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36-541: The Lechner Spyder SC91 was a sports prototype racing car , originally built by Reynard Motorsport for Walter Lechner and his Walter Lechner Racing School Interserie team in 1991. The car was rebuilt as the Reynard Spyder in 1993, and became known as the Reynard Horag in 1997. Throughout its career, it used a Formula 1 -derived 3.5-litre Judd V10 engine . One car was built, and it proved successful; taking

72-558: A great amount of flexibility within set rule parameters. In 1953 - 1984 seasons the World Sportscar Championship titles were awarded to manufacturers of sports prototypes (except of the 1978 - 1981 seasons). In 1985 - 1992 seasons titles were awarded to teams entering sports prototypes (instead of manufacturers of sports prototypes). In historic racing, they are often called "sports racing cars". Sometimes, they are metonymically referred to as "Le Mans cars", as

108-524: A sole victory. For 1996, Kremer began to concentrate more on the new BPR Global GT Series , running Porsche 911 GT2s . However, two K8 were once again brought out for Le Mans following slight evolutions to their bodywork. The age of the cars led to them slipping further down in qualifying, managing to only make 13th. During the race, both cars failed to finish: One due to an accident and the other suffering an engine failure. The team would perform even worse in 1997, when one of two cars failed to qualify for

144-617: A wide variety of machinery. However, teams in the Interserie at the time were opting more and more for open-cockpit Formula One or CART -based machines with bodywork attached to them for more downforce. This left the closed-cockpit prototypes like the 962CK6 at a disadvantage due to their heavier weight. Kremer Racing, as well as other teams in the series, chose to therefore turn their coupés into open-cockpit cars in an attempt to lower weight and increase speed. Kremer initially took one of their existing 962CK6s and began extensive modifications to

180-575: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This motorsport-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kremer CK7 Spyder The Kremer K8 Spyder , along with its predecessor, the K7 (1992–1993), were open-cockpit prototypes built by Kremer Racing for use in multiple sportscar series, such as the IMSA GT Championship , Interserie , and International Sports Racing Series . The cars shared many components from

216-554: The 1997 Interserie season ; the car was now known as the Reynard Morag, and the team as "Dark Dog Lechner Racing Team". The opening round at Spa saw Neuhauser finish second by just over two hundredths of a second to Karl Hasenbichler , and his Penske PC18 . At Most, Neuhauser finished fifth in the first race, before a second place in the following race pulled him up to fourth overall. At the A1-Ring , Neuhauser took his first victory with

252-535: The 1998 Interseries season , but switched to Achleitner Motorsport . The first round of the season, held at Most, saw Neuhauser struggle, and finish fifth overall (third in Division I), and last. The second round was also at Most, and here Neuhauser took two victories en route to winning the round outright. Next up was the A1-Ring, where Neuhauser won again, this time by 15.7 seconds from Karl-Heinz Becker. Neuhauser finished

288-464: The 24 Hours of Le Mans has been closely associated with the category in recent decades and features entries from several of the main championships contested by prototypes. Since the 1960s, various championships have allowed prototypes to compete. However, most championships have had their own set of rules for their prototype classes. Listed here are some of the more commonly known types of prototypes. This sports car racing -related article

324-511: The 962CK6s. This meant that the large bodywork replacing the doors was replaced with a much lower design which incorporated a windshield. The rules also necessitated the addition of a rollbar to the top of the engine cover, to better protect a driver's head in the event of a rollover. Also, to meet engine requirements, Kremer chose to use a smaller variant of the Type-935 Flat-6, running only a 3.0 litre displacement. The large snorkels for feeding

360-737: The Interserie Division I title in 1997 and 1998, in addition to being the strongest non- Porsche 962 in 1991, and the strongest non- Kremer CK7 Spyder in 1993. In 1991, Reynard Motorsport were commissioned by Walter Lechner to build a sports prototype for the Division I class of the Interserie . The car they built was called the Lechner Spyder SC91, and used a 3.5-litre Judd V10 engine , similar to one used in Formula One . Lechner drove

396-607: The K8 Spyder would be the only open-cockpit car competing in the LMP1/C90 class. The design proved its speed by qualifying second on the grid alongside a Courage - Porsche . Project 100 Communications brought two of the drivers; Derek Bell and Robin Donovan (partner in Project 100 Communications at the time), while Kremer brought Jürgen Lässig to the joint venture. They ran towards the top of

