Stephen and Brenton Grove will make their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut next month as part of a three-strong team from Iron Lynx, which will pay tribute to a Mercedes classic.
The Iron Lynx entries will feature a livery reminiscent of the Sauber-Mercedes C9 from 1989 to celebrate the 1-2 victory achieved in that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and the return of the ‘Silver Arrows’ to the winner’s circle.
The C9 continued the association of Peter Sauber and Mercedes-Benz forged through the early-1980s as it returned the famed ‘Silver Arrows’ to race tracks following the Le Mans disaster of 1955.
Sportscar racing was very advanced at the time as the C9 led the way by featuring a aluminium monocoque chassis.
Many areas were revised including the rear suspension layout comprised of vertically positioned spring/damper units positioned horizontally across the gearbox aligning with the longitudinal axis of the car.
Aerodynamics were improved by re-positioning the radiator to the nose of the C9 to allow a modified spitter plate and a re-profiled rear wing centrally mounted helped improve downforce to 2,222.1kg in sprint form.
The Mercedes power plant was the twin-turbocharged M119HL V8 fettled by Heini Nader and proved light as it produced nearly 800hp at 1.9 bar boost revving to 6,500rpm.
Its debut in 1987 was underwhelming as further support came from Mercedes the next season improved results to five wins on the way to second behind the Jaguar team run by Tom Walkinshaw.
Le Mans was a failure in 1988 for Sauber-Mercedes due to the safety of Michelin tyres at high speed, but 1989 provided a significant change of fortune.
It was a domination by the team as it achieved all-but one victory in 1989 and secured Le Mans victory when during qualifying a C9 recorded 400km/h on the Mulsanne Straight.
The C9 was retired after the opening round of the 1990 season following another victory.
Leaving a lasting legacy including victory at the Autosport Awards for Racing Car of the Year in 1989 and it features in video games such as Gran Truismo.
The Groves have quite the Mercedes to live up to at Le Mans next month.