Science Friction - 1991 ALD C91 Cosworth
The intrepid trundling thetan.
By the late 1980s, the world of sports prototype racing was at an all-time high. Fresh from the energy crises of the late 1970s, the Group C category took the sport to new levels in 1982, with a system based around fuel restrictions instead of strict engine regulations. This not only gave the World Sportscar Championship a more environmentally friendly image in those hard times, but simultaneously leveled the playing field.
With just 600 liters per 1000 kilometers available, the increasingly powerful turbocharged engines had been tamed enough for naturally aspirated engines to compete on the same level. This gave the category a very wide appeal, allowing a great deal of different manufacturers to enter the fray.
By the end of the decade, Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Aston Martin, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Lancia and Ford all had a factory presence in the sport. Additionally, the lower C2 category, which had originated in 1983 was also thriving.
Independent builders like Lola, Spice, Argo, Tiga, Ecosse, Osella and countless other were a welcome addition to the grids, powered by smaller, less powerful engines from brands like Porsche, BMW and Cosworth. With the pit boxes filled to the brim and a great variety of cars and engines, the World Sportscar Championship quickly became one of the most popular forms of motorsport on the face of the earth.
C2 gave a great platform for smaller teams.
However, like all good things, the original Group C formula came to an end in at the end of the 1990 season. Already in 1989, a strategy group within the FIA had decided the highly successful fuel consumption-based regulations were to be abandoned in favor of an entirely different concept.
Motivated by strong suggestions from newly appointed WSC-promotor Bernie Ecclestone, the group opted to homogenize engine regulations with the self-proclaimed pinnacle of motorsport: Formula One. The general reasoning was sound. With a common engine-spec, sportscar teams would be able to purchase F1 engines, and F1 teams could be supplied with powerplants built by the many big corporations active in the WSC.
Engines like this Cosworth HB were expected to create common ground between the two championships.
With the plans laid out, the FIA moved to implement the 3.5L formula for the 1990 season. Unexpectedly, the response from the WSC's major players was less than favorable. Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Jaguar, Nissan, and Mazda were stumped by the sudden announcement, and started lobbying for more time to design new engines.
As a result, the change was pushed to the 1991 season, and the old guard was given one more year before the curtain would fall. During this time, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Toyota started designing new machines, while newcomer Peugeot already entered their 905 in the final round of the season.
Spice was one of the few former C2 teams to continue racing under the 3.5L rules.
On the privateer side of things, the situation was decidedly more dire. Along with the new engine regulations, the FIA had announced the C2 category as a whole would be cancelled for 1991, citing "reliability issues" with the popular Cosworth DFL engine used by 99% of the C2 field in 1990.
Because of this, the smaller, lesser funded outfits previously active in C2 were given two very distinct choices. Either try to take on the factory giants on their own terms by somehow mustering up the budget to find a hugely expensive F1-engine, or look for another championship.
The 01, ALD's first car.
Unsurprisingly, most C2 teams opted for the latter. With only Spice Engineering taking the trouble to fit a Cosworth DFZ V8 to their SE90C chassis, the future of private entries to the WSC was on loose screws. However, one plucky French squad refused to yield.
That team was Automobiles Louis Descarters, or ALD. The team was founded by its namesake in 1983, after Louis Descartes had contested the 1981 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Renard-Delmas RD81. Descartes wanted nothing more but to build his own prototype to run at the famous race. He achieved his goal two years later, when he debuted his BMW-powered 01 C2 racer.
The C289 was ALD's first Cosworth-powered car.
Descartes ran several variations of his BMW-powered (01-06) up to 1988, but finally caved to the dominant Cosworth DFL with 1989's carbon fiber chassis C289. But just as ALD joined the club, it was disbanded. In response to the FIA's new direction, Louis Descartes ordered designer Jean Paul Sauvée to come up with ALD's own 3.5L challenger for 1991.
ALD got a hold of DFZ engines for the new car.
In preparation for the arrival of the new car, Descartes managed to secure a batch of Cosworth DFZ engines and fit them to a C289 chassis. The DFZ dated back to 1987, and was little more than a larger displacement version of the DFY conceived as an answer to F1's phased banishment of turbo engines.,
The DFY in turn was a short-stroke version of the DFV, the engine that kicked off Cosworth's success story in F1 all the way back in 1967. For the C91, the team decided to fit the updated DFR was the successor to the DFZ, leaving Cosworth to seize the initiative for naturally aspirated engines. By 1990 however, the DFR was already thoroughly outdated. In F1, Cosworth had already moved to the all-new, 75 degree HB-series in 1989.
ALD's limited budget precluded the opportunity of obtaining the top spec engine however, resulting in rather lackluster 620 horsepower in sprint configuration, instead of the 650 produced by the HB.
For the longer endurance races however, the engine would have to be detuned further to increase reliability, bringing it embarrassingly close to the 540 horsepower achieved by the old 3.9L DFL back in 1982.
