It Won Le Mans Twice, but What Was it?

The annulment of Group C left sports car racing in flux. Prototypes weren’t the hotness they once had been anymore, and serious factory efforts pivoted towards making cars to compete in the GT1 class instead. It seemed the prototype era was over. But one project didn’t get the memo. A Group C chassis, a Group C engine, crushed hopes of competing in IMSA and a game of automotive pass the parcel culminated in an unexpected Le Mans beast. A Porsche even Porsche couldn’t beat - this is the story of the TWR Porsche WSC-95.
#porsche #lemans #racing

[@marcusbeauchamp5654]

Crazy how as soon as porsche reinvolved themselves in the project the wsc was losing races to the gt1

[@robair67]

Yes, nothing suspicious, move along please...

[@RicNic69]

´´Dauer´s unique way of reading the rules.´´ 🤣

[@alieffauzanrizky7202]

The 2 time le mans winner that most people probably forgot. If the porsche name was putted on the front, it could be a different story

[@strahinjastevic7480]

Putted

[@GozuTenno962]

Putted

[@JimmyProductions]

Putted

[@mclarenf1gtr99]

You just got Englished.

[@gaborvarga6567]

Putted

[@rotary_7812]

This is where Le Mans GOAT Tom Kristensen began his legendary run of Le Mans victories.

[@CantDrive4Sheet]

I'd like to add a fact which I think is relevant with the story you told us. A Courage C34 equipped with the aforementioned Porsche Type-935 engine nearly won the '95 Le Mans 24h. It finished 2nd and was catching up very quickly. Ironically, it lost by the same margin the Joest TWRs won the next two years, 1 lap. Had it not been for Mario Andretti's accident, it would've definitely won. In all honesty, that accident was the main contributing factor which lead to that historic McLaren F1 GTR overall win

[@theiceman7590]

Along the with continuous rain that was probably the main reason the Mclaren won

[@johnjones928]

From what I remember the IMSA rules weren't scraped, IMSA moved the goal posts on turbo cars as soon as they showed up for the 1st WSC race at Daytona, their hoost was restricted to a level were the wouldn't be competitive. IMSA was afraid it would be a pseudo Porsche factory team and that would keep the private entrants they needed to fill the series away. Porsche did have a habit of keeping new cars to themselves for a few seasons, Ferrari on the other hand was making their 333sp available to whoever had the cash.

[@kinger41]

Honestly, this car is one of the most under appreciated cars in Le Mans history. Ok, it may just be an XJR-14 without the roof, but don't forget that it's the first car that Tom Kristensen won Le Mans with. Oh, forgot to mention that I absolutely love this car as well.

[@papa_pt]

well also a Porsche motor

[@MrMagooRC]

Unforgettable car for me - 96 and 97 were my first two visits to Le Mans. That footage takes me right back to that crazy hot weekend in June.

[@Paragleiber]

I know this car thanks to the Le Mans 24 Hours game on the PS1 (known as Test Drive Le Mans in the US). Shame that it never got included in any of the bigger racing game franchises.

[@YoSuey]

You can drive it in GTR2 and now Assetto! I had the PS2 variant of the game and that game had alot of obscure 675 and 900 cars. I loved that game.

[@racer501_sb]

"The answer, was yes"

[@MatteMoon48838]

I just wanted to say that im very happy i found your channel. I love the short but very informative videos you make and it never gets old. Also you talk about really cool subjects. Keep up the great work 😁

[@ssisk87]

I love the fact they got beat by their own car they threw away twice, decided to take it back, and it shit on them... If that ain't an automotive 'Get fucked' moment I don't know what is...

