Le Mans’ most unlikely winner: Part two

A brief recap for those who missed or care to be reappraised of the bald but incredible facts surrounding the double victory of the Porsche WSC-95 at Le Mans in 1996. Think of this as the ‘Previously…’ edit you get at the start of big American box set serials.

The car had not started life as a Porsche at all, but a Jaguar, designed at the start of the decade by Ross Brawn at Tom Walkinshaw Racing when it was called the XJR-14. Three were built, two put out of action by massive accidents. But the third, chassis 691, went to Le Mans in 1991 not to compete because it was not expected to survive 24 hours, but to see how much faster than the opposition it really was. The answer provided by Andy Wallace in practice was three seconds a lap quicker than the next fastest car out there. Chassis 691 then delivered the 1991 World Sportscar Championship to Teo Fabi.