vLane Blog

2009 Le Mans 24-Hour preview

From Banovsky, Featured Contributor
Posted on June 12, 2009

Filed under Event, Audi, Feature, Europe, Aston Martin, History, Motorsport, This week, Social Media, racing, Chevrolet, Corvette, Le Mans, France, 2009

This guest post comes courtesy of Eric Trytko — sometimes known as “The Duke.” He's the host of RumblestripRadio , a podcast dedicated to motorcycle road racing, and runs a blog that covers all forms of motorsport, Rumblestrip.net.

"But, what is so important about driving fast?"

"Many people go through life doing things badly. Racing is important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life: anything that comes before or after is just waiting."

That answer comprises about 25% of Steve McQueen's dialog in the epic racing drama, Le Mans, yet sums up why drivers, mechanics, teams, and manufacturers continue to come every year to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Le Mans ranks either first or second — depending on your point of view — as one of the most important events in motorsport.

This year will be the 77th running of the legendary race and a over a quarter of a million people are expected to attend.  And yet people still ask the questions: “Is this race necessary?” or: “Why, in these times of economic unpleasantness, and anything with with an internal combustion engine is the devil incarnate, are we still doing this?”

Read through for the answer…

The answer is simple: racing improves the breed, and it does it better, faster and for less money than development in a lab.  Many of the things that we take for granted in the modern automobile were first developed in and for racing.  No other environment can and will accelerate the development of technology to make better, safer more environmentally-friendly vehicles as racing.

Other than the off-road endurance hell that is the Dakar Rally, no race will push the edges of engineering and development than 24 hours spent in June, in France.  To have a car that just finishes the race would be similar wear and tear to a year of stress testing a vehicle under standard laboratory conditions.

Advances like disc brakes, radial tires, lightweight composite materials, clean diesel technology (that gets 35% better MPG and produce less CO2 than gas-powered motors) all come from racing at Le Mans.  New rules for 2009-onward are also going promote and accelerate the development of hybrid systems, regenerative braking systems, and more sustainable biofuels. 

The development of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) devices in racing will directly effect platforms that go into production for road cars in the next two to four years.  The systems will be smaller, lighter and more efficient in road cars because to be effective in racing they have to be.

Let’s illustrate some specific examples of road cars today that can draw directly from racing at Le Mans.  We’ll start with the darlings of the eco-community, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius.  The aerodynamic design of the body comes from directly from Le Mans. While the design originated in the 30s, the "Kammback" rear end design was perfected in the 50s and 60s at LeMans on such cars as the Ferrari GTO, the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe, the Ford GT40 and the Porsche 917.

This aero design allows the car to slip through the air with a low coefficient of drag and improve overall milage — something that Honda and Toyota have used for their hybrids.

Audi created a revolution in racing when they decided to race a modern turbo diesel in 2006. Along with technology partner Shell, they have been able to advance the design of these motors and fuel, which, outside North America, are available in their full range of vehicles.  By using racing to improve the breed, Audi have created V8 TDI motors that are more powerful, get better fuel milage and emit less pollutants than their V6 gasoline-powered motors.

 

Talk with any engineer who has spent time working on a race team or program and he will tell you that "racing" time is much like "Internet" time: one year spent in the program is like three to five years or more of being in a normal production platform environment.  You learn more, learn faster and find things you thought impossible, aren't.  It changes your point of view forever. 

This learning environment is why you’ll find that Honda’s most talented and forward thinking people have all spent time in their racing program.

When the French TriColor drops at 3PM CET (9AM EDT) on Saturday the 13th for the start of the race (SPEED TV in North America) understand that the power, glory and bravery that you see on track directly impacts what you will be driving a few years down the road.

Note: Audi will be providing free Le Mans through social media, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and on the web.

Read More:

• Introducing: Jameson Riley
• Kart Racing: Sweetie Girl Racing Style
• Feature: Vintage Motorsports Photos

Banovsky is a featured contributor for vLane.