Mercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth: Stuttgart's Anglo-German Bathurst Champ
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Mercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth: Stuttgart's Anglo-German Bathurst Champ

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By MarkOastler - 08 December 2017
Phil Ward was one of few to race the 190E Cosworth in Australia, building a good relationship with Mercedes' competition department in Stuttgart that would pay handsome dividends. Here Ward is attacking the notorious kerbs of the concrete-lined Adelaide street circuit during a touring car support race at the 1990 AGP meeting.

Mercedes-Benz may not enjoy the same Bathurst heritage as Ford and General Motors, but it does share their rare distinction of winning ‘The Great Race’ at both Phillip Island and Mount Panorama. And the famous German marque had to wait more than three decades for its first and only Bathurst win, thanks to the 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth.

That was in the 1990 Tooheys 1000 when sports sedan ace Phil Ward and two-time Bathurst winner John Goss teamed up in Ward’s privately-entered Merc to win Class B (1601-2500cc) during the Group A era. It came almost 30 years after Bob Jane and Harry Firth teamed up in a 220SE ‘Finny’ to overcome a disintegrating Philip Island circuit and claim their first of three consecutive Armstrong 500 wins.

In finishing 12th outright, the Ward/Goss Mercedes was also the highest-placed non-turbo four cylinder car, beaten only by more powerful and much faster VL Commodore, Ford Sierra RS500 and HR31 Nissan Skyline opponents in the outright division.

Fittingly, it was also Ward’s last Bathurst appearance in a Mercedes and Gossy’s last Bathurst drive, allowing the multiple winner to bow out on a high note. However, Ward would continue to compete in the mighty Merc with the introduction of FIA 2.0 litre Touring Cars (Super Tourers) in 1993, which prompted purchase of an even hotter version to tackle the dominant works BMWs.

The 190E Cosworth also enjoyed great success in Germany’s premier touring car championship, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), winning numerous titles in the early 1990s. Why Mercedes-Benz came to rely on a British racing engine specialist to turn its baby Benz into a multiple DTM champion (and Bathurst winner) drew as much inspiration from Ford as it did Cosworth.

Mercedes-Benz enjoyed great success in the DTM with the definitive 190E Cosworth – the 2.5-16 Evolution 2. This is factory driver Klaus Ludwig in the AMG-prepared entry that dominated the 1992 season. What a gun-looking race car!

From rally car to race car

The history of the Cosworth-powered 190E can be traced to Mercedes-Benz’s ground-breaking W201 series released in 1982. It was the German marque’s first compact executive sedan designed to compete with home-grown rivals like BMW’s 3-Series and the Audi 80.

The W201 was sold under the 190 nameplate as either 190, 190E (for ‘Einspritzung’ or fuel injection) or 190D (diesel) models. Although smaller and more affordable than its larger siblings, Mercedes-Benz took no shortcuts during the W201’s design and development, attracting universal praise for maintaining the marque’s enviable reputation for over-engineering and peerless build quality.

With a compact 2665mm wheelbase, MacPherson strut front suspension and a sophisticated multi-link IRS, the 190 was a fine handler. And during more than a decade of production, it was equipped with a variety of four, five and six cylinder engines (petrol and diesel) ranging in capacities from 1.8 litres to 2.6 litres. 

The pair of 190E 2.3-16 Cosworths backed by Bob Jane in the 1986 Bathurst 1000 were immaculately prepared by RSM Marko in Graz, Austria. Looks like the fastidious approach included some sharply-dressed crew members.

However, it was the 190E with the fuel-injected 2.3 litre four that would inadvertently provide the basis of Stuttgart’s new touring car challenger for the 1980s and beyond.

The Cosworth-powered 190E was originally planned as a rally car, to replace the big V8-powered SLC coupes Mercedes-Benz had been campaigning in the late 1970s. The car to beat at the time was Ford’s mercurial Mk2 Escort RS, which combined a ferocious Cosworth-designed 2.0 litre engine with a small, light and agile chassis that set the benchmark for international rally success.

Mercedes-Benz followed suit with the light and compact 190 as its starting point. And just like Ford it commissioned Cosworth to design and develop an engine, based on the 190E’s 2.3 litre SOHC 8-valve four. With 136bhp in standard form, Mercedes wanted the competition version to produce more than 300bhp.

The Mercs had a difficult debut at Bathurst in 1986. Denny Hulme and Franz Klammer battled with a faulty clutch on their way to second in class, beaten only by a turbocharged Nissan Skyline.

Cosworth designed a new big-breathing cylinder head that drew on its vast experience with BDA and FVA Ford-based engines, featuring dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. This new 16-valve head was cast from aluminium alloy in Cosworth’s foundry in Worcester and mated to the 2.3 litre cylinder block. Cosworth also specified dry-sump lubrication, Kugelfischer fuel injection and forged aluminium pistons among many detailed changes.

