Aussie running Sauber Mercedes C9 in Group C Racing
Australian classic Group C racer Rob Sherrard has been having a ball recently, piloting his awesome Sauber Mercedes C9 at the Silverstone Classic and the Old Timer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
Rob’s car is chassis number 05, the Team Sauber Mercedes # 62 driven by Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jochen Mass in the World Sports Car Championship in 1989. The car achieved a total of five victories in the WSC with Schlesser winning the drivers crown and Merceded Benz winning the constructors title.
Schlesser teamed up with Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Alain Cudini to take 5th at Le Mans in an event won by Mercedes team mates Mass, Reuter and Dickens in the #63 sister car.
Rob’s car holds the record for the fastest top speed ever recorded at Le Mans with a whopping 407km/h achieved down the Mulsanne Straight during qualifying for the ’89 24 Hours of Le Mans. This massive velocity led to the introduction of the two chicanes in the Mulsanne Straight from 1990.
The reason the C9 is so quick is that it is powered by a fire breathing Mercedes Benz M119 twin turbo, 5 litre, V8 engine, which punches out 800 horsepower with the boost turned up. Given the silver machine weighs just over 1000kg it’s little wonder Rob and his team are having such fun and delivering results, like his two recent and very popular victories in front of 100 000 (mostly German) fans at the Old Timer Grand Prix.
Nice one Rob.
Images: Rob Lang
