Mark Blundell (L)

With just ten days to go until the 78th running of the world's toughest and greatest motor race, we count down to the big day with a series of past and present Le Mans features.

20 years ago Mark Blundell and the Lola built Nissan R90C stunned the sports car world by claiming pole position at Le Mans with an astonishing lap of 3m27.020s, some six seconds faster than the next car.

For the first time, Blundell speaks in detail and exclusively to Lola-Group.com about his ‘lap of the Gods’ in the 1128bhp beast!

“It was one of those situation where everyone wanted to qualify the car. I ended up doing a flip of the coin with my team mate Julian Bailey and it was based upon whoever won the toss of the coin would qualify the car!

“It was dusk and it was a situation where I hadn’t completed one flying lap with that car and went out on the circuit and didn’t understand what the tires were going to do. I went out on race tires as well which was better than quali’s as they got chewed with all the power we had.

Mark Blundell's Lola Nissan 90C

“I got halfway round the lap and had a little call over the radio from one of the Japanese engineers saying ‘abort the lap because the engine is overboosting badly’. So, I pulled the radio plug out, I thought, ‘screw this, I’m going for it’. I waited all week, the thing can blow up, I don’t really care, I just want to get a lap together and that’s what I did basically. The first time I hit the throttle pedal was the first time I actually got to feel 1128 horsepower, it was a tremendous amount of power. I remember going up to the first chicane and still spinning the rear wheels in fourth gear.

“It was just a great car and linked with that engine it was a rocket and I think we did 237 miles an hour on the Mulsanne straight and that was the first year they put the chicanes in!

“Halfway round the lap I plugged the radio back in after fumbling for the lead and got the message that we got pole by 6 seconds and I think it stands to this day to be the biggest margin ever and I think I’m down as the youngest guy ever to have pole position at Le Mans. It was also the first time a Japanese manufacturer was on the pole for Le Mans. There were a lot of faces smiling in the pits but a couple of Japanese guys were not that happy with me as they were so scared that the engine let go. From my point of view, I was out to make a name for myself and luckily that’s what I did.”