What could have been: When a rally king’s Le Mans debut was scuppered

It’s ironic that double World Rally champion and three-time Dakar Rally winner Carlos Sainz Sr’s topflight career would be launched by his specialism for asphalt. It was his back-to-back crowns aboard a Ford Sierra Cosworth RS in 1987 and 1988 in the Tarmac-heavy Spanish national rally division that earned a factory drive with Toyota on the world stage the following year.
The reputed Real …Keep reading