The 1989 World Sportscar Championship season was the 37th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1989 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship, which was open to Group C1 Sports Prototypes, Group C2 Sports Prototypes and IMSA GTP cars. The championship was contested over an eight round series which ran from 9 April to 29 October 1989.
Schedule Rnd Race Circuit Date 1 WSPC Suzuka (480 km) Suzuka Circuit 9 April 2 Coupe de Dijon (480 km) Dijon-Prenois 21 May 3 Trofeo Repsol (480 km) Circuito Permanente Del Jarama 25 June 4 Brands Hatch Trophy (480 km) Brands Hatch 23 July 5 ADAC Trophy (480km) Nürburgring 20 August 6 Wheatcroft Gold Cup (480 km) Donington Park 3 September 7 Coupes de Spa (480km) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 17 September 8 Trofeo Hermanos Rodriguez (480 km) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 29 October
Entries Group C1 Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds Silk Cut Jaguar Jaguar XJR-9Jaguar XJR-11 Jaguar 7.0 L V12Jaguar JV6 3.0 L Turbo V6 1 Jan Lammers All Patrick Tambay All 2 Andy Wallace All John Nielsen 1–5, 7 Alain Ferté 6, 8 3 Davy Jones 4 Alain Ferté 4 Repsol Brun Motorsport Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 5 Harald Huysman All Juha Varjosaari 1 Uwe Schäfer 2, 5, 7 Oscar Larrauri 2, 6, 8 Stanley Dickens 3 Franz Konrad 4 6 Jésus Pareja All Walter Brun 1–2, 4–8 Oscar Larrauri 3 16 Oscar Larrauri 1–2, 5, 7 Maurizio Sandro Sala 1 Stanley Dickens 2, 6 Uwe Schäfer 4, 6 Walter Lechner 4 Franz Konrad 5 Roland Ratzenberger 7–8 Massimo Sigala 8 Joest Racing Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 7 Bob Wollek 1–2, 4–8 Frank Jelinski 1–2, 4–8 8 Jean-Louis Ricci 1–2, 4–8 Claude Ballot-Léna 1–2 Henri Pescarolo 4–8 Frank Jelinski 8 Porsche Kremer Racing Porsche 962CK6 Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 10 Bruno Giacomelli 1–2 Giovanni Lavaggi 1, 3, 5–7 George Fouché 2–3, 5–7 Manuel Reuter 8 Franz Konrad 8 11 Masanori Sekiya 1 Hideki Okada 1 Courage Compétition Cougar C22S Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 13 Pascal Fabre All Alessandro Santin 1 Jean-Louis Bousquet 2 Bernard de Dryver 3 Hervé Regout 4–7 Oscar Manautou 8 Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche 962C GTi Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 14 Tiff Needell 1–2, 4–8 Derek Bell 1–2, 4–6, 8 Steven Andskär 7 15 James Weaver 4 David Hunt 4 Steven Andskär 5 Bertrand Gachot 5 100 Steven Andskär 1 George Fouché 1 Dauer Racing Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 17 Jochen Dauer 1–2, 4–8 Franz Konrad 1–2 Will Hoy 4–6 Juan Carlos Bolanos 8 Aston Martin Aston Martin AMR1 Aston Martin RDP87 6.0 L V8 18 Brian Redman 2, 4–8 David Leslie 2, 4–5, 8 David Sears 6 Stanley Dickens 7 19 David Leslie 6–7 Michael Roe 6–7 Team Davey Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 20 Tim Lee-Davey 1–5, 7 Jürgen Barth 1 Peter Oberndorfer 2 Max Cohen-Olivar 3 Desiré Wilson 4 Heinz-Jörgen Dahmen 5 Vern Schuppan 7 Alfonso Toledano 8 55 Vern Schuppan 1 Eje Elgh 1 Spice Engineering Spice SE89C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 21 Ray Bellm 1–4, 7–8 Eliseo Salazar 1, 3–7 Thorkild Thyrring 1 Costas Los 2 Tim Harvey 5–6 Bernard Jourdain 8 22 Thorkild Thyrring All Wayne Taylor All Eliseo Salazar 8 Nissan Motorsports International Nissan R88CNissan R89C Nissan VRH30 3.0 L Turbo V8Nissan VRH35Z 3.5 L Turbo V8 23 Kazuyoshi Hoshino 1 Toshio Suzuki 1 Julian Bailey 2–8 Mark Blundell 2–3, 6–8 Andrew Gilbert-Scott 4–5, 7 24 Masahiro Hasemi 1 Anders Olofsson 1 March 88S Nissan VG30 3.2 L Turbo V6 85 Takao Wada 1 Akio Morimoto 1 France Prototeam Spice SE88C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 26 Alain Ferté 1–2 Henri Pescarolo 1–2 Claude Ballot-Léna 4, 6 Costas Los 4 Bernard Thuner 6 Mussato Action Car Lancia LC2/89 Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8 29 Franco Scapini 1–2, 6–8 Gianfranco Tacchino 1 Andrea de Cesaris 2 Bruno Giacomelli 4–8 Massimo Monti 4–5 Enrique Contreras 8 Porsche Alméras Montpellier Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 34 Kunimitsu Takahashi 1 Stanley Dickens 1 Jacques Alméras 2–5, 7–8 Jean-Marie Alméras 2–5, 7–8 Toyota Team Tom's Toyota 88CToyota 89C-V Toyota 3S-GTM 2.1 L Turbo I4Toyota R32V 3.2 L Turbo V8 36 Paolo Barilla 1 Hitoshi Ogawa 1 37 Johnny Dumfries All Geoff Lees 1–3, 5, 7 John Watson 4, 6, 8 50 Roland Ratzenberger 1 Keiichi Suzuki 1 Swiss Team Salamin Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 40 Kenji Takahashi 1 Kazuo Mogi 1 Antoine Salamin 2, 4–8 Max Cohen-Olivar 2, 5–7 Giovanni Lavaggi 4, 8 41 Walter Lechner 2 Ernst Franzmaier 2 Team Sauber Mercedes Sauber-Mercedes C9/88 Mercedes-Benz M119 5.0 L Turbo V8 61 Mauro Baldi 1–4, 6–8 Kenny Acheson 1–4, 6–8 Jean-Louis Schlesser 1, 5 Jochen Mass 5 62 Jean-Louis Schlesser 1–4, 6–8 Jochen Mass 1–4, 6–8 Kenny Acheson 1, 5 Mauro Baldi 5 Obermaier Primagaz Porsche 962C Porsche Type-935/82 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 72 Harald Grohs 1 Akihiko Nakaya 1 Jürgen Lässig 2–5, 7–8 Pierre Yver 2–5, 7–8 Chamberlain Engineering Spice SE89C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 101 Nick Adams 8 Fermín Vélez 8
