Mercedes-Benz CLR
Encyclopedia
The Mercedes-Benz CLR was a Le Mans Prototype
built by Mercedes-Benz
for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
. It became infamous for spectacular crashes during its only competitive outing.
and later CLK LM which would take part in the upcoming Le Mans 24 Hours. With tens of thousands of miles of testing on smooth race tracks, like Homestead and Hockenheimring, Mercedes felt that the car was quick enough to win the race, despite the short time spent on wind tunnel
testing.
Three cars were entered, numbered 4, 5, and 6, each driven by a German, a French, and an English speaking driver, to allow efficient international marketing. Mercedes' major competitors, Audi R8R
, BMW V12 LMR, Cadillac
, Nissan R390 GT1
and Toyota GT-One
, each entered two, three, or even four cars, making the 1999 Le Mans one of the toughest ever, particularly when additional competing smaller private teams like Panoz
were considered. Only Porsche
, the winner of the previous year's race, was missing.
However, Mark Webber
's #4 car became airborne at the Indianapolis corner during the Thursday night qualifying session. The car was rebuilt from scratch on Friday, modified for more downforce at the front, and entered in the Saturday morning warm-up. This time, Mark Webber
only made it to the hump before the Mulsanne corner when the car backflipped in spectacular fashion, this time caught in mid-air by photographers. Luckily, neither Webber nor anyone else was injured on either occasion.
Despite the second incident and its echoes of the 1955 Le Mans disaster
, Norbert Haug
decided to go ahead and enter the other two cars in the afternoon, with additional modifications and instructions to the drivers not to follow others cars closely over humps.
Still after over 4 hours, driven at the time by Peter Dumbreck
, the #5 CLR chased a Toyota GT-One
and became airborne two turns before Indianapolis, somersaulting and landing over the barriers into the trees, all on worldwide live TV. The crowd in the Le Mans grandstands was terrified, seeing the pictures on large screens without hearing any comment for a long time. No injuries were sustained in this incident. The race continued under yellow flag conditions. The #6 CLR, driven by Bernd Schneider
, was immediately retired.
event "200 Meilen von Nürnberg" was cancelled, as was participation in the ALMS
series. Mercedes blamed the humps at Le Mans, which were lowered later. In similar incidents at Road Atlanta
, the Porsche 911 GT1
-98 of Yannick Dalmas
had backflipped in 1998, and a BMW V12 LMR with Bill Auberlen
did so on the same hump in 2000. Yet both these cars had raced, and won, at Le Mans without incidents. Later on Mercedes claimed that a miscalculation during aerodynamic development had a role in the crashes as air was literally lifting the car off the ground from the underside.
In total, four CLRs were constructed by HWA and of those, two remain in existence. The surviving #6 car, with yellow mirrors was never raced again, and it is not shown at the Mercedes-Benz Museum
, apparently having been sold to a private collector. It was driven in 2001 at the Hockenheimring, and in June 2009 on the Nürburgring. At least one CLR was exhibited in 2008 as part of an event for driver Bernd Schneider.
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
built by Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999.-Pre-race:1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due...
. It became infamous for spectacular crashes during its only competitive outing.
Racing history
In April 1999 Mercedes launched the new Mercedes CLR as successor to the FIA GT championship-winning Mercedes-Benz CLK GTRMercedes-Benz CLK GTR
The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a sports car and race car that was built by Mercedes-AMG, performance and motorsports arm of Mercedes-Benz. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car, with the road cars necessary in order to...
and later CLK LM which would take part in the upcoming Le Mans 24 Hours. With tens of thousands of miles of testing on smooth race tracks, like Homestead and Hockenheimring, Mercedes felt that the car was quick enough to win the race, despite the short time spent on wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
testing.
Three cars were entered, numbered 4, 5, and 6, each driven by a German, a French, and an English speaking driver, to allow efficient international marketing. Mercedes' major competitors, Audi R8R
Audi R8R
The Audi R8R was a Le Mans Prototype built by Audi for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a predecessor to the dominant Audi R8 which debuted in 2000. It was raced alongside the British built closed-cockpit Audi R8C.-Development:...
, BMW V12 LMR, Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
, Nissan R390 GT1
Nissan R390 GT1
The Nissan R390 GT1 was a racing car built for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 and 1998. It was built to race under the grand tourer style rules, requiring a homologated road version to be built, although only 2 R390 road cars were ever built, and one is stored at Nissan's Zama...
and Toyota GT-One
Toyota GT-One
The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...
