Autoesque

Toyota is developing a petrol-hybrid LMP1 racing car to contest selected rounds of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship. That includes the Le Mans 24 Hours, and Toyota’s titanic challenge will be to overcome the recent dominance of diesel-powered entrants in that event. The hybrid powertrain is to be produced by Toyota in Japan, but the design and manufacture of the car’s chassis and the running of the race team has been entrusted to Toyota Motorsport in Cologne, Germany. There’s no word yet on possible drivers. Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota Motor Corporation Senior Managing Officer and Toyota Motorsport Chairman, said: “Toyota has entered Le Mans before, but by using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new challenge. We want to write a new chapter in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours, as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through our use of hybrid technology.” 2012 will see the inaugural running of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and it comes...

The grid for 2011’s Le Mans 24 Hours will see an all-Audi front row. Both R18 TDI Audi Sport Team Joest entries managed to just better the times set by any of the Peugeots, surely their greatest rivals for the race. Indeed, the first seven spots are occupied by either an R18 TDI or a 908 , both of which are diesel-powered. That dominance would suggest that efforts by race organisers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, to equalise performance between petrol and diesel cars hasn’t been successful. 2011 24 Heures Du Mans - Qualification Pos. Race No. Team Drivers Car Class Time 1 2 Audi Sport Team Joest M. Fassler / A. Lotterer / B. Treluyer Audi R18 TDI LM P1 3:25.738 2 1 Audi Sport Team Joest T. Bernhard / R. Dumas / M. Rockenfeller Audi R18 TDI LM P1 3:25.799 3 9 Team Peugeot Total P. Lamy / S. Bourdais / S. Pagenaud Peugeot 908 LM P1 3:26.010 4 8 Peugeot Sport Total F. Montagny / S. Sarrazin / N. Minassian Peugeot 908 LM P1 3:26.156 ...

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup organiser, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest , has now confirmed that the Zhuhai International Circuit will host the Chinese round of the series. Built in 1996, Zhuhai is in Guangdong Province close to Hong Kong and Macao. Perhaps the choice of venue isn’t too much of a surprise considering it was the location for the final event in last year’s inaugural ILMC. However, it seems that there was impressively stiff competition from Shanghai this time around - so much so that the ACO is now talking about having two Chinese races in 2012. Meanwhile, the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours race will now take place on Saturday 7th May, not Sunday 8th May as previously advised. Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 2011 Round Event Country Date 1 Sebring 12 Hours USA 19th March 2 Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours Belgium 7th May 3 Le Mans 24 Hours France 11th - 12th June 4 Imola 6 Hours Italy 3rd July 5 Silverstone 6 Hours UK 11th September 6 Peti...

Aston Martin Racing has unveiled its AMR-One LMP1 racer, which will be used to contest this year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Although it seems likely that the team will miss the opening round at Sebring, it is expected to participate in the remaining events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. Unlike the rival Peugeot 908 HDi FAP and Audi R18 TDI , the AMR-One’s two litre, six cylinder, turbocharged engine uses petrol, not diesel. That choice follows a commitment by ILMC organisers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, to modify the regulations to better equalise performance levels from the two fuels. Further emphasising the different approach from its two main opponents, the AMR-One is an open-cockpit car. The bespoke carbon fibre monocoque chassis is brand new, and features a prominent aerodynamic fin. When plans for an LMP1 challenger were first revealed last year, it was said that just six cars would be built. Aston Martin Racing has indeed been true to its word, and the factor...

Peugeot Sport has revealed the car that will be going head-to-head with the Audi R18 TDI in this year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup . It’s still called the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, which is rather confusing because there are plenty of differences compared to 2010’s version. Those changes are thanks to a revised set of regulations, designed to cut the continued dominance of diesel-powered cars in endurance racing. Not that Peugeot has been persuaded to switch to a petrol engine, though. The 908 is still fuelled by diesel, but its motor is no longer a 5.5 litre V12. In its place is a 3.7 litre V8, capable of producing 542 bhp (404 kW / 550 PS). An impressive figure, but that smaller capacity means the 2011 908 is around 147 bhp (110 kW / 150 PS) down on its predecessor. Having won the 2010 ILMC series, Peugeot is naturally eager to defend its title this season. The expanded championship now includes the Le Mans 24 Hours, a round which will receive particular focus given that all ...

BMW has confirmed its plans to compete in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with the M3 GT2. Following the withdrawal from the World Touring Car Championship by the BMW works entries at the end of last season, drivers Andy Prixaulx and Augusto Farfus have been redeployed to the ILMC programme and will contest all seven rounds. For the European races and the Chinese event, where two cars will be run by BMW Team Schnitzer, they will be joined by Jörg Müller as the third regular driver. Meanwhile, in North America, BMW Team RLL (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) will be fielding a pair of BMW M3 GT2s in every round of the American Le Mans Series . At the two ALMS races that also form part of the ILMC - Sebring and Road Atlanta - regular BMW Team RLL works drivers Dirk Müller and Dirk Werner will be supported by Prixaulx and Farfus, plus American drivers Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand. Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 2011 Round Event Country Date 1 Sebring 12 Hours USA 19th March...

Audi has revealed the car it hopes will add to the marque’s tally of Le Mans 24 Hours wins. The new R18 TDI will, like its R15 TDI predecessor, compete in the LMP1 class and it does run on diesel. But there are a couple of significant differences compared to the old car. Firstly, the R18 is a closed coupé. This change in configuration has come about because Audi believes that, compared to an open-cockpit car, benefits from improved aerodynamics will outweigh any time lost through slower driver change-overs. Secondly, the 5.5 litre V10 engine of the R15 has been dropped in favour of a 3.7 litre V6, which is coupled to a specially modified six-speed transmission. Such a radical down-sizing is due to revised regulations that are being introduced for the 2011 season. Their purpose is to erode the recent dominance of diesel-powered cars at Le Mans, with the last petrol car to take overall victory in the French 24 hours race being an Audi R8 back in 2005. Although the R18 complete...