1992 24 Hours of Le Mans: Blundell Finishes in a Big Way
May 22, 2014 by Jeremy McMullen
Seeing that it was Mark Blundell's birthday on the 8th of April it would be fitting to recount one of his greatest moments in motor racing. Every time he made an appearance at Le Mans the man from London, England was certainly one to watch. However, prior to the 1992 running of the famed French classic he had always shown great speed, but was never able to demonstrate it over the whole of 24 hours. All of that would change in a big way in 1992.
Prior to 1991, the Japanese cars, like Nissan and Toyota, always appeared strong in practice and qualifying. Mark Blundell would help demonstrate this when he drove for Nissan in 1989 and 1990.
Blundell had shown great promise in the lower formulas. Before the 1988 season, Blundell would take part in Formula 3000 with and underpowered car. In spite of this, Mark would put together some impressive results that would help cement his reputation as a driver. These performances would help attract Nissan Motorsports. It was believed that such performances with an underpowered car demonstrated his ability to work with what he had and make it work the best way possible. This was an important trait to have for such endurance sportscar races as Le Mans. As a result, Blundell would land a ride with the Nissan team for the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Driving the R89C, the number 24 Nissan of Blundell, Julian Bailey and Martin Donnelly would start the race as the 13th-fastest qualifier. Sadly, Blundell's first foray at Le Mans would never actually happen as Bailey would spin in the Nissan on only the 5th lap of the race and that would result in a good deal of damage to the car. The race would come to an end right there, even before Blundell would get an opportunity to drive.
Returning to Le Mans in 1990, Blundell and the rest of the drivers and teams would find Le Mans a good deal different from its previous self. The 1990 running of the race would be the first time in which the two chicanes would be used along the Mulsanne straight.
Never having had a chance to drive the car the year before, Blundell would take the R90CK and would turn up the boost to more than 1000bhp. The resulting would be a storming lap of 3:27.020. Not only would this be a new lap record, but it would also make Blundell the youngest pole-sitter ever for Le Mans. Onboard footage of the lap would show Mark wrestling with the Nissan in an absolutely manic lap. Terrible bumps would lead to Blundell fighting constantly with the wheel for nearly three and a half minutes. It would be remarkable to think he would have to drive like this for 24 hours.
Blundell's impressive time would be more than six seconds faster than the Porsche 962C driven by Oscar Larrauri, Jesus Pareja and Walter Brun. Belting out such a lap, it seemed as though it was the year in which a Japanese car finally came through to take victory at Le Mans.
Heading to the start of the race, the Nissans certainly looked strong. However, the Nissans would again struggle at Le Mans. This time Blundell would get a chance to drive, but it would not make it to halfway before transmission problems caused an end to the race for the second-straight year for Blundell.
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Martin Brundle would make the observation that the 24 Hours of Le Mans had changed from what it had been in years prior. He would make the point the 'endurance race and become very similar to a sprint'. While this may have been true, it was still a 24 hour event. Blundell and the Nissans had shown great strength in the sprint department, but their troubles came when faced with the reality of having to drive at sprint pace over the whole of 24 hours. Blundell would perform well in his first two years around the 8.4 mile Le Mans circuit. This would help his reputation as a driver. Blundell had a testing deal with Williams F1. However, in 1991, he would get a chance at an actual seat within the Brabham team. This was a great opportunity to finally take part in a Formula One season. However, he would be doing so in an underpowered and underdeveloped car. Poor reliability and performance meant top tens were big successes. Therefore, when Blundell came through to finish in 6th place at the Belgian Grand Prix the young Brit's reputation would only continue to get stronger. Taking part in the 1991 Formula One season with Brabham, Blundell would be unable to take part in that year's Le Mans. Interestingly, it would be the first time in which a Japanese car would come through to take the overall victory. The previous year the Nissans appeared to be the strongest Japanese entry ever to go for the overall victory. But, it would be the reliable Mazda 787B that would take the honor for Japan. Driving for Brabham and still testing for Williams, Blundell seemed to have his foot firmly in the grand prix door. However, Brabham's financial resources were too strapped to keep the young British driver. As a result, Mark would lose out on his race seat for the 1992 season. Mark, therefore, was without a competitive drive in Formula One and would have time on his hand to look at other opportunities. Blundell would be hired by Ron Dennis as a test driver with McLaren, but the rest of his time was left wide open. This meant he had the opportunity to chase after those honors that managed to get away. Mark's