it now finally delivered the torque that used to leave it short exiting the corners. Big gains in fuel economy were also delivered because calculations showed that the 787B needed to complete 367 laps and not stop for more than a combined 1 hr 15 min. The 787B was only race tested 2 months before Le Mans at Suzuka and even then it appeared that the Mercedes team was still in a different league. The Le Mans race was planned tactically as a military operation, there was to be no racing just consistent lap after lap with minimal fuel stops - playing the rotary reliability card. And it worked. By sunrise Mazda was running 2nd, 5th and 10th and the just after lunch the lead Mercedes broke an alternator bracket and pitted for 3 whole laps while #55 787B seized the lead! The Mercedes finally retook the track but retired after one lap and the victory was Mazda's for the taking. Johnny Herbert drove a double shift rather than risk a driver change to ensure a Mazda victory and collapsed at the finish line overcome from heat and exhaustion that he couldn't participate in the festivities.
What a story!
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From: Bucharest
Hey, i know this is a longshot and i'm sorry for bringing this topic up from the dead but, @jim_chung, if you've still got that Mazda RX7 and consider selling it, i'm interested - it's on my hit list of mazda models for sure, such a beauty and a cool story - racing an IMSA GTU car at le mans!
