1993 was to be the final year of the relationship between Repsol and Jesús Pareja, as he stuck with Porsche and Larbe instead of moving to the new Repsol Ferrari team. A Ferrari 348 had been provided with the same specifications as that which participated in the Italian GT series, and Tomás Saldaña was recruited to share the vehicle with Alfonso de Orleans.
The last-minute nature of the project meant that the team debuted late, at the Jarama circuit. Although it was not a winning car, the experience of Saldaña and Alfonso was able to compensate for a lack of power against the Porsches. Nevertheless, the team would not finish the race when Saldaña crashed out.
There was another retirement at Dijon, for which the team was strengthened by the presence of Andres Vilarino, and at Le Mans they would finish eleventh. Shortly afterwards, at Spa, Saldana and Alfonso placed ninth in a GT race held before the traditional 24 Hours event.
As the Ferrari 348 was continually trailing the Porsches, for 1995 Repsol decided to sign an agreement with Kremer to use one of the new Porsche GT2 machines with one of the previous year’s drivers. The agreement never really paid off, as Kremer was not able to focus fully on his Repsol commitments with his own team to run.
At the first race of the season, held at Jerez, Saldaña and Orleans placed ninth –the same spot that they took at Jarama after skipping the Monza round. Before the 24 Hours of Le Mans they raced at Nurburgring, but retired with a mechanical issue. At Le Mans, Miguel Angel de Castro was used as a third driver, but it was the experienced Saldaña who crashed out at night in torrential rain.
The Repsol Porsche GT2 was forced to withdraw, but did finish at Silverstone –placing twentieth after a multitude of problems.
At the end of the season, Saldaña took part in the Interserie Championship event at Jarama, with the Porsche Kremer CK7 and Repsol sponsorship. He took second in the first race and fourth in the second race, salvaging a tough season.
In 1996 the Porsche was entered into the GT1 class, but the results never appeared for the team. Frenchman Christophe Bouchut’s arrival as a substitute driver also disappointed, as he failed to finish many races.
The only highlight of the season was the entry in a race organised at Le Mans to establish which teams would be allowed to participate in the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Saldaña and Bouchut, behind the wheel of a Porsche Kremer CK8, placed second and third in the two prototype races. Alfonso and Miguel Angel de Castro took seventh and fifth in the Gran Turismo class, with a Porsche GT2.
Repsol sent the Kremer team to the GT World Championship for another year, with Saldana and Alfonso again returning. They were accompanied by Rossenblad and Bouchut and a new GT2–spec Porsche 911. The season began with a good result at the 4 Hours of Hockenheim, where Saldaña and Alfonso placed a promising eighth in their class.
Better still was the result taken at the 4 Hours of Silverstone, where they were fourth in the GT2 class with Rossenblad. A big crash in practice for the 4 Hours of Nurburgring prevented entry into the race and the subsequent 4 Hours of Spa. Later, at the 4 Hours of Austria, they placed far back despite Christoppe Bouchut’s presence. Their third finish of the year came at Donington Park, where they concluded the 4-hour race eighth in GT2. For the season finale at Mugello, they would retire during the race.
Finally, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for which the Porsche 911 GT2 had not qualified, Saldana participated with a Porsche Kremer K8 alongside Lassig and Rossenblad. The trio retired with an engine failure after six hours.
Endurance has been a great vehicle for strengthening the Repsol brand, through positive results and continued support for Spanish drivers.
