Johnny Herbert on Le Mans and his rotary-engined screamer

“It doesn’t look like a particularly technical circuit, but it’s a challenge – a deceptive challenge. The Porsche Curves, for example, were brilliant, and then you’d arrive at the Ford Chicane, where you had to be very precise.”

Ahead of the 1991 event, Mazda secured dispensation to run at 830kg – a significant saving over the likes of Jaguar and Mercedes – but were still bound by Group C’s fuel-consumption formula. The only hope was to run flat-out in the hope that its rivals broke, and Peugeot’s fast but fragile 905s soon did just that.

“Going into the two chicanes, we didn’t have the same sort of engine braking as the other cars,” says Herbert, “so we were relying on aero to slow down before getting on the brakes. It was a different type of driving, but that ‘lift and coast’ aspect helped with fuel consumption. 

“You just had to adapt your style so that everything happened in a fluid manner. You had to rely on your knowledge, feel and ability – getting to the end of the race by not going over the kerbs, that sort of thing. The advantage was that you could replicate that technique fairly easily over a 12 or 13-lap stint.”

The physical challenge was key for Herbert. Perhaps the most naturally gifted of a peer group of British drivers that included Damon Hill, Mark Blundell, Julian Bailey and Martin Donnelly, his career was almost ended after a horrific F3000 shunt at Brands Hatch.

“One of the main purposes of the whole thing was to prove that my feet were okay!” he says. “The overall braking effort was far less than in Formula One – it wasn’t as tough. 

“Technology has got better and better since then, which has made life easier, but in those days it was a different skill set. The younger generation wouldn’t understand this, but we had a thing called a gearstick, for example. For much of the lap, you were driving one-handed and it gave you blisters. That made you change gear in a different manner. At least in a Grand Prix you only had to drive for an hour and a half, then you had a two-week rest!”

The Mazda was soon up to fourth behind the Mercedes, and took the lead as each of them fell by the wayside. The 787’s reliability was paying off, but Herbert’s personal troubles were just beginning. 

“I used to get very, very nervous,” he explains, “and when you’re nervous you can’t eat properly. You can’t put energy into your body. I lived on noodles that weekend, and they had almost no nourishment - I learnt from that in later years. 

“I’d been up for ages, too, not helped by the fact that all you could hear when you tried to sleep were our cars going around! And I didn’t have enough fluids, either. All of those things added up.”

As the clock ticked down, it became less a matter of whether or not the car would last, and more about whether or not a shattered Herbert – who did a double-stint to finish - could keep going. 

“Concentration got me through, but it was the ghost of me that finished! I remember that year was really hot, and it was sweltering in that cockpit. It was just tough overall.” 

When he finally got out of the car, Herbert promptly collapsed across it, and missed out on the podium ceremony. He went on to claim three Grand Prix victories in a long Formula One career, but success at La Sarthe ranks high on the list of achievements for the likeable Brit. 

One of his team-mates went on to play his part in F1 history, too. Not long after Le Mans, Gachot was jailed for an attack on a London taxi-driver. In sudden need of a replacement for the Belgian Grand Prix, the Jordan team signed one of Mercedes’ young chargers: Michael Schumacher.

“It didn’t sink in at the time because I was in hospital!” concludes Herbert. “As you get older, though, you look back more. It surprises me that we were the first, and still the only, Japanese team to win – and it was only a small outfit, with Ickx involved, which was great. It’s a wonderful memory, and a special win.”

Thanks to Kate Rock and James Bailey at Goodyear Dunlop Tyres

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James Page

James Page is a regular contributor to – and former Editor of – Classic & Sports Car