Forza Motorsport 7: Group C champs you can drive

It's officially Le Mans weekend and yet, here I am, playing Forza Motorsport 7 to get to know about the Le Mans greats while everybody's preparing for the best race weekends of their lives, ditching big soccer plans for this one. Anyway, while you folks are prepared to see some epic endurance races at Le Mans, I did a little digging with our guests for the day.





Joining me now are our old Group C friends from the late '80s; the Mercedes C9 and the Porsche 962. I know what you're thinking but the main reason why I called these two is plain simple because while these Group C greats are proven so legendary, a handful managed to make road-legal replicas of those. A South African man made a C9 replica while a man from Japan managed to keep a 962 in his garage and made it road legal. Pretty sweet, huh? But let's get to know about these cars first.





We are already familiar with the stories behind these machines ever since you and I set off in these Group C greats you can drive. The C9 won the 1989 Le Mans race with Jochen Mass, Manual Reuter, and Stanley Dickens behind the wheel and during its qualifying run with its 5.0L V8 Turbo engine armed, it went straight through the Mulsanne in 400kph. It scored a pole position in the first round of the 1988 World Sports Car Championship and went on to win five out of 12 races that year. It racked 21 races participated, 13 races won, 7 pole positions, and 5 fastest lap times.

The 962 is basically a rebuilt version of the 956 due to complicating restrictions both the IMSA GTP of America and European Group C had but ever since its 1984 Daytona debut, the 962 scored 21 constructors' championships, making it one of the most dominant cars in motorsport in the spirit of its prize-winning predecessors and it became popular among private teams.

Upon driving these two for some sighting laps, the Sauber-Mercedes C9 feels so nice to drive even at intimidating speeds and this is the kind of early prototype racer you wouldn't really let go until you are satisfied with its almost generous dynamics you can't get enough of. The 962, meanwhile, because of its aerodynamics, was proven to be quite a tricky car to drive and downright menacing but in the interest of getting to know Porsche's Group C Le Mans hero, I stuck with it and I had a blast with it.

With my impressions over, it's time to pit these two Group C champs you can drive for a lap around modern-day Le Mans track. Ready, set, go!



And now, the results...

#63 C9 - 3:42.632
#17 962C - 3:36.250

It's a shocking result. Although the 962 is short on power, its uncanny aerodynamics managed to beat the C9 by a huge margin, meaning Porsche really is a dominant carmaker in the world of Le Mans...well, sort of.



These Group C champs you can drive like the C9 and the 962, it's amazing seeing these two machines come to life on the road after their legendary statuses propelled them to become all-time greats and as times change, rest assured that these Group C heroes' efforts will never go in vain in the history of motorsport. They really are that phenomenal, don't you agree?

Although, it may had lead me to some lumpy throats, but this is no time for tears because with Le Mans is now here, it's time for them to make history, just as their spiritual predecessors did in their time.

The Timey-Wimey of Sauber Mercedes C9....

We wouldn't blame what does this car's doing
on Forza 4...

This is another one of Gran Turismo cars robbed by Forza for DLC purposes. In February 2012, the Mazda 787B, a car that is highly sacred in the Gran Turismo series, was stolen by Forza Motorsport 4 so it can be placed in the ALMS Pack. July 2012, sees another Gran Turismo car robbed by Turn 10, which is the RUF CTR2 via the July Car Pack. And now, August Playseat Car Pack sees Turn 10 stealing another Gran Turismo cars such as the Scion FR-S, which translates to Toyota GT86 for Americans, and this! The Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car! I know, most of our Japanese players complaining that what the heck the Sauber Mercedes C9 is doing on Forza 4. Is it because they want to see the interior of the Sauber C9 that Gran Turismo can't? Is it because Forza's Sauber C9 sounds better than the GT's Sauber C9? Or is it because some idiots demanded that this car should be on this game? Nobody knows but...SPOILERS!

Anyway, what is it then, this Sauber C9? The latest victim of notable Gran Turismo cars robbed by Turn 10 for DLC purposes?

As part of the Sauber-Mercedes partnership, this Group C prototype was introduced in 1987 and since its debut, the cars were run by Kouros Racing, named after the fragrance brand of its sponsor, Yves Saint Laurent, although officially backed by Mercedes-Benz. A year later, Kouros was dropped as a sponsor, forcing the team to be renamed Sauber Mercedes, and therefore, they've used EG-Olympia as a sponsor – AEG being owned by Daimler-Benz at the time. They tried to get second in the championship behind Silk Cut Jaguar with five wins for the season but the team stroke several problems when they were forced to withdraw due to concern over their Michelin tires.

Its first success can be traced back to the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the #63 C9 driven by Jochen Mass, Manual Reuter, and Stanley Dickens, achieved a win. During qualifying for Le Mans, the C9, with its Mercedes-Benz M119 4,973 cc (303.5 cu in) HL 90º 5.0L Turbo V8 engine with two KKK turbos, achieved 248.0 mph (400 km/h) at the Mulsanne Straight of Le Mans. Aside from its Le Mans success, the Sauber C9 earned pole position in the first round of the 1988 World Sports Car Championship and went on to win five out of 12 races that year. The Sauber C9 earned its nickname "Silver Arrow", which harks back to the feared moniker that traced back to Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union GP cars.

Two Sauber C9s made a 1-2 finish at the 1989 World Sports Car Championship at Suzuka Circuit and 2-3 in Dijon.

The C9's records were; 21 races participated, 13 races won, 7 pole positions, and 5 fastest lap times. Notable drivers include Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter, Stanley Dickens, Mauro Baldi, Kenny Acheson, Gianfranco Brancatelli, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and Alain Cudini.

Check out this clip to hear the Sauber C9's magnificent sound...

There are cars from Gran Turismo that we don't want to be featured on Forza such as the Xsara, Hommell, Nissan R92CP, Ford Mark IV, XJ13, XJR9, Chaparral Cars, Pescarolo, Tommykaira ZZ, the old RUF RGT, 3400S, Honda Insight, the Audi R8 (take note, the Le Mans Prototype one), Isuzu cars, classic Mitsubishis, rally raid cars, Panoz Esperante GTR1, the Toyota 7 Race Car, GT-R LM Road Going Car, Minolta Toyota, Lister Storm, and even forgotten ones like the Venturi Atlantique or the Vector M12. I really don't want that to happen because it could be somewhat TIMEY-WIMEY. WIBBLY WOBBLY TIMEY WIMEY STUFF!

Anyway, let's see if we can push this latest victim of notable Gran Turismo cars robbed by Turn 10 for DLC purposes around the Top Gear track...



So, it did it in 1:07.056, and now, Top Gear Top Tip: If you see a car that was featured only in Gran Turismo franchise but robbed by the Forza franchise for DLC purposes, watch your backs for a series of complaints written in Japanese.