Following Mazda's success in winning the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans with its rotary powered 787B, Mazda had hoped to continue in sportscar racing and prove that its one win was not a fluke. However, with the reorganizing of the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 by the FIA, Mazda found itself with a problem in that its rotary engines were now ineligible. Instead, teams would be required to use technologically-advanced 3.5L powerplants similar to those used in Formula One. Mazda, not having had many racing engines outside of its rotaries, decided that the cost of developing an entirely different engine was not worth it, especially with budgetary concerns within the company. At the same time, if Mazda was to use a V10 powerplant, it would be required to build an entirely different car, since the 787B could never hold a V10.