Mark Blundell and Le Mans: 1990 poleman, 1992 winner

EnglishIntervisteStoria
Tempo di lettura: 4 minuti
di Andrea Ettori @AndreaEttori
8 Giugno 2023 - 10:05
Home  »  EnglishIntervisteStoria

“Motorsport Magazine”‘s last issue has published the 100 most iconic events in the first 99 editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours. This classification includes the pole position for the 1990 edition, set by Mark Blundell at the wheel of the astonishing Nissan R90CK. This video shows why that lap is one of the best ever done on the Circuit de la Sarthe.

During his career between F1, CART and sportscars, Blundell has taken part in seven editions of the French marathon reaching two podiums: a victory in 1992, with a Peugeot 905, and a second place in 2003 driving a Bentley Speed 8. He has dedicated his entire life to motorsport, spending the Golden Age of motorsport from the inside.

P300.it had the privilege to interview Blundell about his experiences at Le Mans. Find out what he told us.

Tell us about your approach to your first Le Mans in 1989 and what it meant to tackle the Mulsanne Straight at maximum speed.
“It was an approach with respect and excitement as the Mulsanne needed 100% commitment and focus driving a Group C car with minimal downforce at over 230 MPH”.

In that Le Mans, especially in practice, you have had many engine failures, right?
“Engine issues that reduced our on track time so very little experience in 1990 to understand the car”.

Your pole position in 1990 made history, what kind of car was the R90CK?
“The car was a beast to drive but the pole lap was special as the first whole lap run at full speed with no
knowledge of the car or its power and the whole lap was reactive so as a driver was very rewarding to
complete that lap”.

Your onboard is impressive, how gratifying is to see it 33 years later?
“It is still fun to watch and to understand the background to this lap and the work at the steering wheel shows how much concentration and effort but also its still a lap that many people remember so its very very close to my heart”.

Is it true that you had an engine problem and you could have aborted the lap but team manager David Price told you to continue?
“I actually made the decision to carry on the lap and removed the radio so no one could communicate with me which was against team orders but its history now!”.

Did the 1990 Nissan team aim to be the fastest at least on the fastest lap?
“We had a qualifying car so we always intended to go there to achieve the best lap but we didn’t expect to be 6 seconds fathers than everyone else”.

What do you remember about your 1992 victory with Dalmas and Warwick?
“A brilliant result as it was the only race I did in 1992 as I was reserve driver for McLaren F1 so to win the 24 with Derek, a close friend, and Yannick was so very good and to be with a French manufacturer at Le Mans made it also very special too”.

Can you tell us what differences existed between the R90CK and the 905 you drove?
“Biggest difference was downforce levels and power steering but overall balance on the 905 was also superior to the Nissan”.

Also in this case, in terms of comparison, how close were the performance between Group C and F1 in the early 90s?
“Group C was very powerful but heavy cars in comparison but great to race”.

You step up on the podium with the Bentley exactly 20 years ago. What do you remember of that edition? Did you expect to be so faster than Audi?
“The Bentley was a brilliant car and we should have won the race in 2003 as we were the fastest car and led for many hours but ended up with two extra pit stops because of small technical issues that cost us the win!”.

Is there a particular episode you want to tell us about the Le Mans editions you participated in?
“Actually in 2001 with MG LMP2 car and running at the front of the race at the beginning whilst the track was wet and staying in the car for 3 hours and 45 mins”.

What do you expect from the edition of centenairy? Do you think the new regulations can bring the WEC back to the Golden Age of the legendary Group C?
“I hope it’s a fantastic race to mark 100 years and also that it’s the beginning of sports car racing for the
future”
.

Images: Nissan Media Center, Martin Lee, Stellantis Media Center

Leggi anche

Tutte le ultime News di P300.it

È vietata la riproduzione, anche se parziale, dei contenuti pubblicati su P300.it senza autorizzazione scritta da richiedere a info@p300.it.

LE ULTIME DI CATEGORIA
Lascia un commento

Devi essere collegato per pubblicare un commento.

COLLABORIAMO CON

P300.it SOSTIENE

MENU UTENTE

REGISTRATI

CONDIVIDI L'ARTICOLO