 | |
| Industry | Auto racing design and production |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Gérard Welter |
| Headquarters | |
| Website | www |
Welter Racing is a French sports car maker that mainly enters in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, since 1990 under the name of Rachel and Gérard Welter, Peugeot's late head of design or Rachel Welter (his wife).
Gérard Welter was well versed in endurance circuits, especially the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1993, Welter Racing claimed the Le Mans C3 class victory with its Peugeot 1.9 L turbocharged I4 powerplant entry that was driven by Patrick Gonin, Alain Lamouille and Bernard Santal. Aside from the 1993 class win, Welter Racing's career at La Sarthe also includes four second-place finishes and one third-place run as well as a sensational front row start in 1995 which led to a change of regulations for the following year.
The notable speed record was set in 1988 under the auspices of "Project 400". With that project, Welter set out to build the first car to do 400 km/h (249 mph) during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That year, Welter's low-drag configuration WM Peugeot P88, including moving the radiators and intercoolers; combined with novel ducting, driven by Roger Dorchy, achieved 405 km/h (252 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight. [1] [2] Having struggled with reliability for the entire event, problems with the car for the whole weekend (turbocharger, cooling and electrical) finally ended their race. [3]
The record was later protected with the addition of chicanes, which were built into the straight in 1990, which would prevent the ability of a car to easily reach 400 km/h (249 mph) again on the much shorter straights.
In 2008, WR unveiled a new LMP2 fitted with a Zytek engine, known as the WR2008.
Gérard Welter died on January 31, 2018, aged 75. [4]
The V6 PRV engine is an overhead cam V6 automobile engine designed and manufactured by the company "Française de Mécanique" for PRV, an alliance of Peugeot, Renault and Volvo Cars. Sold from 1974 to 1998, it was produced in four displacements between 2.5 L and 3.0, and in both SOHC and DOHC and 2-valve and 4-valve per cylinder configurations. Originally carbureted, it adopted fuel-injection for improved emissions compliance and improved performance, and was offered in turbo and biturbo versions in a limited number of vehicles made by Renault, Chrysler Motors, and French supercar manufacturer Venturi.
The Porsche 911 GT1 is a car designed and developed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche AG to compete in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street-legal version for homologation purposes. The limited-production street-legal version developed as a result was named the 911 GT1 Straßenversion.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with the Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500—that form the Triple Crown of Motorsport, and is also one of the races alongside the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring that make up the informal Triple Crown of endurance racing. Run since 1923, it is the oldest active endurance racing event in the world.
The Sauber C9 is a Group C prototype racing car introduced in 1987 as a continuation of the partnership between Sauber as a constructor and Mercedes-Benz as an engine builder for the World Sportscar Championship. The C9 replaced the Sauber C8.
The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. Comprising private, race-specific sections of track in addition to public roads which remain accessible most of the year, its present configuration is 13.626 km (8.467 mi) long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world. The capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a motorsport museum located at the main entrance of the venue.
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs.
The 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 63rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 1995 in one of the wettest races in the event's history with about 17 hours of steady rain. The race was won by the #59 McLaren F1 GTR driven by JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya entered in the GT1 category. This was the first Le Mans win for a driver from Finland and for a driver from Japan. It was also McLaren's first win, at its first attempt - Ferrari had accomplished the same feat with its two cars in 1949, but other manufacturers like Jaguar, Porsche, Ford or Audi achieved their first Le Mans win only after 2, 3 or more attempts. As well as its outright win, the strength of the F1 GTR in the race was underlined by it ultimately filling four of the first five places.
The 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 62nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 1994.
The 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 61st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 19 and 20 June 1993.
