1992 World Sportscar Championship

The 1992 Sportscar World Championship season was the 40th and final season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1992 FIA Sportscar World Championship, which was contested over a six race series which ran from 26 April to 18 October 1992.[1] The championship was open to Group C Sportscars.

Derek Warwick (pictured in 2014) and Yannick Dalmas won the Drivers' World Championship for 1992
Peugeot Talbot Sport won the Teams' World Championship with the Peugeot 905

The Drivers Championship was won jointly by Yannick Dalmas and Derek Warwick and the Teams Championship by Peugeot Talbot Sport.[2] The FIA Cup for Drivers was awarded to Ferdinand de Lesseps and the FIA Cup for Teams to Chamberlain Engineering.[2]

Pre-season

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From the start, the 1992 season was in doubt. The FIA planned to cancel the season due to a lack of entrants, as it was announced by Max Mosley, new President of FIA, at a meeting held in London on 11 November 1991, but pressure from Peugeot, who had poured a large sum of money into the design and build of their 905 model and did not wish to see that money wasted after only a year of competition, convinced the FIA that there would be enough entries to make the season worthwhile. The "rebirth" of the championship was announced at the FIA World council on 5 December 1991. With this, the FIA allowed the season to move forward, though with few participants.

The FIA's vision of a single unified formula for the Sportscar World Championship that would truly equal that of Formula One was finally into place following the development of 3500 cc sportscars in the previous seasons. This formula of engine equalisation took over the series, eliminating any previous engine that did not fit into the 3.5 L category. Thus every car had similar engines, and new subclasses were born: C1 for works supported teams with engines of 10 or 12 cylinders and usually backed by factory teams, and FIA Cup for privateer teams, usually running the Ford Cosworth DFR V8. FIA Cup cars were required to conform with Group C regulations with the exceptions of a lower prescribed minimum weight (700 kg v 750 kg), a limitation on engine revolutions and the prohibition of carbon disc brakes.[3]

With the elimination of the previous C2 class, it required manufacturers such as Mazda and Porsche to build entirely new engines, and due to the large change in engine dimensions compared to what they had used in 1991, all new chassis as well. Porsche already had an F1 engine in their 3512 unit used by Footwork, but the engine design was found to be lacking. Porsche, suffering financially at the time, decided that it was no longer worth not only improving the 3512, but also replacing the 962 chassis, and decided not to return.

Mazda, having accomplished their goal of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 with their famed rotary engine, were left without the ability to use their rotary engine anymore in 1992. Since Mazda entered sportscar racing mostly to push their rotary designs, Mazda decided to continue on into 1992 for advancement of the overall brand, but with a less ambitious development programme. Mazdaspeed bought customer versions of the Jaguar XJR-14 and slightly modified them into the Mazda MXR-01 while the engines were customer Judd GV V10s. This effort saved large amounts of money for the company while keeping their name involved in the sport.

Of the teams that already had compliant 3.5 L cars racing in 1991, their continuation into 1992 varied.

Mercedes-Benz, alongside partner Sauber, pushed ahead with plans for a car in 1992. Development of the C292 was underway, as was construction of a new set of Flat-12s. However, after various faults in the construction of the engines in 1991, further problems led to large monetary losses for the company, forcing them not to return for 1992.

Jaguar, who had been in sportscar racing with the XJR project since 1985, and were not completely happy with the performance of the XJR-14 during the 1991 season, had already announced their departure from the series. Customer XJR-14s were promised for 1992 from newcomers RMR racing as well as Gee Pee Cars.

Of the smaller privateer teams, Brun Motorsport's development of the lacking C91 chassis cost them a great deal, and with the loss of cheap customer cars like the Porsche 962, they decided not to return. Other teams which had previously used the 962 also failed to return, including Kremer Racing and Team Salamin Primagaz. Courage Compétition was unable to find the money to continue development of their own chassis, and decided to instead concentrate solely on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Konrad Motorsport, whose KM-011 chassis was also lackluster in 1991, claimed they were attempting to push on with Lamborghini backing into 1992. Euro Racing found enough cash to replace their ageing Spice chassis with the new Lola T92/10s with Judd powerplants, and promised to be on the grid immediately for 1992. Chamberlain Engineering also planned to continue as the factory backed Spice Engineering squad.

Peugeot and Toyota, who had campaigned their 905 and TS010s respectively, remained in the sport mostly unchanged. Both cars underwent evolutionary changes in preparation for 1992, while the basic chassis and engines remained the same.

A revival of the BRM name was also announced for 1992, using their own newly built P351 chassis and V12 engine. Unfortunately, even with the apparent addition of BRM, the grid in comparison between 1991 and 1992 was looking bleak, with the loss of a large number of privateer teams, as well as the loss of two major manufacturers (with a third being downgraded to privateer status) with only one possible new replacement.