[@hanswurst6712]

Great video as always. 😀 When talking about those WSC cars of the 90s the Ferrari 333 SP comes to my mind. Loved the look of it. Especially in that red/yellow MOMO livery. The car was also quiet succesful (even though not at Le Mans). Maybe that beauty could be a topic for a future video. 🙂

[@automobilistic]

The 333 SP caught my eye while I was editing. I need to do some reading but I think it will probably get a video of its own at some point

[@Mr037rally]

Sadly it was never designed to run at Le Man's 24 hrs but in 6 hour IMSA races. But at least it convinced Audi to go with the open top R8 instead of the R8C coupe. I can also vaguely remember a story about one of the 333's at Le Man's with the team principal being summoned to the phone an hour before the race start as "there's a phone call from Italy for you" apparently they were being "encouraged" to withdraw as Ferrari knew the car either wouldn't last 24 hours or wouldn't win. Not bad for a car that was $1,000000 with 2 engines and a spares package. Still the F50 GT1 was faster, now that would have been amazing to watch race if Mercedes didn't bugger up GT1 by making a prototype that was road legal causing Ferrari to can the project. There finally is footage on YT of an F50 GT1 being caned around a track, and it's onboard🤪😍

[@YellowbirdYT]

Now that you mention it. The Dauer 962 would be a great video! With that said, the TWR-Porsche kind of shows how you don't always need the latest technology to be competitive. Of course, Group C cars were almost as (if not more) expensive than F1 cars of the same time period, so they weren't exactly outdated, the 956 is among the best race cars ever made. And Jaguar during the group C days were a force to be reckoned with, with their XJR-9. The fact these two came together and created a wonderful race car isn't a coincidence!

[@nsx_montana]

Loved those open-cockpit cars, thanks for covering this one🔥

[@ChrisMolyneaux93]

Who would’ve thought that a Jaguar XJR-14 chassis with the roof cut off of it and a Porsche 956 engine would be one of the more dominant Le Mans winners of the 90s?

[@a92gsxdsm]

Your videos give me a reason to wake up on a Saturday. Can't wait to see what Porche can do in 2023! The 2023 wec and imsa season is going to be insane. So much competition. Long overdue. Cannot wait. Great video!! Thanks for your time and sharing with us.

[@automobilistic]

Really glad you liked the video! I'm pretty excited for next year, hoping for some great racing!

[@aojracing4885]

Wow, never paid too much attention to this car, it's usually not talked about too much, but it has such an incredible history! Love your videos, never getting tired of all this sportscar content. Would love something on the original Audi R8 cars and how they evolved into the R8 and Bentley Speed 8, or something about the Corvette/Viper rivalry... too much to cover!

[@Pjb93]

Top job as usual mate, incredible channel. Thanks for sharing all the history. Would love to see a Porsche 962 vid!

[@younezzz]

Good job man, your videos are pretty good, some videos about the late 2000s and early 10s LM cars would be awesome

[@automobilistic]

I've been thinking about covering some more modern cars. Its definitely on the horizon!

[@luscorpio3679]

Thank you! I discovered your channel very recently, and with the new Hypercar regulations for Le Mans, I wanted to learn a bit more about the beasts from the past, and your channel has a lot of quality videos about them, as well as others on other cars. Hoping to see your channel grow!

[@crusherbmx]

The second hand race car that crashed the GT-1 party twice...maybe third hand indirectly, the XJR-14 was also the Mazda MXR-01, but not this exact chassis.

[@iBeerus-]

these videos are legendary man, please keep this content coming because ive subscribed and i _will_ like every one of these

[@JavierFernandez-ko9uj]

Thank You for your videos of the most beautfiul cars in the 80´s and 90´s, two of the best eras for me. You´ll be a youtube star very soon!

[@Nakazati]

Love these videos, glad I came across this channel.

[@anuelaaa7291]

Your vids are so addictive the way u explain it with gran turismo theme in the background it’s just perfect 👍👍that’s why I subscribed

[@the_w0rkshop419]

Hey, I really enjoy your videos and the way you present all the specs in such an interesting way. I'd love to see a video about the imsa crazy aero cars (rx7, 300zx, corvettes, mustangs...) ut also aout Tim walkinshaw ass you speak about it a lot. Lots of love.