The 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 60th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on the 20 and 21 June 1992. It was also the third round of the 1992 FIA Sportscar World Championship season. The FIA was struggling to assemble sufficient cars for the race, and so the entry-list was extended to include the older Group C cars and national trophy cars. The 28 starters was the lowest since the 1932 race. With the withdrawal of the Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz teams, it looked to be a Peugeot vs Toyota contest, each with very strong driver combinations, with the new Mazdas there waiting for any slip-ups. There were still considerable concerns that the 3.5-litre engines derived from Formula 1 could not last the distance. It was Philippe Alliot who took pole position for Peugeot, in a blistering lap fully five seconds faster than the lap record, with teammate Dalmas second.
The 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 56th Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the fifth round of the 1988 World Sports-Prototype Championship. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on the 11 and 12 June 1988. At their third attempt, Jaguar arrived with five cars to take on the strong Porsche works team of three cars, in their only race for the Championship season. The other potential rival was Sauber, now formally backed by Mercedes-Benz, but after a major high-speed tyre-blowout in practice, their two-car team was withdrawn.
The 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 44th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1976. This year the FIA introduced its new Group 5 and Group 6 regulations and the race was now open to nine distinct classes, although it was still not part of the World Championship seasons. Porsche introduced its new models, the 936 in Group 6, the 935 in Group 5 and the 934 in Group 4. In response, BMW had its modified 3.0 CSL in Group 5. It was the year that turbos arrived in considerable numbers, with over a dozen turbocharged entries, led by the Renault Alpine A442. It saw the arrival of French prototype manufacturers Jean Rondeau and Gérard Welter in a new GTP class and a first-time invitation to American IMSA and NASCAR entries.
The 1926 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 4th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1926. It was the first Le Mans race where the winner's average speed was over 100 km/h (62 mph), and also the first to break the 24-hour distance record set by Selwyn Edge at Brooklands in 1907.
The Mulsanne Straight is the name used in English for a formerly 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is interrupted by two chicanes, with the last section leading to a sharp corner near the village of Mulsanne. Before the chicanes were added, the Mulsanne Straight was the longest straight section of any race track in the world.
The 79th 24 Hours of Le Mans was a 24-hour automobile endurance race for 56 teams of three drivers in Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars, held before 249,500 spectators on 11 and 12 June 2011 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France. It was the third round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the race's 79th edition as organised by the automotive group the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. On 24 April, six weeks prior, a test day was held.
The Allard J2X-C, or the Allard J2X as it is sometimes referred to, was a Group C sports racing car built by Allard in 1992 for use in international sports car racing events. It featured a 3.5-litre Cosworth DFR V8 engine, capable of producing around 580 hp. The J2X-C had bodywork that is more reminiscent of modern Le Mans Prototypes than a conventional Group C car, but the engine proved too weak for the level of downforce, and this, coupled with the fact that Allard Holdings were liquidated during the car's development, severely restricted the J2X and prevented it ever reaching its potential. One car was built.
The Welter-Meunier P82, and its successors and derivatives, including the P83, the P83B, and the P86, are a series of mid-engined Group C sports prototype race cars, designed, developed and built by French racing team Welter Racing, for sports car racing, between 1982 and 1986. The cars best result was a 6th-place finish at the 1982 1000km of Monza, being driven by Roger Dorchy, Guy Fréquelin, and Jean-Daniel Raulet. It was powered by a Garrett twin-turbocharged, 2.7 L (160 cu in), Peugeot PRV, V6 engine, producing between 600–890 hp (450–660 kW) @ 8300 rpm, depending on boost pressure, which drove the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission. The chassis design was constructed into an aluminum monocoque, and the car weighed approximately 900 kg (2,000 lb).
The Welter-Meunier P87 was a Group C sports prototype race car, designed, developed, and built by French motorsports team Welter Racing in 1987 and used in sports car racing until 1988. Only one model was produced.
The Welter-Meunier P88 is a Group C sports prototype race car, designed, developed, and built by the French racing team Welter Racing, specifically to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. It was designed and constructed according to the FIA's technical and sporting regulations for sports car racing.
The WR LM94, and its evolutions, the WR LM95, and the WR LM96, were a series of prototype sports car, designed, developed, built, and used by Welter Racing in the 1994 and 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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