Schedule

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When the 1992 season was provisionally approved in December 1991, the FIA published a ten race calendar for the season, composed of 1000 km and 500 km races, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Initial schedule

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Rnd Race Circuit Date
1   500 km of Autopolis Autopolis 5 April
2   1000 km of Monza Autodromo Nazionale Monza 26 April
3   500 km of Silverstone Silverstone Circuit 10 May
4   500 km of Jarama Circuito Permanente Del Jarama 26 May
5   24 Hours of Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe 20 June
21 June
6   1000 km of Donington Donington Park 19 July
7   1000 km of Nürburgring Nürburgring 2 August
8   1000 km of Suzuka Suzuka Circuit 30 August
9   1000 km of Mexico City Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 13 September
10   1000 km of Jerez Circuito Permanente de Jerez 4 October

By January 1992, the FIA shortened the calendar to eight events, with the Monza and Donington events being cut down to 500 km. Magny-Cours was also brought in to replace some fly-away events.

The Jerez round remained on the final calendar, but was cancelled during the middle of the season when track officials failed to update the track to the FIA's standards.

Final schedule

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Rnd Race Circuit Date
1   Trofeo F. Caracciolo (500 km) Autodromo Nazionale Monza 26 April
2   BRDC Empire Trophy (500 km) Silverstone Circuit 10 May
3   24 Hours of Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe 20 June
21 June
4   Triton Showers Trophy (500 km) Donington Park 19 July
5   Suzuka 1000km Suzuka Circuit 30 August
6   Championnat du Monde de Voitures de Sport (500 km) Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours 18 October

Prior to the BRDC Empire Trophy at Silverstone, race organisers attempted to convince teams to shorten the race distance to approximately 250 km in order to boost ticket sales. However, Toyota vetoed the decision and the race remained at its original distance.

Entries

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Group C1

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Mazda's MXR-01 with driver Yojiro Terada (right)
Entrant Car Engine Tyre No. Drivers Rounds
  Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis Peugeot SA35-A2 3.5 L V10 M 1   Derek Warwick All
  Yannick Dalmas All
  Mark Blundell 3
2   Philippe Alliot All
  Mauro Baldi All
  Jean-Pierre Jabouille 3
31   Alain Ferté 3
  Karl Wendlinger 3
  Eric van de Poele 3
71   Éric Hélary 6
  Christophe Bouchut 6
  Euro Racing Lola T92/10 Judd GV10 3.5 L V10 M 3   Cor Euser 1–4
  Charles Zwolsman 1–3
  Jésus Pareja 3–5
  Hideshi Matsuda 5
4   Stefan Johansson 1–2
  Jésus Pareja 1–2
  Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3–5
  Charles Zwolsman 3
  Syunji Kasuya 3
  Phil Andrews 4
  Cor Euser 5
  David Tennyson 5
  Mazdaspeed Mazda MXR-01 Mazda MV10 3.5 L V10 M 5   Maurizio Sandro Sala All
  Volker Weidler 1, 3
  Johnny Herbert 2–3
  Bertrand Gachot 3
  Alex Caffi 4–6
  Takashi Yorino 5
6   Yojiro Terada 3
  Takashi Yorino 3
  Maurizio Sandro Sala 3
  Toyota Team Tom's Toyota TS010 Toyota RV10 3.5 L V10 G 7   Geoff Lees All
  Hitoshi Ogawa 1–2
  David Brabham 3–5
  Ukyo Katayama 3
  Jan Lammers 5–6
8   Andy Wallace All
  Jan Lammers 1–4
  Teo Fabi 3
  Kenny Acheson 5
  Masanori Sekiya 5
  David Brabham 6
33   Pierre-Henri Raphanel 3
  Kenny Acheson 3
  Masanori Sekiya 3
  BRM BRM P351 BRM 3.5 L V12 G 9   Wayne Taylor 2–3
  Harri Toivonen 2–3
  Richard Jones 3

FIA Cup

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Entrant Car Engine Tyre No. Drivers Rounds
  Bernard de Dryver with Action Formula Spice SE90C Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 L V8 G 21   Luigi Taverna 1–4
  Alessandro Gini 1–4
  John Sheldon 3
  Bernard de Dryver 3
  Chamberlain Engineering Spice SE89C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 G 22   Ferdinand de Lesseps All
  Bernard Thuner 1
  Will Hoy 2, 4
  Olindo Iacobelli 3
  Richard Piper 3
  Nick Adams 5–6
  Masahiro Kimoto 5
36
41
  Jun Harada 3, 6
  Tomiko Yoshikawa 3, 6
  Kenta Shimamura 3
  Divina Galica 6
  GeePee Argo Racing Argo JM19C Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 L V8 G 23   David Coyne 1
  Georg Paulin 1
  GSR Gebhardt C91 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 L V8 G 25   Almo Coppelli 1–2
  Frank Krämer 1–2
  Team SCI Spice SE90C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 G 29   Ranieri Randaccio 1–4, 6
  Stefano Sebastiani 1–4, 6
  Vito Veninata 3
  TDR Limited Spice SE90C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 M 30   Chris Hodgetts 3
  François Migault 3
  Thierry Lecerf 3

