The impressive trio of John Watson, Raul Boesel and Henri Pescarolo were teamed together in the second of three cars entered and managed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The Irishman, Brazilian and Frenchman were an experienced team assigned to an "experienced" car. Chassis no. 287 had worn the #4 at Le Mans in 1987 and would be allocated the #3 for the 1988 edition of the endurance classic.
The #3 car sat 12th on the grid, the three veterans sharing the wheel having known that pole at Le Mans is for bragging rights only and has little bearing on the outcome.
An epic battle raged from the moment the cars accelerated out of the last corner, charging for the start-finish line like missiles. The head of the field was all Porsche 962Cs, Jaguar XJ-R9 LMs, and a pair of determined Toyota 88Cs. As sun moved across the sky and day became night, Le Mans regulars were surely recalling the famous Ford-Ferrari battles, the oh-so-close finish in 1969, or the records being completely destroyed in 1971.
For Watson/Boesel/Pescarolo, however, the day was done at 11:11pm when a voice came over the radio and the pits learned that Boesel was stranded at Arnage. The leaping cat had lost drive, a broken transmission the culprit. But that's Le Mans. Jaguar knew the challenge and had come prepared. Boesel walked back to the pits while the race boiled on.
