The 1987 Sauber racing schedule was aggressive. The goal was not to seriously contest any championship, but to develop the new C9 as rapidly as possible. A week before the C9's World Sportscar debut, the C9 had been entered in the first round of the German Supercup. Sadly, the team never made it. At Hockenheim, Mike Thackwell drove the C9 to a third place on the grid but was unable to complete the race distance.
At Nurburgring on September 20, coming off the C9's first pole at the Spa 1000km WSC race, Thackwell and Jean-Louis Schlesser put their newly Michelin-sponsored Sauber race cars second and third on the grid. The big news was that the Sauber-Mercedes C9 earned its first victory at this event, plus a third place finish! The team was elated, and though the season was at its end, the future was looking bright.