[@MrMcKane]

There were rumors going around that in 1998, Porsche took over the WSC95's and "improved" them. I put that in quotations because some believed that Porsche artificially slowed both cars down in order to not have their 911 GT1's embarrassed for a third year running. There maybe some truth to those rumours as in both qualifying and the race, the "improved" cars were struggling to match the Lap times the previous years car had set.

[@automobilistic]

While I was researching this video it did cross my mind that Porsche definitely wanted the GT1 car to win if given the choice. I'm not sure I believe they sandbagged the LMP1-98, but then again it wouldnt surprise me

[@barkyonyx962]

"thats it, give us ze prototip! we can make it alot faster" >later in the garage probably "lmao fuck this shit" then proceeded to "improve the car"

[@marks7197]

The changes they made to the bodywork and revised rollhoop made the car very unstable compared to the earlier Joest version. Not a good trait for an endurance car.

[@epicseadragon1692]

3:21 Thanks for reminding me I always forget :) Great vid as always!

[@samacw]

I like this car, it's the last part of the 962 (ok, just the engine) and gives that model a hand in so many wins spread over 13 years.

[@larquefausse3623]

It's actually longer than that. The Type-935 engine architecture can be traced back to the '70s. Before the 962, that engine would be used in the 936, 935, and 956. All of them have won Le Mans. It was also used in the 961 and 959. The engine itself was based on the engine of the turbocharged 930 which in turn was based on the Mezger design technically dating the engines roots back to the '60s!

[@richardlehoux]

Great short doc

[@tokyosmash]

IMSA GTP rules may have changed but it showed up later in the 90’s. Was a shame though, GTP was absolutely tremendous. Was just watching 98’ Petit LeMans yesterday

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Thank you for subtitles.

[@jstoli996c4s]

Davy Jones was a beast in that Joest Porsche, winning Le Mans in 1996.

[@larquefausse3623]

Interesting fact: It was the same chassis he used during his 1992 IMSA when it was still a Jaguar.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome video. Keep up the god work.

[@ryanb9749]

Le mans 1997 is probably the most beautiful grid in the past 25 years... and it was 25 years ago...

[@syntetiskvag4458]

Can you do a super touring vid? I love your style keep it going!

[@automobilistic]

I'll add it to the list! I don't know a lot about super touring, so I'll do some reading and see what I can find

[@syntetiskvag4458]

@@automobilistic I didn't expect you to do requests but look forward to more content from you, keep up the good work.

[@voinrima]

Your English is so clean. I am not from english-speaking country, but can easily watch your content. And of course subtitles help a lot😁

[@plisskenationbackfromthede3657]

Oh yes. The porsche frankenstein lmp. Love this car. Theres so many cool forgotten mid-late 90s lmps. Also some strange and ugly ones too lol

[@GavinByrneLand]

I love this channel.

[@martron7]

What a nice little somewhat forgotten car. Are you planning to make a video on the Ferrari 333SP or Lotus Elise GT1?

[@RafitoOoO]

TWR built chassis for 4 winners at Le Mans. Truly awesome, a shame the purchase of Arrows ended up ruining the team.

[@larquefausse3623]

Technically, TWR only built 3 Le Mans-winning chassis. The XJR-9 chassis that won in '88, the XJR-12 won in '90, but the same WSC-95 chassis was used to win both '96 and '97 (It was also used by Teo Fabi to win his SWC title in '91).

[@Atticus3lack]

I would love to hear the story of either the Suzuki Pikes Peak or the Toyota Tacoma Pikes Peak

[@Clockwork818]

It’s a shame that your channel not a lot bigger,and could you by any chance please make some videos on obscure Group C cars?

[@JoshuaC923]

Winning at Le mans is no mean feat, but two times in a row!

[@marks7197]

Been done a few times by the same chassis number, Bentley, Ferrari, GT40 and Porsche 956...

[@dxrinc]

Joest 2X X2

[@aydankhaliq2967]

Video on the Wolf WR1? Won on their debut race for the team and finished 2nd on the championship.

[@automobilistic]

I'll look into it!

[@barrettoliver2009]

This is a good channel, could we see some older race cars ?

[@automobilistic]

Theres a few older cars on my list, so stay tuned!