Furthermore, the vibrations created by the higher-revving DFZ were even more potent than the infamously raucous DFL, giving rise to concerns over the engine shaking itself and the car apart. As in the C289, the engine was mated to a Hewland DGB 5-speed manual transmission.
The C91 built on the concept started with the C289, ALD's first carbon chassis. Outwardly it also looked strikingly similar. Apart from the large intake added to the roof to feed the new engine, the car still sported the slab-sided look associated with the C1 cars of old. This was something of a problem.
As the 3.5L machines would eventually take the top slot in the WSC, they were expected to be at least as quick. In previous years, the C1 cars relied on massively powerful turbocharged engines to propel them to dizzying speeds. The ultimate focus was Le Mans, where the endless, still unbroken Mulsanne Straight was the single most important stretch of racetrack. Because of this, the cars were designed to minimize drag, with downforce taking more of a backseat as a result.
Conversely, the 3.5L format would essentially reverse this equation. With a decided loss of power compared to the 1100 horsepower turbo monsters and the cutting up of Mulsanne with two chicanes, the design focus had to shift towards more downforce.
Solely relying on the downforce generated from the ground effect floor wasn't going to cut it in the new formula. However, very few builders actually realized this in time. As such, most designs featured the smooth lines seen before, and the C91 was no exception.
The most peculiar feature of the C91 didn't have anything to do with its design however, as its main sponsor was somewhat controversial. Spelled out in thick red capital letters on the nose and sides was the word DIANETIQUE, the French translation of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
This was a peculiar philosophical self-help book written by one L. Ron Hubbard, an avid purveyor of pulp science fiction writing. However, he had reached a much higher level with his own religion, the Church of Scientology. Dianetics, was the foundation of his movement. Essentially, his version of the bible.
Dianetics first showed up in European sportscar racing on this Tiga GC287 in 1987.
The sponsorship was brought over by driver Philippe de Henning (FRA), who had driven with Dianetics colors on his cars for three years starting in 1987. To the outside observer the deal made little sense, but the reasoning behind it was very simple.
Small race teams were always chronically low on funds, and Scientology had plenty of spare cash. Add this to the Church's incredibly eagerness to spread their message as far and wide as possible, and the recipe was complete. Owing to this, Dianetics would go on to grace Group C, Indycar, MotoGP and NASCAR racers.
With the divine guidance of Lord Xenu, Automobiles Louis Descartes embarked on their most ambitious campaign yet. For the first time ever, they were going head to head with the big works teams. Following the postponement of the rule change in 1990 due to manufacturer protests, the FIA was forced to designate the 1991 season as a transitional year.
Porsche's 962 survived into 1991 thanks to tiny 3.5L grids.
To everyone's surprise, Porsche, the backbone of Group C, had declined to built a 3.5L car and left the championship. With Toyota's project running late and Nissan only just starting, this left just Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, and Jaguar to field new machinery. Along with the ALD and two Euroracing Spice SE90Cs, there really wasn't much to write home about
Because a ten-car grid wasn't exactly what the FIA had in mind, older Porsche 962s were allowed to compete with a 100 kg (220 lbs) weight penalty. This brought weight up to 1000 kg (2204 lbs), some 250 (551 lbs) more than the 3.5L cars were allowed.
Secondly, the first ten places on the starting grid were permanently reserved for the newer cars, which were now called C1. The old C1 cars were subsequently demoted to C2, and relegated to the back half of the grid regardless of their actual speed.
The grid setting off at Suzuka, sans ALD.
Among this politically charged mess, ALD was set to make their debut for the first round of the World Sportscar Championship, the Fuju Film Cup at Suzuka. However, Philippe de Henning encountered issues in qualifying, and could only set a time almost a minute slower than the pole-sitting Jaguar XJR-14 of former F1-drivers Derek Warwick (GB) and Martin Brundle (GB). As a result, he failed to qualify.
The ALD peeking out from behind the Spice, Monza 1991.
At Monza, the team was in for a bit more luck. Though the 1:57.062 lap set by De Henning and co-driver Luigi Taverna (ITA) was a far cry from the 1:33.672 set by ex F1-driver Teo Fabi (ITA) and Martin Brundle, it at least was good enough for the car to qualify.
Though the ALD had posted the slowest lap time of the field, the convoluted grid system meant it started seventh in the actual race. Predictably the car started dropping down the order on the long straights of Monza, only to succumb to an engine failure on lap 30.
ALD's direct competitor completely crushed it on pace.
ALD's misery continued at Silverstone, as Taverna and De Henning once again failed to qualify. In Q1 the pair clocked a 2:16.914, a shocking 19.824 seconds slower than their direct competitor, the Spice SE90C driven by David Piper (GB) and Cor Euser (NL), who placed 7th. With no time set in Q2, the C91 was once again classified as DNQ.
Next up on the calendar was the crown jewel of the World Sportscar Championship, the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tellingly, the ALD was one of the few 3.5L cars to take part in the grueling race.
