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Diesel dominates Le Mans endurance raceBy Gary Worrall | June 10, 2011
The home of one of the world’s fastest sports car races, and true test of stamina and durability, the Le Mans 24 Hours is being dominated by diesel engines.
There is a saying, sometimes used to help justify the massive budgets involved, that motor racing helps improve the breed by requiring constant innovation and improvement. This is certainly becoming true of the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race, held every June on the Sarthe circuit in France.
While it used to be the well-known sports car manufacturers like Porsche and Ferrari that garnered all the publicity, in recent years this has changed so that mass market manufacturers are crowing about their race wins – with diesel power.
Although Ferrari and Porsche, along with other big name sports car builders like Aston Martin, Lotus and the Chevrolet Corvette, are still chasing victory, they are relegated to class contenders while the outright prize is now the domain of the people who can build the best diesel powerplants.
While they might lack the crackle and pop of the high-revving petrol engines, there is no question the high performance diesels powering the Peugoet and Audi entries to speeds of more than 300km/h down the Mulsanne Straight have plenty of snap.
More importantly in the future of on-road engine development, these engines are not only being pushed through severe duty cycles, but face ever-tightening fuel restrictions to make them more efficient.
Fuel capacity is limited to 65 litres with a minimum distance of 10 laps (approximately 135km) between refills, requires the new engines to be frugal while still punching out in excess of 370kW (500hp) from the 3.7-litre turbocharged motors.
Despite these restrictions, the diesel cars qualified around seven seconds faster than the fastest petrol engine competition, with the Audi R18 TDI posting a best lap of 3 minutes 25.738 seconds. The top Peugeot recorded a fractionally slower 3 minutes 26.010 seconds. The first non-diesel is the Toyota-powered Lola in eighth place with a lap of 3 minutes 32.883 seconds.
Most importantly for the transport industry, the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP uses exactly the same technology as the 2-litre engine used in the company’s Partner and Expert light commercials, and has done so for five years.
The big question then becomes, is this the beginning of a new generation of diesel engines where longevity is traded for high power outputs and fuel efficiency?
Only time will tell, but to make your own mind up watch the 2011 version telecast live on One HD from 12.10am Sunday.
http://www.fullyloaded.com.au/technical-news/articleid/74195.aspx
