25 ans of passion for endurance racing 
2007 will mark a unique opportunity for each one of you to discover what was up each week
of the last 25 years!
WEEK 17: The 1995 C41; the very first Courage with a carbon shell
One should always remember the various technical improvements that have marked the History of a racing team. As a matter of fact, just after a rather "sad" period,
both for Le Mans and for the world of endurance racing, the ACO decided to accept all WSC spiders participating in IMSA races.
There was no need to tell it twice to Courage Compétition: the French team was among the first to launch a feasability study for a carbon monoshell. But for this new technique, the team
needed a new brain, and Paolo Catone, the Italian born engineer was the one to manage this ambitious project. Catone was not just a brilliant engineer, he was
also the man who had been working on the Peugeot 905 twice victorious in Le Mans 24 Hours (1992 and 1993). The fact that Peugeot had resigned after its
victories had left him hungry, and Yves Courage found the right words for this new challenge. The "real single seater" (as it was called by the American press), made
its first laps with by Pierre-Henri Raphanel on the Bugatti track in 1994, and was introduced to the American press in April 1995 in Road Atlanta; it was then
fitted with a V8 Chevy. Two months later the newborn participated in its first Le Mans. "Probably my biggest mistake ever" said Yves Courage who had not had
the time and means necessary to develop this new prototype before launching it on the difficult Le Mans track. The result was of course far from the one
expected: none of the two cars finished the race, and only two C41 chassis were sold in the US in 1996. The managers in Detroit never decided to get involved
for the engine part, and the C41 has only been fitted with 6-cylinder Porsche engines. One reasonable "wedding" that nevertheless led to a beautiful 4th
position overall in Le Mans 1997 for the car bearing the nice name of "Courage Vaillante".
