1989 Le Mans 24 Hours

Coventry anti-climax

"I don't think we can ever do better than I that" said Jochen Neerpasch at the end of the Le Mans 24-Hour race on June 11, having seen the third-generation Silver Arrows cross the line in formation to claim first, second and fifth places.

Appointed this year as Mercedes' competitions manager, Neerpasch had been saying for months that this year's effort was unlikely to succeed, but would be regarded as preparation for 1990. Hours after the race Neerpasch denied that there had been any element of spoofing; the gearboxes lasted the distance although Jaguar's didn't, and their level of reliability was extremely high in a race of attrition.