The Debora SP93 was a C3 class sports-prototype built by Debora for

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

and for the French Coupe Alfa Romeo. It was updated to the Debora LMP294 in 1994 for the same event. Both cars were fitted with a 3-litre

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six- cylinder piston engine where the cylinders and cylinder blocks share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, ...

, and both were run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by Didier Bonnet Racing. Only two chassis, #C393-01 for Le Mans and #C393-02 for the "Coupe Alfa Romeo", were built, and were used for both the SP93 and the LMP294.

Racing history

The SP93 first appeared in the test session for the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans, with

Yvan Muller Yvan Muller (born 16 August 1969) is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a four-time World Touring Car Championship, World Touring Car Champion, winning the title in 2008 with SEAT, in 2010 and 2011 wit ...

, Georges Tessier, Gérard Tremblay and Didier Bonnet listed to drive the car. Didier Bonnet Racing entered it, with the car being fitted with a 3-litre

and competing in the LMP class. The car set a time fast enough for 18th, and was the only LMP-class car to attend the event. Muller, Tremblay and Tessier drove the car in the race, but retired after 253 laps due to engine failure; however, they completed more laps than three of the finishers. For 1994, the car was updated into the LMP294, and Bruno Miot was selected to drive it in the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans test session; he set a time good enough for 19th overall, and second in the LMP2 category. For the race, Georges Tessier, Pascal Dro and Bernard Santal were selected to drive the car; this time, an accident forced the team to retire after 79 laps. The car was not raced again for four years, until R.D.C. Schweiz entered Josef Pfyl in the Most round of the

Interserie Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series. Created in 1970 by German Gerhard Här ...

in 1998; the car had been reverted to the SP93 specification, and was classified in the Div.II-Euroserie category. Pfyl was able to finish 15th overall in the first heat, and eleventh in class; this was not fast enough for him to compete in the second heat, and the chassis was never used again.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Le Mans Prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Debora vehicles Sports prototypes