Japan's Forgotten Supercar

Regrouping for next year's event. The club returned with a redesigned RL80 and a year of experience. She finished seventh on the grid, but mechanical problems set her back. The gearbox failed shortly after the flag fell. You'd think Dom would have retired, but Hayashi couldn't bear to see an early exit two years in a row. They repaired the car at a local shop and took it back to the track. It didn't matter that the last ones died. Finishing the race was an achievement in itself. Dom became the first Japanese competitor to complete the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A Mazda Sigma MC74 participated in 1974, but the result was not classified because it did not complete the minimum required laps. The Dome may have made history in 1980, but its financial prospects seemed uncertain until 1981. Rowland, the team's main sponsor up to that point, withdrew support for it. It seemed like his days on the track were behind him. Machine tool company AMADA stepped in and ensured that Dome would at least compete at Le Mans that season. Even with the RL-81 upgrade, the team earned another dropout. Doom was turned around at 82. The Group 5 and Group 6 classifications were dissolved and in their place were the Group C regulations.

Hayashi wanted to adapt the existing layout to the new rules, although due to his increasingly limited resources, was limited. how far I could go. Dom outsourced the work to, in his words, “the cheapest car repair shop in the UK”. Some time after delivering the order, he went to the workshop to see how things were going. Instead of a team of engineers, Hayashi was faced with a man working hard on the car. Dome was concerned about whether RC-82 would be completed on time. Surprisingly, the British company met the schedule. Sometimes you get what you pay for and other times you get a lot more.

The team came into the 6 Hours of Silverstone with years of racing experience and a more powerful car, but that didn't matter. Driver Chris Craft only completed 116 laps before having to retire. Things were going in the wrong direction heading into Le Mans. His performance there was disappointing and somewhat predictable. The RC-82 lasted only 85 laps. The long-tailed Zero Descendants were not much taller for this world. On the other hand, the leadership continued to resist. It has deepened its relationship with Toyota, developed its own engineering facilities and become a respected company both nationally and internationally. Without those prior experiences, they would not have been prepared to face these challenges.

It's amazing what is possible when you dare to dream!