Monthly Archives: June 2012


With 3 hours down and a series of pit stops out of the way, things have settled down… 1

With 3 hours down and a series of pit stops out of the way, things have settled down a bit at Le Mans. The #1 Audi is now leading the 2nd place +TOYOTA by 52 seconds, with the second Toyota close behind. The other Audis are currently in 4th, 5th and 6th.

The +Nissan DeltaWing just set it's fastest lap of the race so far at 3:46.737 which would put it mid-pack in P2

#lemans  

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ALMS Official · Aston Martin · Audi Sport · Corvette Racing · Dunlop · Flying Lizard · History · JMB Racing · JRM · Krohn Racing · Level 5 Motorsport · Michelin · Nissan · OAK Racing · Oreca · Pescaro…

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Well that didn't take long

The American Le Mans Series announced that Dempsey Racing is the first team to commit to running the new +Mazda USA diesel racing engine in the LMP2 class in 2013 and they pan to be ready for the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Dempsey also hopes to take its program to France for Le Mans.

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Mazda Announces SKYACTIV-D Program for P2 | American Le Mans Series
LE MANS, France (June 16, 2012) – Mazda Motorsports today announced that it will sell racing versions of its new SKYACTIV-D CLEAN DIESEL engines to teams competing in the American Le Mans Series prese…

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After an extended stint in the pits to address a gearbox actuator issue, the +Nissan… 1

After an extended stint in the pits to address a gearbox actuator issue, the +Nissan DeltaWing is back on track, 15 laps down from the overall leaders.

As I write this post, the #2 Audi hybrid just came into the pits and was pushed back into the garage. No news on why. The Audis are apparently run 12 laps per tank of fuel now. Toyotas still in 2nd and 3rd now.

GT is still a tight battle with the 74 Corvette leading Ferrari, Aston and Porsche on the same lap after 2.5 hours

Updated, the #2 Audi is back on the track after a 4 minute stop running 5th behind #1 Audi, 3 Audi R18 Ultra and #7 Toyota, #8 Toyota
#lemans

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It's fascinating to listen the +Audi International  flywheel as the R18 e-tron… 2

It's fascinating to listen the +Audi International  flywheel as the R18 e-tron makes its way around the track. Oddly the the whistle-like sound goes down in pitch as the flywheel spins up during braking while it goes up during the acceleration discharge.
#lemans24h #lemans #audir18etronquattro  

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90 minutes in and it looks like the +Nissan DeltaWing is having issues with its gearbox…

90 minutes in and it looks like the +Nissan DeltaWing is having issues with its gearbox actuation system.

Meanwhile the four hybrids lead the way with the Audis ahead of the Toyotas and Aston Martin, Corvette, Porsche and Ferrari battling it out in GT

#lemans  

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It' looks like the Audis may have a very important advantage over the Toyotas… 1

It' looks like the Audis may have a very important advantage over the Toyotas at Le Mans today. As the cars were doing their second round of pit stops Johnny Mowlem mentioned that the gas-hybrid electric Toyotas were running 10 laps per tank while the diesel diesel-hybrid Audis were able to go 11 laps.

At a race like Le Mans where the track is 8.5 miles long, going an extra lap between stops can make a huge difference over 24 hours. When the cars are being fueled, no other work like tire changes can be done until the fueling is finished. The longer they can run between stops, the better the odds of victory. This has been a critical part of Audis success over the past decade.
#lemans #audi #toyota #fuelefficiency  

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Before the start of the race in France today, +Mazda USA announced that it would… 1

Before the start of the race in France today, +Mazda USA announced that it would be offering a racing version of its new SkyActive-D diesel engine for use at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Until now only +Audi International and +Peugeot have raced diesels at Le Mans and only in the top LMP1 class. These have all been dedicated racing engines in factory built cars.

As it has so often in the past, Mazda is taking a different path. Its new diesel will be conform to the lates LMP2 rules that require less expensive production-based engines. If this engine is successful we could see quite a few more diesels at the French enduro next year.

I'll be curious to see if Dyson Racing switches over to the Mazda diesel next year for its ALMS machines. For the past several years, Dyson has run Mazda-powered Lola coupes running on biobutanol.

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Unfortunately +Highcroft Racing isn't posting anything here about the progress…

Unfortunately +Highcroft Racing isn't posting anything here about the progress of the +Nissan DeltaWing but they are tweeting from the track at https://twitter.com/#!/highcroftracing.

Nissan – 24 Hour of Le Mans

June 2012

Photo: Drew Gibson / Nissan

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On the Le Mans Live feed, Johnny Mowlem is doing the English commentary right now….

On the Le Mans Live feed, Johnny Mowlem is doing the English commentary right now. I had a chance to interview Johnnny back in 2009 when he was driving for Corsa Motorsports in the American Le Mans Series. At the time Corsa was getting ready for its first race with a hybrid LMP1 car.

The hybrid electric system was developed by Zytek, a UK-based engineering firm with a long history of developing hybrid drive systems.

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Green Fuels Forecast
Green Fuels Forecast, web-based coverage of the alternative fuel automotive sector including batteries, electric and hybrid drive, diesel, hydrogen and biofuels

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is underway and you can follow the live timing and video…

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is underway and you can follow the live timing and video stream from the cars at the official website.

After 25 minutes, three of the +Audi USA R18s are up front with the #1 hybrid leading the way. The +TOYOTA TS030s are 4th and 5th with the last Audi rounding out the top six. In GT, the Aston Martin Vantage is in a close battle with Oliver Gavin's Corvette with a Ferrari 458 in 3rd.

At this point, the +Highcroft Racing +Nissan DeltaWing is running 30th overall.

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LeMans TV Live
ALMS Official · Aston Martin · Audi Sport · Corvette Racing · Dunlop · Flying Lizard · History · JMB Racing · JRM · Krohn Racing · Level 5 Motorsport · Michelin · Nissan · OAK Racing · Oreca · Pescaro…

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