Jaguar had tried its dominant XJR-14 in practice for a bit, but thought better of it an reverted to an updated 7.4 liter V12 XJR-12. Mercedes did one better and never even tried their C291, instead using the 5.0L twin turbo V8-powered C11 from last year. Aside from ALD, only Spice, Peugeot and newcomers ROC actually entered the race with 3.5L cars.
The ROC 002 came to challenge ALD at Le Mans.
For only the second time in its career, the car managed to actually qualify for a race. Philippe de Henning and Luigi Taverna were joined by Patrick Gonin (FRA), and the trio managed to place the car 33rd on pace. This made it eight in the twelve-car C1 class, and seventh on the grid after Jaguar dropped their XJR-14.
Surprisingly, the C91 was once again let down by the magnificent Lord Xenu during their quest for a Le Mans finish. This time around, the misfortune came from an unexpected angle. The team had been dreading another engine failure most of all, but on lap 16 Luigi Taverna reported a problem with the right rear corner of the car.
The ALD falling apart, Le Mans 1991.
The car's rear suspension had snapped, and Taverna was left to limp along Mulsanne Straight to find a gap in the barriers. Once the car was in a safe place, the team found the damage to be irreparable. In its fall, the suspension had also taken down the gearbox. Poor old Luigi had only made it to lap 16, making him the first retirement of the race.
Taverna getting out of the stricken car.
After the drama of Le Mans, was forced to miss the Nurburgring round of the WSC to effect some much-needed repairs. ALD was back for Magny Cours however, and the C91 received a bit of an updated appearance. With the departure of Philippe de Henning, the car lost its striking DIANETIQUE sponsorship.
Instead, he car turned blood red and sported very few decals. The change of colors and lack of alien influence seemed to help somewhat, as Patrick Gonin and Luigi Taverna weren't last in qualifying for the very first time. In the process, they had beaten out the old and tired Lancia LC2 of Almo Coppelli.
The C91 abandoned at Le Mans.
During the car's absence, two new rivals had arrived. Porsche 962 campaigners Konrad Motorsport and Brun Motorsport had both constructed their own 3.5L weapons, with Brun opting for a Judd EV V8 powerplant, and Konrad adopting the fast but fragile Lamborghini LE3512 V12.
The C91 turned red for Magny Cours.
Frustratingly, both cars were mile ahead of the ALD, as they followed the "downforce first" mantra only Jaguar had fully understood from the get-go. As a result the cars sported large wing profiles in their noses, and much bigger rear wings.
However the C91's relative luck continued despite the increased competition, as it reached the finish line for the first time. Sadly it was a staggering 28 laps behind the winning Peugeot 905B of Yannick Dalmas (FRA) and 1982 F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg (FIN). Since it failed to complete 90% of the racing distance, it wasn't classified.
The C91 finally finished a race at Magny Cours.
Following the moderately positive performance at Magny Cours, Automobiles Louis Descartes moved to Mexico for the penultimate round of the 1991 World Sportscar Championship. The team started right back where it left off, as Gonin/Taverna qualified dead last. In fact, they were a whopping 8.88 seconds from the next car, the Konrad KM-011. Predictably, the differential seized on the opening lap, taking the car out once again.
Start of the final race of 1991, Autopolis.
The final of the 1991 season took place on the unusual mountain-top track of Autopolis in the Southern tip of Japan. The track had only been open for a year at that point, and the WSC finale was the first major international event it would host. However, the C91 would never arrive to the race.
Almost exactly two months later, on December 27th, Louis Descartes was tragically killed in a road accident, just three days before his 40th birthday. Without its figurehead, Automobiles Louis Descartes had no real direction. Out of respect for Louis, the team was disbanded shortly after his death.
The ALD C91 was the company's last ever car, and sadly, the most unsuccessful. Louis Descartes bravely took on the strange new era ushered in by the FIA, following a format that so many of his former colleagues had dismissed as impossible to sustain.
Unfortunately his ambition proved to be largely misguided. His tiny operation had no way of competing with even their fellow privateers, as they lacked the budget and skill to build a properly competitive 3.5L car. With even the factory teams suffering from reliability issues, ALD never stood a chance.
Louis Descartes' creations would sadly outlive his presence at Le Mans. A modified C289 appeared at the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans powered a PRV V6. Keeping with tradition, it failed to qualify.
Though his last car failed to make an impression, Louis had nothing to be ashamed of. With his severely limited resources, he had done the best he could. And that was all that really mattered in the end.
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Comments (7)
This proves that Dianetics devotees didn't pray enough.
I'm not sure but I don't think Scientologists pray at all. Maybe that's the problem.
Needs more alien spirit horsepower
This is such an interesting piece. Nice work Dylan!
Which cars are those?
Dylan, good stuff as always, just a note that the Alpa was an old Sauber C6. ALD 06 was raced as such with a BMW
Yes you're right. Guess I got things mixed up.