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432-426: The bodywork. The roof and windshield of the cockpit was removed, while the doors were replaced with new bodywork to surround the open cockpit. This bolstering of the side bodywork moved the driver to a more central position, similar to an open-wheel formula car. Because of the elimination of the doors, the large intakes on either side of the cockpit were also reshaped, with a large cut made to allow air to flow in from

468-508: The car himself, usually under the "Walter Lechner Racing School" banner, and gave it its debut at the second round of the 1991 Interserie season , which was the Nürburgring Supersprint; he retired after five laps due to a vibration. Two weeks later, he competed in the next round, held at the Österreichring ; Lechner took fifth in the first race, and sixth in the second, resulting in him being classified in fifth overall. Brands Hatch

504-419: The car's first ever victory in the first race of the first round, held at Jarama , before a retirement after 14 laps in the second race restricted him to ninth overall. It was a similar story at Mugello; Lechner retired following a collision after six laps in the first race, before a seventh in the second race secured 14th overall. The Interserie then moved to Most, but Lechner retired from both races, although he

540-464: The car, beating Karl-Heinz Becker 's modified Minardi M190 by 21.4 seconds. The fourth and final round of the season was held at the Hungaroring ; Neuhauser took second in the first race, and third in the second race, securing second place overall for the weekend. Neuhauser won the Division I driver's title for 1997, beating Ranieri Randaccio by 11 points. Neuhauser remained in the Reynard Morag for

576-599: The field for most of the race, but eventually they finished the race in sixth, nearly thirty laps behind the winning Dauer 962 . After Le Mans, Kremer Racing chose to prove the endurance capabilities of the K8 again by entering the car into the IMSA GT Championship debut event of the 1995 season, the 24 Hours of Daytona. Although the car did not qualify well, the driving team of Giovanni Lavaggi, Jürgen Lässig , Marco Werner , and Christophe Bouchut were eventually able to take

612-455: The first race, and followed this with second in the other race. The final round of the season was held at the Hockenheimring ; here, electrical problems prevented Neuhauser from starting the first race, but he recovered to finish third in the second race. Neuhauser slipped to third in the driver's championship, finishing 1.5 points behind second-placed Michael Schuster 's Argo JM19C . The car

648-521: The first race, and second in the second race, secured another second overall. He finished third in the Division I driver's standings, behind both Kremer CK7 Spyders . Lechner favoured the Lola Horag HSB for 1994, but would use the Reynard Spyder one last time; in the final round of the season, held at the Österreichring. Lechner started with a victory in the first race, and, by repeating the feat in

684-428: The likes of Courage and the new custom-built Ferrari 333 SP . One K8 would muster only a fifth place qualifying spot, which the team was eventually able to turn into a sixth-place finish. The second car lacked pace for most of the race and eventually withdrew with electrical problems. After Le Mans, Kremer chose to finish the year in Interserie once again, using a CK7 in two of the final three rounds, earning themselves

720-465: The next year, the two evolved cars would be entered in the full season. The season opener would see the best result for the K8 with a second place, with the team eventually finishing in eighth place in the team's championship. A lone K8 would also again be entered at Le Mans, where the evolved car was able to improve on its previous performances by finishing in 12th, yet second in the LMP1 class. 1999 would be

756-533: The race victory by five laps over the nearest competitor. The team followed to the next event, the 12 Hours of Sebring , but the K8 suffered mechanical problems and finished a distant 30th place. The team therefore returned to Europe, where the second K8 was now completed and waiting competition. Both cars were entered in Le Mans once again. Now in a field full of open-cockpit prototypes, the K8s faced stiffer competition from

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792-445: The race. The lone entry dropped out of the event in the first half with an engine failure. However, the K8 saw regular competition once again during 1997. The team would enter into the 1000 km Monza victory for John Nielsen and Thomas Bscher . After Le Mans, the team would enter the new International Sports Racing Series. Two K8s would compete in the final round of the series' debut season, earning third and seventh places. For

828-421: The retired Porsche 962 and would eventually go on to win the 24 Hours of Daytona and several championships. During 1992, Kremer Racing had abandoned the World Sportscar Championship due to heavy costs brought on by the new engine formula which had gone into effect in 1991. The racing company therefore turned to the smaller Interserie championship, which continued to allow Kremer's 962CK6s to compete alongside

864-481: The season saw a return to the Österreichring; Lechner took second in the first race, and, despite dropping to fourth in the second race, took second overall. Lechner finished the season in fourth place, and was the most successful non- Porsche 962 driver. Lechner retained the Spyder SC91 for the 1992 season, and ran it in the season opener, held at Mugello ; he retired from the first race, and, despite taking fourth in