However, during its development the international rally scene underwent dramatic change with the arrival of Audi’s ground-breaking Quattro in 1980. It soon became clear that the rear-wheel drive 190E would not be competitive against Audi’s turbocharged all-wheel drive supercar. 

In response Mercedes went touring car racing instead, during which time its primary goal became winning the DTM. However, as all cars competing in Germany’s premier touring car series had to be based on road-going models, Mercedes had to commit to series production of the 190E with a detuned version of Cosworth’s competition engine for road use.

The second 190E Cosworth at Bathurst in 1986, shared by Jorg van Ommen and Andrew Miedecke, was an early retirement after getting fenced on the first lap. This shot of the ill-fated No.14 was taken during practice earlier in the week, before the final driver pairings had been decided.

Called the 190E 2.3-16, the high performance compact Benz received an enthusiastic response on debut at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show, having already set new international class endurance and speed records in Italy when three examples maintained a stunning average speed of 138mph (221km/h) for 50,000km.

The 190E 2.3-16 made its German touring car racing debut in 1986, which was also the first year under the new DTM name. Although based on FIA international Group A rules, the DTM organisers had several means at their disposal to keep the competition close, including ‘success ballast’ which forced winners to carry extra weight at the following round.

Privately-entered 190E Cosworths proved immediately competitive against rivals including BMW 3-Series and 6-Series, Ford Sierra XR4Ti, Volvo 240 TurboRover Vitesse and Opel Manta, finishing a promising runner-up in the driver’s championship.

Phil Ward and businessman/racer Llynden Riethmuller joined forces to purchase both of the ex-Bob Jane 190E Cosworths and entered one of them in the 1987 Bathurst 1000. The car displayed the livery of Riethmuller’s industrial waste management company.

With Mercedes-Benz yet to commit to official factory support of the DTM, privately-entered 190E Cosworths found the going much tougher in 1987 with the arrival of BMW’s giant-killing 2.3 litre E30 M3 which with full factory support won the championship on debut (as it did in many other countries including Australia).

The Cosworth 190Es were clearly outclassed, prompting Stuttgart to respond in 1988 with official factory involvement and a larger capacity 2.5 litre version called the 190E 2.5-16. Although the new car won six races and again finished runner-up in the driver’s title, the DTM fell to Ford’s Sierra Cosworth RS500 despite extra ballast and turbo inlet restrictions.

By 1989 success in the DTM was of paramount importance to Germany’s major carmakers. Mercedes again raised the bar with the 190E 2.5-16 Evolution, featuring more engine upgrades including lighter rotating masses, improved lubrication and a shorter stroke/larger bore to allow higher revs for more power. Transmission, brakes and suspension also received numerous refinements. Only 500 road-legal versions were produced in series production (minimum required for DTM) but despite Mercedes’ best efforts, the BMW M3 won again.

Under the bonnet of Ward’s Mercedes at Bathurst in 1987. Note suspension strut tower brace and the engine slightly canted to the right for more bonnet clearance and lower centre of gravity. This remarkable 2.3 litre engine had around 340bhp and could safely spin to 8500rpm all day.

However this only made Stuttgart hungrier for success. For 1990 it released the definitive racing version of the 190E called the 2.5-16 Evolution 2. This included an even more powerful engine specification, larger diameter wheels and even electronic height adjustment of the suspension via a switch on the dashboard. The greatest visual change was a radical wind tunnel-designed body kit, with a huge rear wing and smooth wheel arch blisters resulting in a drag co-efficient of just 0.29 with increased downforce. Again only 500 were produced for road use.

Even so, despite numerous works entries (now eight cars!) and top driving talent, the 190E Cosworths were hampered by punitive weight penalties and bad luck on occasions to finish third in the 1990 driver’s title, which this time went to Audi’s V8 Quattro. The irony of being beaten by the same all-wheel drive technology that forced cancellation of its rally program was palpable!

However, proving that good things do come to those who wait, the 2.5-16 Evo 2 finally delivered in the 1991 DTM, finishing a close runner-up to Audi in the driver’s battle but winning both the teams’ and manufacturers’ championships.

The ultimate result came the following year, finishing 1-2 in the driver’s championship and claiming Mercedes’ second manufacturers’ crown. The Evo 2’s final season as Stuttgart’s main striker in 1993 ended strongly with another second place in the driver’s title before the venerable 190E was superseded by the new C-Class.

Ward’s 190E Cosworth looked great at Bathurst in 1988 – while it lasted. Coolant loss from a blown head gasket led to the car spinning off and getting buried up to its sills in the gravel trap. It took great persistence by Ward (aided by some well-lubricated spectators!) to extricate it.