, each entered two, three, or even four cars, making the 1999 Le Mans one of the toughest ever, particularly when additional competing smaller private teams like Panoz
Panoz
Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz. The company is located in Braselton, GA. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, and the Panoz Esperante...
were considered. Only Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, the winner of the previous year's race, was missing.
However, Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
's #4 car became airborne at the Indianapolis corner during the Thursday night qualifying session. The car was rebuilt from scratch on Friday, modified for more downforce at the front, and entered in the Saturday morning warm-up. This time, Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
only made it to the hump before the Mulsanne corner when the car backflipped in spectacular fashion, this time caught in mid-air by photographers. Luckily, neither Webber nor anyone else was injured on either occasion.
Despite the second incident and its echoes of the 1955 Le Mans disaster
1955 Le Mans disaster
The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large parts of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. The driver was killed, as were 83 spectators. A further 120 people were injured...
, Norbert Haug
Norbert Haug
Norbert Haug is a German journalist, and the President in charge of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activity, including Formula One, Formula 3 and DTM...
decided to go ahead and enter the other two cars in the afternoon, with additional modifications and instructions to the drivers not to follow others cars closely over humps.
Still after over 4 hours, driven at the time by Peter Dumbreck
Peter Dumbreck
Peter Dumbreck is a racing driver from Scotland.In 1994 he dominated the British Formula Vauxhall Junior championship and followed this in 1996 with a similarly strong performance when he won ten races to take the full Formula Vauxhall Championship.After finishing third in British Formula 3 in...
, the #5 CLR chased a Toyota GT-One
Toyota GT-One
The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...
and became airborne two turns before Indianapolis, somersaulting and landing over the barriers into the trees, all on worldwide live TV. The crowd in the Le Mans grandstands was terrified, seeing the pictures on large screens without hearing any comment for a long time. No injuries were sustained in this incident. The race continued under yellow flag conditions. The #6 CLR, driven by Bernd Schneider
Bernd Schneider (racecar driver)
Bernd Schneider is a retired racing driver from Germany.-Early years:Schneider was named after legendary driver Bernd Rosemeyer, winner of the 1936 European Drivers Championship. Introduced to karting at an early age, he displayed an obvious talent for racing...
, was immediately retired.
Consequences
The flying Mercedes at Le Mans brought the almost immediate cancellation of the CLR project. Its planned participation in the NorisringNorisring
The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, on the former Nazi party rally grounds site of the NSDAP party conventions. As the city's German name Nürnberg would lead to confusion with the already famous Nürburgring, the old name Noris was chosen for the simple track which is nowadays approx...
event "200 Meilen von Nürnberg" was cancelled, as was participation in the ALMS
Alms
Alms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue.It exists in a number of religions. In Philippine Regions, alms are given as charity to benefit the poor. In Buddhism, alms are given by lay people to monks and nuns to...
series. Mercedes blamed the humps at Le Mans, which were lowered later. In similar incidents at Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta is a 2.54-mile road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, USA. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams...
, the Porsche 911 GT1
Porsche 911 GT1
The Porsche 911 GT1 was a car designed for competition in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street legal version for homologation purposes...
-98 of Yannick Dalmas
Yannick Dalmas
Yannick Dalmas is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 49 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 18 October 1987, but qualified for only 24 of them. His best result in F1 was a 5th place at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix, but he was not eligible for World Championship points at...
had backflipped in 1998, and a BMW V12 LMR with Bill Auberlen
Bill Auberlen
Bill Auberlen is a race car driver born in Redondo Beach, California, USA on 12 October 1968.Bill joined BMW Team PTG in 1996 after a very successful privateer effort. In 1997, Bill won the IMSA GT3 championship, driving a BMW M3...
did so on the same hump in 2000. Yet both these cars had raced, and won, at Le Mans without incidents. Later on Mercedes claimed that a miscalculation during aerodynamic development had a role in the crashes as air was literally lifting the car off the ground from the underside.
In total, four CLRs were constructed by HWA and of those, two remain in existence. The surviving #6 car, with yellow mirrors was never raced again, and it is not shown at the Mercedes-Benz Museum
Mercedes-Benz Museum
The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an automotive museum housed in Stuttgart, Germany. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of Daimler AG. The current building, which stands directly outside the main gate of the Daimler factory in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, was...
, apparently having been sold to a private collector. It was driven in 2001 at the Hockenheimring, and in June 2009 on the Nürburgring. At least one CLR was exhibited in 2008 as part of an event for driver Bernd Schneider.
External links
- 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLR, Michael J. Fuller, Mulsanne's Corner
- Mercedes CLR Flip at Le Mans, David Hansen, Mulsanne's Corner
- Mercedes CLK & CLR, Simon T Mallett, GreatRacingCars