900-529: The season with another victory, this time at the Hungaroring. As a result, he retained his Interserie title, this time beating Becker by seven points. The Reynard Morag was not used in the first round of the 1999 Interserie season , but Neuhauser ran the car in the second round, held at Most; now competing in Class 3, he took second in the first race, and third in the second race. Next was Grobnik , where Neuhauser won

936-399: The season, Giovanni Lavaggi was able to win the driver's championship, but Kremer would ultimately finish second to S.C.I. in the team's championship. In 1994, Kremer concentrated solely on the development of the new K8 Spyder for its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Directed by Project 100 Communications , bringing backing by Gulf Oil sponsorship, as well as other secondary sponsors,

972-570: The second race, he wasn't classified. The series then returned to the Nürburgring, but Lechner retired from the first race once more, and did not start the second. Lechner switched to the Lola Horag for the next two races, and an attempt at entering the Spyder SC91 in the fifth round of the season, held at Most, was unsuccessful; as a result, he retained the Lola Horag for the rest of the season. The Lola

1008-564: The second race, took the overall victory. This would, however, prove to be the last time that Lechner raced the Reynard Spyder, as he opted to use the Lola Horag HSB for the next couple of years. This one race, however, was enough for Lechner to take ninth in the Division I championship for 1994; he had already won the Division II championship prior to that final race. Lechner still retained the Reynard Spyder, and ran Josef Neuhauser in it for

1044-524: The side of the car. The engine cover was retained in order to give the driver rollover protection as well as to maintain some of the 962CK6's original aerodynamics. Underneath the bodywork, most of the mechanicals of the 962 were retained, including the Type-935 3.2 litre Flat-6 engine. These cars became known as the Kremer K7 Spyder , with at least two built specifically for Interserie use. Following on

1080-564: The success of the K7s in Interserie use, Kremer saw the opportunity to adapt their design to the new open-cockpit formulas that were allowed in the IMSA GT Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Once again, the 962CK6s were used as a base, although some styling elements were changed between the CK7 and the new K8 Spyder in order to conform to the rules used in these events. The K8s would be required to maintain their two-seater layout as had been used on

1116-432: The team's championship and Manuel Reuter winning the driver's championship. For 1993, a second K7 would be completed, replacing the older 962CK6. The team would immediately show their dominance in the series, finishing in first and second place at Jarama . Both cars would have top three finishes for the rest of the season until the final round when a lone K7 would suffer problems and finish in seventh. With four wins on

Lechner Spyder SC91 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-675: The turbochargers were also replaced with a more discreet inlet. Four K8 Spyders were built by Kremer. The initial K7 made its debut during the 1992 Interserie season. Running alongside an unmodified 962CK6, the K7 was able to perform well in its first event at the Nürburgring on 17 May, winning one heat and finishing second overall before going on to win the Brands Hatch event overall on July 26. The K7 would go on to take victories at Zolder Circuit and Autodrom Most , leading to Kremer Racing winning

1188-479: Was a Division II car; Lechner finished 19th in Division I, and second in Division II. In 1993, the Lechner Spyder SC91 was built with new bodywork, and was rechristened as the "Reynard Spyder". Lechner was still the car's owner and driver, however; and the rebuilt car was his choice for the 1993 Interserie season , and now run by the Sebring Auspuff Team . The rebuilt car's debut was a mixed bag; Lechner took

1224-445: Was classified 14th in the second. At Siegerlandring, however the car came good again; Lechner took second in the opening race, and won the second race, taking second overall. The penultimate round of the season was held at Donington Park ; Lechner took third in the first race, but another victory in the second, which secured the car's first overall victory. The Österreichring held the final Interserie race of 1993, where Lechner's third in

1260-524: Was next, and Lechner took third in the first race, and repeated the feat in the second race, although he was classified fourth overall. Lechner was unable to start the Most round, but returned for the Siegerlandring event. At Siegerlandring, Lechner struggled in the first race, and was only able to finish tenth; however, he finished second in the other race, and was classified in second overall. The final round of

1296-473: Was retired after the end of the 1999 season. Sports prototype Prototype racing cars have competed in sports car racing since before World War II , but became the top echelon of sports cars in the 1960s as they began to replace homologated sports cars. Current ACO regulations allow most sports car series to use two forms of cars: grand tourers (GT cars) , which are strictly based on production street cars, and sports prototypes , which are allowed

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