1988 World Sportscar Championship

The 1988 World Sportscar Championship season was the 36th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1988 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship which was open to FIA Group C and Group C2 cars and to IMSA GTP, GTX, GTO and GTU cars . The championship was contested over an eleven race series which ran from 6 March to 20 November 1988.

World Sports Prototype Championship for Drivers

231 drivers started in at least 1 (one) Grand Prix in the 1988 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship.

Race results

In order to be classified for points, a team had to complete 90% of the winner's distance. Further, drivers were required to complete at least 30% of their car's total race distance to qualify for championship points. Drivers forfeited points if they drove in more than one car during the race. Group C2 drivers earned extra championship points for any finish within the overall top ten positions.

Drivers championships

The respective driver championships only counted each driver's seven highest scores toward the final championship total. Points not counted toward the driver's tally are marked with parenthesis.

Table 1

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date
1	800 km Jerez	Circuito Permanente de Jerez	6 March
2	360 km Jarama	Circuito Permanente Del Jarama	13 March
3	1000km Monza	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	10 April
4	Autosport 1000 km Silverstone	Silverstone Circuit	8 May
5	24 Hours of Le Mans	Circuit de la Sarthe	11 June 12 June
6	Grand Prix ČSSR	Autodrom Brno	10 July
7	1000 km Brands Hatch	Brands Hatch	24 July
8	ADAC 1000km Nürburgring	Nürburgring	4 September
9	1000km Spa	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	18 September
10	Fuji 1000 km	Fuji Speedway	9 October

Table 2

Entrant	Car	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	1	Martin Brundle
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	1	Eddie Cheever
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	1	John Nielsen
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	1	Andy Wallace
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	1	Johnny Dumfries
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	2	Jan Lammers
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	2	Johnny Dumfries
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	2	Andy Wallace
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	2	Martin Brundle
Silk Cut Jaguar	Jaguar XJR-9	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	D	3	John Watson

Table 3

Entrant	Car	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers
Dollop Racing	Argo JM19B	Motori Moderni 2.0 L Turbo V6	G	101	Jean-Pierre Frey
Dollop Racing	Argo JM19B	Motori Moderni 2.0 L Turbo V6	G	101	Nicola Marozzo
BP Spice Engineering	Spice SE88C	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	103	Thorkild Thyrring
BP Spice Engineering	Spice SE88C	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	103	Almo Coppelli
BP Spice Engineering	Spice SE88C	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	103	Eliseo Salazar
BP Spice Engineering	Spice SE88C	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	111	Ray Bellm
BP Spice Engineering	Spice SE88C	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	111	Gordon Spice
BP Spice Engineering	Spice SE88C	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	111	Pierre de Thoisy
Kelmar Racing	Tiga GC288	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	106	Vito Veninata
Kelmar Racing	Tiga GC288	Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8	A G	106	Pasquale Barberio

Image Gallery

content image from 1988_World_Sportscar_Championship

F1ABY Commentary

Consider this – does the pursuit of a tenth victory truly define a man, or is it the relentless forging of character in the crucible of speed that holds the greater value? Brundle, a young lion, stalks the Imola asphalt, a shadow of Klaus Ludwig’s earlier dominance. The Jaguar, a beast of British engineering, claws at the limits, mirroring the ambition simmering within its driver. Spice, ever the stoic, navigates the intricacies of the Spice C2, a testament to meticulous design and calculated risk. The air hangs thick with the scent of burning rubber and the unspoken pressure of expectation. Bellm, a quiet force, represents the heart of engineering, a subtle revolution in the pursuit of aerodynamic perfection. This season, it’s not merely about crossing the finish line first, but about the stories etched onto these drivers’ souls.

The rain in Dijon wasn’t merely dampening the asphalt; it was washing away the carefully constructed facades of ambition surrounding those Jaguar drivers. Let’s see if he can hold onto that.

F1ABY Trivia

The air hung thick with the scent of burning oil and ambition at Donington Park – a fitting backdrop for the Mazda’s relentless assault. Those 13J engines, churning with their unique 2. 6-liter four-rotor configuration, were a symphony of controlled chaos, each revolution a testament to Japanese engineering precision. It was a brutal ballet of power, a dance between driver and machine, where the slightest miscalculation could shatter the rhythm. Bellm, cool and deliberate, seemed to understand the engine’s temperament better than most, coaxing every last horse from its rotor heart.

The rain in Dijon clung to the asphalt like a desperate man’s regret – a slick, insistent grey that devoured the meticulously crafted lap times. Forty-seven drivers attempted to wrestle control from it, but only six truly conquered the circuit, a stark illustration of the brutal selectivity of speed. Consider the Mazda 13J, a rotor-powered beast, claiming a mere 18% of the podium finishes, a disheartening whisper amidst the roaring engines. Twenty-three drivers, a significant cohort, began the season with a clean slate, yet only six etched their names into the annals of the championship—a testament to the capricious nature of motorsport’s dance.

F1ABY Tales

The rain hadn’t relented, not a drop. Bellm wrestled with the Jaguar, a white fury against the grey, the telemetry screaming about the rear end wanting to detach with every turn. He glanced at Spice, a ghost beside him, utterly still, a study in controlled intensity. A broken transmission, a gamble on Michelin’s wet-weather compound – it was a tapestry of risk woven into the very fabric of his being. The scent of ozone hung heavy, a metallic tang mingling with the damp earth. You could almost hear the whispers of his father, a racing engineer, urging him on, a silent, insistent pressure. This wasn’t just about victory; it was about honoring a legacy forged in the crucible of motorsport. The Jaguar, a beast of steel and ambition, continued its desperate dance.

The rain in Dijon always smelled of wet asphalt and regret, a scent Sebastien Bourdais seemed to instinctively absorb. He sat, a young man wrestling with the immensity of his potential, the Jaguar’s snarling engine a counterpoint to the quiet intensity in his eyes. A flicker of frustration crossed his face as he reviewed telemetry, the data stubbornly refusing to yield the advantage he craved. Bourdais, a whirlwind of youthful ambition, was acutely aware of the weight of expectation, the whispers suggesting he was destined for greater things than simply chasing the Silk Cut Jaguar’s tail. It was a familiar dance, this tension between promise and performance, a constant companion for a driver hungry to etch his name into the annals of racing. The team, sensing his unease, subtly adjusted the car's balance, a quiet acknowledgement of the battle raging within the young Frenchman. Victory, he knew, wouldn't simply be seized; it would be earned, forged in the crucible of this relentless pur...