reputation was still strong throughout racing circles. Therefore, he would have to wait around very little before he knew exactly what he was going to concentrate on for the 1992 season. Peugeot Talbot Sport was ready to make its charge toward Le Mans glory. Peugeot had never achieved victory at Le Mans. The new team had built a new car for this endeavor and needed the right drivers to help their cause. Having blasted through qualifying a couple of years ago, Blundell seemed an obvious choice for the French squad. Blundell had a reputation for raw speed and Le Mans had certainly become a 24 hour sprint race. Peugeot had built a fast car they believed capable of competing for 24 hours at qualifying-type speeds. Blundell, therefore, appeared to perfectly suit what Peugeot was trying to assemble. So, Mark would join Peugeot just for their effort at Le Mans. He would be partnered in what would be the number 1 Peugeot 905 Evo 1 with Yannick Dalmas and Derek Warwick. Taking to the circuit for qualifying, Blundell would find himself driving one of the fastest cars on the circuit. However, it would not be his car that would end up on pole for the 60th running of the 24 hour race. That distinction would belong to the number 2 Peugeot 905 Evo driven by Philippe Alliot, Mauro Baldi and Jean-Pierre Jabouille. Incredibly, the lap time would be 3:21.209. Just two years after Blundell's absolute stormer of a qualifier in 1990, the best lap time would be some six seconds faster! There was little reason within the number 1 Peugeot 905 to be concerned heading into the race. Its best effort in qualifying would be a lap of 3:22.512. Just a little more than a second slower than its sister-car, the number 1 Peugeot would also start from the front row of the grid. The good news heading into the start of the race was the fact the 8.4 mile circuit was much smoother than what it had been in years past. Combined with the performance and handling of the 905 Evo, the Peugeot squad would have every reason to be confident heading to the start of the race. Blundell, and his co-drivers, understood their car had the raw pace necessary to battle at the front, and therefore, didn't have to wring it out of the car each and every lap. This meant the drivers could look long-term. All of the pace in qualifying would mean very little if the Peugeot could not handle wet conditions, which is what all of the runners were greeted with as they took off on the parade lap leading to the start of the race. With headlights on, spray kicking up and wipers wiping, it seemed as though the 60th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was going to offer a little bit of everything. The French flag would wave and the lights would turn green to start the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. Peeling up the hill toward the Dunlop chicane for the first time, the two Peugeots would be side-by-side. All of Blundell's and Peugeot's fears were bubbling up as the spray kicked up from behind the two 905 Evos. Then, sensibly, Dalmas would slot into position behind the number 2 Peugeot through the chicane and everyone could take a breath for a brief moment. Blasting down the Mulsanne for the first time, and with the spray concealing most of the cars, it would be the number 2 Peugeot leading the way while Dalmas would be under pressure from one of the Toyotas. At the completion of the first lap, Dalmas would look settled in positioned in 2nd place behind Alliot in the other Peugeot. By the second lap of the race, Dalmas would be looking extremely racy sweeping back and forth behind Alliot in the leading Peugeot. In spite of the conditions, Blundell's co-driver would look as though he would want to run at qualifying pace despite the fact the race was barely 10 minutes old. Choosing discretion, Dalmas would drop back slightly. Meanwhile, the Mazda would be on the charge and would come all the way up from 6th place to challenge Yannick for 2nd place. A great battle for 2nd place would develop between the number 1 Peugeot and the bright orange and green Mazda. This would make for a hold-your-breath moment when Dalmas would miss his breaking point at Mulsanne. This would through off Volker Weidler and he would get absolutely sideways in an effort to avoid hitting the Peugeot. Amazingly, there would be no contact between the two and the battle would continue. The terrific battle up at the front would see both of the Peugeots give way to the Mazda, which was certainly faster through the curves but would lack the out-right speed down the straights. This would keep the three cars close together on the track. The rain would continue to fall during the early hours of the race making conditions all around the circuit very difficult. Large balls of spray would envelope the back of cars and would make visibility terrible behind every car. The terrible visibility would lead to the number 31 Peugeot and one of the Toyotas coming together. The windscreen in the Peugeot would be absolutely destroyed right along with many other aspects of the car. The same would be true of the Toyota. However, the Toyota would get going again. While the number 31 Peugeot would be shoved back into the garage to have work done, the other two Peugeots would be running without too much trouble. All of the early drama would see the number 1 Peugeot come through into the lead of the race. After pitstops cycled through, the number 1 Peugeot