Results and standings

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Race results

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Toyota Team Tom's won one race with the Toyota TS010
Rnd Circuit Outright Winning Team FIA Cup Winning Team Reports
Outright Winning Drivers FIA Cup Winning Drivers
1 Monza   No. 7 Toyota Team Tom's   No. 22 Chamberlain Engineering Report
  Geoff Lees
  Hitoshi Ogawa
  Bernard Thuner
  Ferdinand de Lesseps
2 Silverstone   No. 1 Peugeot Talbot Sport   No. 22 Chamberlain Engineering Report
  Derek Warwick
  Yannick Dalmas
  Ferdinand de Lesseps
  Will Hoy
3 Le Mans   No. 1 Peugeot Talbot Sport   No. 22 Chamberlain Engineering Report
  Derek Warwick
  Yannick Dalmas
  Mark Blundell
  Ferdinand de Lesseps
  Richard Piper
  Olindo Iacobelli
4 Donington   No. 2 Peugeot Talbot Sport   No. 22 Chamberlain Engineering Report
  Mauro Baldi
  Philippe Alliot
  Ferdinand de Lesseps
  Will Hoy
5 Suzuka   No. 1 Peugeot Talbot Sport   No. 22 Chamberlain Engineering Report
  Derek Warwick
  Yannick Dalmas
  Ferdinand de Lesseps
  Nick Adams
  Masahiro Kimoto
6 Magny-Cours   No. 2 Peugeot Talbot Sport   No. 22 Chamberlain Engineering Report
  Mauro Baldi
  Philippe Alliot
  Ferdinand de Lesseps
  Nick Adams

Points system

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Points were awarded on the following basis:[4]

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1

In order to be classified for points, a car had to complete 90% of the winner's distance. Further, drivers were required to complete at least 30% of their car's total race distance to qualify for championship points.[4]

Drivers' World Championship

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Pos Driver Team  
MON
 
SIL
 
LMS
 
DON
 
SUZ
 
MAG
Points
1   Yannick Dalmas   Peugeot Talbot Sport 2 1 1 2 1 5 98
1   Derek Warwick   Peugeot Talbot Sport 2 1 1 2 1 5 98
2   Philippe Alliot   Peugeot Talbot Sport Ret Ret 3 1 3 1 64
2   Mauro Baldi   Peugeot Talbot Sport Ret Ret 3 1 3 1 64
3   Geoff Lees   Toyota Team Tom's 1 Ret Ret 3 2 3 59
4   Jan Lammers   Toyota Team Tom's Ret Ret 5 Ret 2 3 35
5   Ferdinand de Lesseps   Chamberlain Engineering NC 3 7 6 5 7 34
6   Maurizio Sandro Sala   Mazdaspeed Ret 2 Ret 5 Ret 6 29
7   Johnny Herbert   Mazdaspeed 2 4 25
8   David Brabham   Toyota Team Tom's Ret 3 2 4 22
9   Hitoshi Ogawa   Toyota Team Tom's 1 Ret 20
10   Will Hoy   Chamberlain Engineering 3 6 18
11   Andy Wallace   Toyota Team Tom's Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 4 18
12   Stefano Sebastiani   Team SCI Ret 4 Ret 7 8 17
12   Ranieri Randaccio   Team SCI Ret 4 Ret 7 8 17
13   Heinz-Harald Frentzen   Euro Racing 6 4 Ret 16
14   Kenny Acheson   Toyota Team Tom's 2 Ret 15
14   Pierre-Henri Raphanel   Toyota Team Tom's 2 15
14   Éric Hélary   Peugeot Talbot Sport 2 15
14   Christophe Bouchut   Peugeot Talbot Sport 2 15
15   Alex Caffi   Mazdaspeed 5 Ret 6 14
16   Nick Adams   Chamberlain Engineering 5 7 12
17   Volker Weidler   Mazdaspeed Ret 4 10
17   Phil Andrews   Euro Racing 4 10
17   Jésus Pareja   Euro Racing DNS DSQ Ret 4 10
17   Hideshi Matsuda   Euro Racing 4 10
18   Teo Fabi   Toyota Team Tom's 5 8
19   Shunji Kasuya   Euro Racing 6 6
19   Jun Harada   Chamberlain Engineering NC 6 6
19   Divina Galica   Chamberlain Engineering 6 6
20   Richard Piper   Chamberlain Engineering 7 4
20   Olindo Iacobelli   Chamberlain Engineering 7 4
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

FIA Cup for Drivers

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For the Suzuka round Chamberlain Engineering were the only team to enter the race so no points were awarded in the category.

