Courage C30LM - n°13 - Le Mans 1993 Coming out of the Mulsanne corner

Courage C30LM - n°14 - Derek Bell, Lionel Robert & Pascal Fabre

The Courage C30, also known as the Courage C30LM, was a

Group C2 Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with '' Group A'' for touring cars and '' Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top to ...

sports prototype A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest-level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are n ...

, designed, developed and built by French manufacturer

Courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

in 1993. It famously contested in the

1993 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 61st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 19 and 20 June 1993. The race was won by Peugeot Talbot Sport, with drivers Geoff Brabham, and Le Mans rookies Éric Hélary and Christophe Bouchut completing 3 ...

, with drivers Derek Bell and

Pierre Yver Pierre Yver (born 23 July 1947) is a French racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invent ...

finishing in 10th and 11th place, respectively.

Development history and technology

The C30 was the first Courage

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

car to bear the

Yves Courage Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fren ...

name. Until 1993, his sports cars ran under the type designation Cougar. In the absence of a championship, the C30s were primarily built for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As with the Cougar racing cars, Courage also relied on Porsche technology for the C30. The car competed in the small Le Mans prototype class, the C2 class. The 3-liter Porsche 935 turbo engine was used in the closed racing car. The gearbox was also supplied by Porsche. The chassis was taken from the

Porsche 962 The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in its Group C form) is a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the Europ ...

but modified and aerodynamically modified by Courage. Unlike most Le Mans starters, who used Michelin or Dunlop tires, Courage relied on Goodyear racing tires.

Racing history

Yves Courage signed the five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell and the Frenchman Pascal Fabre as his regular drivers. In the race, the C30 had no chance of winning the class they had hoped for. This went to the Toyota 93C team with Roland Ratzenberger, Mauro Martini, and Naoki Nagasaka at the wheel, who finished fifth overall. Overall victory went to the Peugeot 905 driven by Éric Hélary , Christophe Bouchut and Geoff Brabham . The two C30s finished tenth and eleventh in the overall standings and finished fifth and sixth in the C2 class.

Courage C32 (C32LM)

The car was upgraded to the Courage C32 (also called Courage C32LM) designation in 1994. The car took part in the 1994 Le Mans 24 hour race. As with the previous cars of the French manufacturer, the Courage C32 was also equipped with many mechanical components derived from Porsche. The engine was the 3-liter turbo boxer from the Porsche 935 and the transmission was also provided by Porsche. The car wore Michelin racing tires. The Courage at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1994 fielded three C32s: one finished seventh overall, while the other two retired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courage C41 Le Mans Prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Mid-engined cars Sports prototypes Cars introduced in 1993 C30 Cars powered by boxer engines Group C