The Australian Connection: Bob Jane and Phil Ward

The 190E Cosworth could not reach the dizzy heights of outright success in Australia that it enjoyed in the DTM. Local touring car racing differed greatly from the German scene, which ensured it could only be a class contender.

The first sighting of the 190E 2.3-16 in Australia was in 1986, the same year the car made its DTM debut. Tyre retailing giant Bob Jane, himself a Bathurst winner and multiple touring car champion, decided to add more international flavour to the Bathurst 1000 which was in its second year under international Group A rules.

After backing a Schnitzer-prepared works BMW 635 CSi in 1985 which finished second, Jane returned with two Schnitzer 635s for the 1986 race but both cars dropped out of the race after only 19 laps.

Jane had more success with a pair of 190E 2.3-16s built by the Austria-based RSM Marko team, which like the BMWs were crewed by a mix of local and overseas talent. One car was shared by New Zealand’s F1/Can-Am legend Denny Hulme and German star Franz Klammer, with fellow countryman Jorg van Ommen teaming with Australian open wheeler star Andrew Miedecke in the other.

1990 was the last Bathurst 1000 appearance by two-time winner John Goss (left) who went out a winner with a class victory in the 190E Cosworth he shared with Ward.

The main problem for the 2.3 litre German cars was that they were in Class B (2000-3000cc) with much faster turbocharged rivals including factory-backed DR30 Nissan Skylines, Volvo 240 Turbos and Mitsubishi Starions.

The Mercs qualified 23rd and 35th on the huge 59-car grid. A sobering reminder of the challenge they faced was the full-boost qualifying effort by Gary Scott in the works Nissan Skyline, nailing pole position at 2 min 17.159 secs. The fastest 190E Cosworth stopped the clocks at 2.23.19 – more than six seconds slower.

Sadly for Jane, the Van Ommen/Miedecke entry lasted less than a lap of the race after being shoved heavily into the fence at Murray’s Corner; the surrounding traffic was so dense the culprit could not be identified. The sole surviving Hulme/Klammer car, despite struggling with a failing clutch, managed to finish second in class and 12th outright.

The two 190Es were back in action at Melbourne’s Calder Park (also owned by Bob Jane) two weeks later for the 300km fifth round of the Australian Endurance Championship. This time Hulme and Van Ommen were allocated solo drives.

The Ward/Goss Merc managed to outlast some thin but quality BMW M3 competition in winning Class B (1601-2500cc) at Bathurst in 1990. Here the immaculately presented car is going like a train as Ward swings into Hell Corner.

In tricky weather conditions Hulme was in fine form, until a quick change to wet weather tyres revealed that one of the wheels had been incorrectly machined. The evergreen world champ lost crucial minutes getting it rectified. Van Ommen finished 12th outright while Hulme came home a distant 22nd. The German cars also competed in the touring car support race at the 1986 AGP in Adelaide a week later without a major placing, ending a lack-lustre three-race campaign.

However, it wouldn’t be long before the Mercs were back in action, after Phil Ward and wealthy businessman/club racer Llynden Riethmuller bought the pair. And thanks to RSM Marko changing manufacturers, the Aussies were able to source a large inventory of spares after a clean-out by the Austrian team. Ward would alternate between the two cars in the seasons that followed.

One car was back in action at Bathurst in 1987, which doubled as a round of the first and only World Touring Car Championship. Ward and Riethmuller teamed up in the 1601-2500cc class, but their 190E 2.3-16 had its work cut out against a swarm of factory-entered European and Australian BMW M3s. The Mercedes’ race ended after 70 laps with a front suspension failure. 

The following year the Merc’s race lasted only 27 laps. The high-revving engine blew its head gasket and sprayed coolant onto the front tyres as Ward was approaching McPhillamy Park. The car failed to turn and slid off the track broadside into the awaiting sand trap, where it finally dug in and came to a stop after a gentle 360-degree roll-over (since immortalised on Youtube). Fortunately the damage was superficial.

Ward and Goss proved to be a good driving combination in 1990, not only winning their class at Bathurst but also in the 500km endurance race at the newly-opened Eastern Creek Raceway later that year.

Ward skipped Bathurst in 1989 but returned for what would be his last Bathurst appearance in the venerable Merc. This time he secured the services of two-time Bathurst 1000 winner John Goss as co-driver, a year after Goss had driven one of Glenn Seton’s Ford Sierras in the 1989 race.

Ward said he chose Goss because he wanted a safe and experienced pair of hands that could look after the car and stay out of trouble, even if his lap times weren’t quite as fast as Ward’s in what would be Gossy's last competitive drive on the Mountain.

The competition in Class B (1601-2500cc) was substantially less than it had been in 1986, but Ward and Goss still had to contend with a very rapid NZ-entered BMW M3 driven by Kiwi stars Brett Riley and Craig Baird.

