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The manufacturer tie-up that put Sauber on the map

In the first of a series of features this week celebrating 50 years of the much-loved Swiss outfit, we revisit how Sauber's partnership with Mercedes helped the privateer take its next step to becoming a major force in sportscar racing

If you'd predicted at the start of the 1980s that Sauber would win the Le Mans 24 Hours by the end of the decade, you'd have been laughed right out of the tiny town of Hinwil where the team, now racing as Alfa Romeo in Formula 1, is based to this day.

An operation run out of a British Leyland dealership had yet to make its mark on the international sportscar scene, but it was set on course for victory in the French enduro as much by luck as by judgement.

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