Group C2 Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds Chamberlain Engineering Spice SE89C Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 101 Nick Adams 1–7 Fermín Vélez 1–7 Spice SE86C Hart 418T 1.9 L Turbo I4 102 Luigi Taverna 2–7 John Williams 2–6 Hendrik ten Cate 7 Tomas Lopez 8 Quirin Bovy 8 France Prototeam Spice SE88C Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 103 Bernard Thuner 1–5, 7–8 Almo Coppelli 1–2, 4 Claude Ballot-Léna 3, 5, 7 Jean Messaoudi 8 Porto Kaleo Team Tiga GC288Tiga GC289 Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 105 Maurizio Gellini 2 Jari Nurminen 2 Stefano Sebastiani 4, 6–7 Vito Veninata 4 Mike Kimpton 6 Jean-Pierre Frey 7 106 Ranieri Randaccio 2–8 Pasquale Barberio 2–8 Tiga Race Team Tiga GC289 Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 107 Jari Nurminen 1, 3, 6–8 Luigi Taverna 1 Jean-Claude Justice 2 Jean-Claude Ferranin 2 Mario Hytten 3–4 John Sheldon 4–5 Stephen Hynes 5 Tony Trevor 6 Carlo Rossi 7 Oscar Hidalgo 8 Roy Baker Racing RBR GP Motorsport Tiga GC289Spice SE87C Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 108 John Sheldon 1 Leif Lindström 1 Philippe de Henning 2, 4–8 Dudley Wood 2, 4–7 Chris Hodgetts 8 PC Automotive Spice SE88CADA 02B Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 111 Olindo Iacobelli 2–8 Richard Piper 2–8 Pierre-Alain Lombardi Spice SE86CSpice SE88C Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8Buick 4.5 L V6 151 Pierre-Alain Lombardi 2, 4–7 Bruno Sotty 2, 4–7 Carlos Guerrero 8 Aurelio Lopez 8 Team Mako Spice SE88C Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 171 James Shead 2–7 Don Shead 2 Robbie Stirling 3–7 Andres Contreras 8 Giovanni Aloi 8 Automobiles Louis Descartes ALD 04ALD 06 BMW M88 3.5 L I6 176 Sylvain Boulay 2 Thierry Serfaty 2 François Wettling 7 Thierry Lecerf 7 ALD C289 Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 177 Alain Serpaggi 2–8 Louis Descartes 2–4 Marc Fontan 5–8 Didier Bonnet ALD 06ALD 05Tiga GC289 Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 178 Gérard Tremblay 2–7 Didier Bonnet 2 Jean-Claude Justice 3–5 Joel Aulen 6 Patrick Oudet 7–8 Gérard Cuynet 8
IMSA GTP Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds Mazdaspeed Mazda 767Mazda 767B Mazda 13J 2.6 L 4-Rotor 201 Takashi Yorino 1 Tetsuya Oota 1 Pierre Dieudonné 2, 4–8 David Kennedy 2, 4–8 202 Yoshimi Katayama 1 Yojiro Terada 1
Results and standings Race results
Rnd Circuit Outright Winning Team Group C2 Winning Team Reports Outright Winning Drivers Group C2 Winning Drivers 1 Suzuka No. 61 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 101 Chamberlain Engineering Report Jean-Louis Schlesser Mauro Baldi Fermín Velez Nick Adams 2 Dijon-Prenois No. 7 Joest Racing No. 101 Chamberlain Engineering Report Bob Wollek Frank Jelinski Fermín Velez Nick Adams 3 Jarama No. 62 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 101 Chamberlain Engineering Report Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass Fermín Velez Nick Adams 4 Brands Hatch No. 61 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 101 Chamberlain Engineering Report Kenny Acheson Mauro Baldi Fermín Velez Nick Adams 5 Nürburgring No. 61 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 171 Team Mako Report Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass James Shead Robbie Stirling 6 Donington No. 61 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 107 Tiga Race Team Report Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass Jari Nurminen Tony Trevor 7 Spa-Francorchamps No. 61 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 127 Team Mako Report Kenny Acheson Mauro Baldi James Shead Robbie Stirling 8 Mexico City No. 62 Team Sauber Mercedes No. 127 Team Mako Report Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass Andreas Contreras Giovanni Aloi
+Points system Category 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Group C1 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1 Group C2 22 17 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 3
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 entries earned two extra points for any finish within the overall top ten finishing positions.
Drivers championships Drivers only scored for their six best results. Points earned but not tallied toward their total are marked in parentheses.
World Sports Prototype Championship for Drivers