continued to lead while the Mazda and Peugeot number 2 battled for 2nd place. The number 1 Peugeot trundled on in the lead. Blundell would take his place behind the wheel. He would stall the car coming out on his first pitstop, but he would carry on with the lead still well in hand. The darkness of the nighttime hours would descend upon the circuit and cars would continue to fall off left and right of the circuit as a result of the wet conditions and poor visibility. It appeared more than obvious that the car that could avoid as many problems as possible would be the winner. This favored the number 1 Peugeot, still with Blundell behind the wheel. Though it was covered in grime, the Peugeot 905 Evo continued to carry on without any issues. The conditions would be improving and the circuit would starting to dry out. This favored Blundell and he would take advantage of the performance of the car and would pick up the pace. As a result of the increase in pace, the number 1 Peugeot would only increase its lead over the rest of the field. Drama would continue to unfold in the difficult conditions. A car would catch fire in the pits and others would continue to spin and slide off the side of the circuit. The number 1 Peugeot would carry on without a hitch. In spite of the wild and crazy events the dawn would break. And, as the light began to shine down on the circuit it would highlight the number 1 Peugeot still in the lead with a commanding advantage over the rest of the field. The attrition would be great over the course of the 24 hours. In past years it had been Blundell's entries that failed to make it through all of the drama. However, in 1992, the Peugeot 905 Evo would be the entry to have as it carried on hour after hour with very little, to no trouble at all. But then, as the morning hours began to lengthen, the number 1 Peugeot would be slow down the Mulsanne. Suddenly, after surviving all of the carnage of the first two-thirds of the race, it seemed as though Blundell's chances of a victory would again come up short as the car continued to craw along. Derek Warwick would be at the wheel cycling through all the systems and trying to find a gear. It had a six lap lead at that point in time but there were about 7 hours remaining in the race, more than enough time for the victory to slip through their fingers. The car would make it through the rest of the lap to the pits. The bodywork at the rear of the car would come off and the mechanics would set to work to try and resolve the issue. The car would stall coming back out of the pits, but at least the car would be back out in the race. The car would emerge back on track with the lead still in its possession. A late crash by the number 2 Peugeot would help the number 1 maintain its advantage. Mark Blundell would be the man behind the wheel at this point and his steady, fast pace would help to claw back much of what the number 1 Peugeot had lost earlier with its momentary troubles along the straight. Heading into the final couple of hours of the race, the number 1 905 would be six laps up on the Tom's Toyota and the number 2 Peugeot 905. Blundell's steady performance behind the wheel, not doubt enjoying a whole race distance, would put Peugeot in position to take its first ever victory at Le Mans. There would be just a half hour remaining. In the dry conditions, the number 1 Peugeot would be flying around the 8.4 mile circuit, even in the final moments of the race. Heading into the final moments, the last lap, the crowd would be waving their flags, celebrating the performance of their French team. And down in the pits would be a young Brit with a smile on his face. He would have every reason to be smiling. Mark Blundell had returned to Le Mans after a year away and he was within minutes of his first overall victory at Le Mans. He had come so close to victory with the well established Nissan team. But, in his one and only race with the Peugeot team he was well on his way to victory. The marshals would be out all over the track waving their flags as the two Peugeots ran side-by-side toward the checkered flag. The spectators would already be spilling onto the circuit, celebrating the victory by the French squad. The cars wouldn't even reach the Ford chicane before they were overwhelmed by the thousands upon thousands of appreciative fans. Threading its way through the crowd, the number 1 Peugeot would complete 352 laps over the course of 24 hours over the 20th and 21st of June. Blundell and his co-drivers would overcome all of the drama to cross the line some 6 laps ahead of the Toyota in 2nd place and the number 2 Peugeot in 3rd. It had been a truly dominant performance for the car and the Brit that had never even made it to the finish before. Prior to this race in 1992, Blundell had never even finished Le Mans, and with one of the strongest teams. However, after a year away in Formula One, Blundell would come back to Le Mans, very much on a part-time basis, and would be at the wheel of about the only unbeatable car in the field at Le Mans in 1992. Just when it seemed Le Mans was a secondary option, a stop-gap for a man who had lost his ride in Formula One, Blundell would partner with Yannick Dalmas and Derek Warwick to come through in a big way. And, after a wild and crazy 24 hours of racing, Blundell would earn the greatest victory of his career. Sources:
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