Introduction.
Part 5 of my work for #NEWGROUPCBLAST, an Instagram thread spun up by Oct8n in October 2018 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the great Group C/GTP sports-prototype era of motorsport and in anticipation of the the new 2020 prototype regulations.
Not messing around.
This is what might have happened if a few things went slightly differently in early 1990's sportscar racing.
Summer 1993. The semi-secret new Ferrari factory team's ambitious effort to take on the European Group C series required significant organization and vision to get up and running. Reinhold Joest happily provided his services to build the Eni-Ferrari Agip team, with one condition; he would secure a bare F94 rolling chassis to build a car around for his team to run in the IMSA GTP series (and most likely an option for a second car).
“Gian [Moretti] is a good friend and we want to race, so until Porsche has a car for us, we will use one of his.”
Former Porsche works driver turned independent endurance-racing mastermind, Reinhold Joest found himself with 10 years worth of Porsche spares, and a 10-year-old chassis design languishing against more modern machinery. Impatient waiting for Porsche's return from their open-wheel Indycar distraction to focus on sports cars, Joest has his team rework the F94 to accommodate his shop-full of 962 spares. The “94C” features heavily revised bodywork to fit a development of the 962’s endlessly-reliable 3.0 water-cooled flat-six. In testing it's clear the result is a success. “The front end on this car is so pinned, it has grip everywhere. We have none of the understeer problems of the old [Porsches]” - J. Winter
Long-time Joest supporter Blaupunkt returns as the team’s major sponsor after a several-year hiatus, an indication of healthy interest in the renewed series. So the score is: a Dallara-built chassis co-developed by Ferrari and NPTI, adapted and re-bodied by Team Joest for Porsche flat-six power. Ready to go.
"Go ahead, we're just going to turn off the lights and lock up. We'll meet you at the pub in a few."
To be continued....
