Mercedes is currently a continuing and dominant force in Formula 1, but its record at Le Mans is rather more sketchy.
The horrific accident in 1955 saw the Silver Arrows stay away from motorsport for decades. Then, in 1985, a Sauber Mercedes driven by John Nielsen performed a back flip over the Mulsanne hump (a feat emulated by flight officer Mark Webber and others again in 1999).
In 1988, the team was providing stiff competition to the Jaguars in Group C races but, again at Le Mans, its aero calcs were not so clever. The maximum speed on most circuits was around 200mph, but on the Mulsanne