Pos Driver Team  
MON
 
SIL
 
LMS
 
DON
 
SUZ
 
MAG
Points
1   Ferdinand de Lesseps   Chamberlain Engineering 1 1 1 1 1 1 100
2   Ranieri Randaccio   Team SCI Ret 2 Ret 2 2 45
2   Stefano Sebastiani   Team SCI Ret 2 Ret 2 2 45
3   Will Hoy   Chamberlain Engineering 1 1 40
4   Bernard Thuner   Chamberlain Engineering 1 20
4   Olindo Iacobelli   Chamberlain Engineering 1 20
4   Richard Piper   Chamberlain Engineering 1 20
4   Nick Adams   Chamberlain Engineering 1 1 20
5   Frank Krämer   GSR 2 Ret 15
5   Almo Coppelli   GSR 2 Ret 15

Teams' World Championship

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Pos Team  
MON
 
SIL
 
LMS
 
DON
 
SUZ
 
MAG
Points
1   Peugeot Talbot Sport 2 1 1 1 1 1 115
2   Toyota Team Tom's 1 Ret 2 3 2 3 74
3   Mazdaspeed Ret 2 4 5 Ret 6 39
4   Chamberlain Engineering NC 3 7 6 5 7 34
5   Euro Racing Ret Ret 6 4 4 26
6   Team SCI Ret 4 Ret 7 8 17

FIA Cup for Teams

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For the Suzuka round Chamberlain Engineering were the only team to enter the race so no points were awarded in the category.

Pos Team  
MON
 
SIL
 
LMS
 
DON
 
SUZ
 
MAG
Points
1   Chamberlain Engineering 1 1 1 1 1 1 100
2   Team SCI Ret 2 Ret 2 2 45
3   GSR 2 Ret 15

Post-season

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Peugeot's 905 Evo 1 Bis which won their sole event of 1993, the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Although in preparation for the 1992 season there showed some potential of allowing the championship to survive through to future seasons, especially with promises from Peugeot, as the season went on it became apparent that some of this potential was merely false hope. The customer Jaguars never showed, even though they continued to be promised even as the season went on. Konrad's Lamborghini powered sportscar was also never raced after promises of continued development. BRM's effort only resulted in them racing once, at Le Mans, where they finished last after completing only 20 laps. After Le Mans, they simply stopped showing up. The season thus became simply a showing of Peugeot dominance due to the large amount of money they had poured into the 905 project.

Thus hope for 1993 was slim. Resting on the promises of Peugeot as well as Nissan who claimed they were returning to the series with their P35, the FIA tentatively announced that the 1993 season would occur. However, following Nissan's decision to cancel the P35 due to economic difficulties, and with a lack of entries announcing their participation, the FIA cancelled the 1993 season. This marked the end of 40 continuous years of the World Sportscar Championship, albeit in different guises.

Sportscar racing was left without a single unified championship in which to complete, leading to a large number of smaller breakaway series across the world. The All Japan Sports Prototype Championship series in Japan was also unable to continue after 1992 as well, although Group C cars continued to participate as guests in other series. IMSA's championships in North America continued on but also suffering from dwindling fields until it was replaced by the American Le Mans Series in 1999. The FIA took over the European Sports Racing World Cup in 1999 to create the FIA Sportscar Championship in a fashion similar to the World Sportscar Championship, but it failed by 2003.

Following many rough years, by 2004 sportscar racing had become stable with the ACO's two main sportscar series, the European Le Mans Series and American Le Mans Series, with the Japan Le Mans Challenge to follow in 2006. However, the Japan Le Mans Challenge was dissolved the same year. Then, in 2009 the ACO formed the Asian Le Mans Series. Finally, in 2010 ACO formed the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup a global championship, which was renamed FIA World Endurance Championship for 2012, the de facto successor to the former world sportscar championship.

References

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  1. ^ Season: 1992 FIA Sportscar World Championship, www.racingsportscars.com Retrieved on 29 December 2012
  2. ^ a b 1992 Sportscar World Championship, www.teamdan.com, as archived at web.archive.org
  3. ^ FIA Cup Regulations, 1992 FIA Yearbook of Automobile Sport, page 215
  4. ^ a b Peter Higham, The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing, 1995, page 261
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