[@nicholascanjuga6000]

YES LOVE THE TWR PORSCHE'S (Imagine they made a road going version of the twr porsche wsc, that would be something else) Edit: the fact this lmp has a xjr-14 chassis makes me love it even more)

[@tenkamenincrowder3486]

I thought the issue with Imsa was that they wanted to severely restrict the Porsche WSC so Porsche decided not to race

[@philipplutki]

whats the name of the first background song? 🤔

[@joshuak4372]

That chassis is 691/192. Its the on points 1991 World Championship winning Jaguar.

[@cosmicdust4749]

So i have to ask... Why there's nothing about this monster in ANY famous racing games...?

[@automobilistic]

Its a good question!

[@BlablaPaige]

I think of three reason: -The car aren't very known -The only TWR left is in Joest private Musuem and don't go outside very often -The other chassis is the LMP1/98 but its the #2 chassis, which have just two DNF as result I'm making the later one in 3D and its quite annoying to find material to make them correctly

[@LuisAbreu90]

It did appear in two video games Test Drive Le Mans and Le Mans 24 Hours (2002)

[@gavinc.morrison1147]

1:46 um sir thats a missile not a car

[@user-jp7om2cj3z]

Was the body shape made by jaguar, twr or porsche?

[@knightofthenine3121]

You need to make a video about the BMW M3 GTR and how FIA and ALMS had to change the rules so that Car would never race again due to winning every single time.

[@lukashodgson]

Shout out to Ross Brawn and his TWR team for producing that chassis. TWR didn't deem the XJR-14 reliable enough for 24 hours so ran an older car an Le Mans that year. Also, shout out to Mazda for running a productionised version of the XJR-14 in '92 (without success), way before a chassis was donated to Porsche.

[@jakeanton5688]

Didn't mazda also get their hands on some xj14 chassis in 92?

[@Nordster]

Yup, the MXR-01

[@TheAslakVind]

And a guy from Toyota´s GT team, called Tom Kristensen.

[@TheLPN05Fan]

What did we learn today? If it works, don't change it. Improve on others work that worked. Just like the Автомат-Kalashnikova.

[@bestopinion9257]

So, in 1998 Porsche bought the car that beat Porsche 2 years before and .... retire it to finally win with their own car Porsche 911 GT1.

[@CorporateComedy]

ive decided your videos get an automatic like - you dont need to keep telling me anymore!! :)

[@agungdewandaru4521]

Please review Audi r10 tdi, young brother of Audi R8 lmp bro

[@gordonyew2185]

Can u do the W11, MP4/4 or the f2002 plss

[@automobilistic]

I've been thinking about covering some F1 cars for a while. All good suggestions!

[@barkyonyx962]

4:33 part of the car, part of the crew

[@ChristianrnstrupRasmussen]

‘By just one lap’ do you know how much that is?

[@automobilistic]

Not very much at Le Mans

[@legeekdechepaou411]

Oh yeah I got this one right

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

Except among Tom Walkinshaw fans...

[@Kitsuru98]

919 Views, nice.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

Jaguar xj14 chassis and TWR and Porsche claim ot

[@richardlehoux]

If I may make a suggestion. You could do the same has a lot of other KZbinr and have around 5 sec maybe of “no content “ at the end to show the related video. I want to see all the great footage you have found with no thumbnail on top.

[@bigscrewg]

Gran Turismo music

[@crf80fdarkdays]

Big oof

[@23GreyFox]

In short, Group C cars won Le Mans up to 1997.

[@_SpamMe]

Pointless comment, but I'm fairly sure Joest is pronounced very differently. Nothing to do with any Joe.

[@automobilistic]

I'm not sure I've ever heard it spoken. How should it be pronounced?

[@jstoli996c4s]

@@automobilistic “Yost” (long “o”).

[@automobilistic]

@@jstoli996c4s thank you, i will try to remember this in future 👍

[@alexfoyle7924]

Early

[@rastaboy_gamesnstuff7778]

@polyphonydigital