In qualifying the BMW and Mercedes were the closest in lap times, with Riley/Baird (2 min 26.24 secs) on pole and more than one second quicker. The rest were nowhere. In the race the Kiwi M3 built a substantial lead over Ward, helped by a flat tyre on the Merc which forced an early pit stop and a spirited fightback. 

Even so, the M3’s pace was so hot, the best Ward and Goss could hope for was that the BMW would break. And it did, retiring with clutch failure after 82 laps. From there the Merc powered home to an untroubled Class B victory and 12th outright. Given Gossy’s drama-filled victories in 1974 and 1985, his last success on the Mountain was remarkably straightforward.

The wild bodywork on Ward’s 2.5-16 Evo 2 ex-DTM factory racer had to be toned down to pre-Evo specs when it raced here in 1994, as it did not comply with local 2.0 litre touring car rules. He also had to use a de-stroked 2.0 litre version of the Cosworth engine, resulting in a small but crucial power deficit to the BMWs.

2.0 Litre Touring Cars

In 1993, motor sport’s local governing body CAMS announced a new two-class structure for touring car racing, which comprised the new domestic  5.0 litre Touring Cars (later renamed V8 Supercars) and FIA 2.0 Litre Touring Cars (later renamed Super Touring). The plan was for both classes to run separate races at each ATCC round, before combining for the main race.

However, this two-class arrangement lasted for only one season, with BMW M3 privateer Peter Doulman winning the first 2.0 litre title in 1993. Inspired by the international success of the British Touring Car Championship, the Aussie teams decided to break away from the V8s with a stand-alone show in 1994 called the Australian Manufacturers Championship.

In 1993 Ward had raced his Merc with the 2.3 litre engine reduced to 2.0 litres using a shorter stroke Harrop billet crankshaft. However, Ward lost some critical engine power in this transition, due to a  drop in compression that proved difficult to restore due to the very specific design of the Cosworth cylinder head.

Even so, Ward felt that the detuned ‘Cossie’ could still be competitive in the new six-round 1994 championship. To ensure his best chance of success, he secured a DTM-spec 2.5-16 Evo 2 built by the works-backed Zakspeed team.

Ward’s Evo 2 is sandwiched between Steven Ellery’s non-turbo 2.0 litre Ford Sierra Cosworth and Paul Morris’ works BMW 318i moments after the start of the 1994 AMC round at Eastern Creek. Cars and spectators were in short supply for the first year of the stand-alone 2.0 litre championship.

This amazingly high-tech racer bristled with exotic lightweight materials and hand-made components. Its design, technology and build quality were of Formula One standard, from an era when Mercedes-Benz had to win - at all cost. Ward still describes it as “the best touring car in Australia.”

And get this - it was free of charge! According to Ward, Mercedes-Benz was about to send a warehouse full of its 190-based factory racers to the crusher, as it had moved to the new C-Class for the 1994 DTM and no longer had any use for the ‘old’ cars. And they did just that but only after Ward, a favoured customer by then, had been given the pick of the bunch. Such a waste of some irreplaceable factory race cars!

The 1994 AMC attracted an interesting - if small - mix of 2.0 litre tourers headed by a pair of factory-backed E36 318i BMWs for Tony Longhurst and Paul Morris. In addition to Ward’s Evo 2 there were several privately-entered E30 M3s (with downsized 2.0 litre engines), Toyota Corollas, a lone Toyota Carina and even a Ford Sierra Cosworth RS minus its usual turbocharger.

No one was surprised to see the two works BMWs dominate the series ahead of John Blanchard’s  M3. Ward’s Mercedes finished fourth overall with several podium finishes, but his de-stroked engines could not bridge the crucial power gap needed to threaten the BMWs.

The last appearance of a 190E Cosworth at Bathurst was in 1994, when Ward ran a V8 Commodore plus a 2.0 litre entry. The 2.3-16 (one of the 1986 Bathurst cars) shared by Jamie Miller/Peter McKay finished sixth in class and 25th outright.

Ward’s Evo 2 returned briefly in 1995 for the renamed 2.0L Super Touring Championship, which was again dominated by the works BMWs. Ward suffered a sizeable crash at Oran Park’s second round after a front wheel split, which brought his final season in the car to a premature end.

He still owns the 2.5-16 Evo 2 and vows he will never part with it, having restored the rare factory racer to its original DTM specification.  Both of the ex-Bob Jane 2.3-16s, which Ward sold years ago, are also back in Australia under private ownership and undergoing restoration to their original 1986 Bathurst trim.

On reflection, the 190E Cosworth could have achieved much more in Australian Group A and Super Touring had it enjoyed the same local factory support enjoyed by BMW racers. Even so, we were privileged just to see these cars in action and, with a Bathurst class win, provide the closing chapter to the Mercedes-Benz success story in Australia’s greatest race