Following on from his attempt with Peter Brock in 1984, Larry Perkins returned to Le Mans four years later as part of Tom Walkinshaw Racing’s crack Silk Cut Jaguar team to contest the world’s ultimate endurance race.
Through his connection as the factory Holden representative in the Australian Touring Car Championship as Walkinshaw had taken it over in 1988 following the split with Brock in 1987.
At the height of the Group C era during the late-1980s when speed was at a phenomenal level, TWR’s creation was the Jaguar XJR-9LM. Specifically designed for Le Mans it featured a 7.0-litre Jaguar V12 engine enclosed with in a low-drag aerodynamic package reaching a top speed of 394km/h.
To put it in perspective, the XJR-9LM was 15km/h faster on the Mulsanne Straight (without chicanes) than today’s Hypercars and only a second behind making these Group C beasts an impressive piece of kit.
It proved a successful season for Jaguar as it took the Drivers’ title with Martin Brundle and Team’s Championship also including victory at Le Mans, the first for the marque in more than three decades.
Not only did the Jaguar program complete across globally in the World Sportscar Championship, but it also had a concerted effort in the IMSA Championship in America of which Perkins teamed with Derek Daly and Kevin Cogan for Le Mans as part of a four-car attack.
It was a case of ‘what if’ for Perkins as team politics came into play after just missing the podium in fourth at Le Mans, the sister entry of Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace greeted the flag.
“The 1988 race I was in a very competitive entry with Tom Walkinshaw, who had two teams there and I was in the ‘so-called’ American squad, with two cars being from England,” Perkins recalled.
“We initially ran to orders on boost pressure, which dropped us further and further back until Tony Dowe, who was Team Manager said ‘hey, no one’s observing anything because this team is struggling, crank the boost up a bit to match the other squads’. Then we started recovering from about eighth to fourth in the finish in a very competitive position.
“I was very happy with that.”
It was one of Perkins’ best drives as he mastered the XJR-9LM in the inclement conditions masterly in a race rarely witnessed by Australians at the time.
“The Jaguar had a lot of stiffness, very fast on the straight nudging up towards 390km/h, it was honking on!” Perkins reflected.
“In the wet I did a long, long stint, I think I did three stints in the rain at night on slicks and it was unbelievably taxing to me, it drained a lot of energy out of me.”