Table of contents for August 2024 in Racecar Engineering

The LMP2 class at Le Mans arguably reached its peak between 2021 and 2023, when several Hypercar-bound competitors were racing. The likes of JOTA, Team WRT, Penske and Prema have since moved on to the top category, taking a host of star drivers with them. While that slightly dimmed the spotlight on LMP2 this year, the level of competition didn’t feel diluted as only 40 seconds separated the top five. Multiple safety cars, mixed conditions and a field of identical ORECA 07 Gibsons, which this year had to use the same mandatory gear ratio set, helped keep things close between the experienced teams still involved. The shift of LMP2 talent to Hypercar also opened the door for newcomers to shine. Two members of the winning United Autosports line up were…

There’s a popular internet meme where a child asks his mother if they can have a certain fast food for dinner and she replies, ‘We have that at home’, accompanied by a photo of a sorry-looking microwaved burger. A motorsport version might go something like, ‘Mum, can we have NASCAR?’, to which she replies: ‘We have NASCAR at home’, accompanied by a shot of a Euro Series first-corner pile up. Admittedly, that was the uninformed, and perhaps rather unfair, impression this author had of Europe’s FIA-sanctioned stock car series before attending the recent British round, held at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit as part of the American SpeedFest event. The NASCAR Euro Series is a highly competitive championship now in its 16th season. Far from being a poor relation to…

The topic of dynos, or dynamometers to give them their correct name, used to be a relatively simple one. Racecars only had a combustion engine and the dyno was a tool to calibrate that engine and ascertain its power output. However, in the modern age, where hybrid systems and electrification are in play, the optimisation of racecars is an altogether more complex matter. Dynos and their supporting systems have needed to evolve. A peek inside any top-flight manufacturer team in Formula 1 or sportscars will reveal a host of different powertrain test beds, featuring everything from standalone engine / motor dynos to fully dynamic, four-wheel-drive rigs capable of running a complete vehicle powertrain through realistic race simulation scenarios. The basics There are three distinct types of powertrain dyno. At the…

MotorSport Vision (MSV) has confirmed major upgrades to its GB3 and GB4 platforms for 2025. The Tatuus GB3-25 model features DRS for the first time, the drag reduction system part of a major upgrade to the aerodynamics that also includes an increase in downforce of 35 per cent for the same drag as the 2024 car, and improved cooling. The GB3-25 is the first to be built to the new FIA Regional F3 regulations. It features wider tyres front and rear, 30bhp more from the Mountune engine to 280bhp and a larger fuel tank to manage fully sustainable fuels. The car features improved front and rear crash structures, and a titanium Halo, which helps to bring the weight of the car down to 560kg, minus fuel and driver. The Tatuus…

Six-time series champion, Johan Kristoffersson, will seek to defend his FIA World Rallycross title this year in a 70 per cent renewable-fuelled, ICE-powered Volkswagen Polo, switching from the all-electric powertrain that he has used in the past. The change has come after a new partnership was announced between Kristoffersson Motorsport and HORSE Powertrain, united by the Sweden-based Aurobay company. The team will field a pair of VW Polo KMS 601 RXs for its drivers, Kristoffersson and Ole Christian Veiby. ‘In the Volkswagen Group, where I was trained, the motto has always been that all motorsport should ultimately benefit the consumer,’ says Kristoffersson. ‘There is nothing that drives development forward as effectively as competition, and with this project we can take part in developing tomorrow’s engines.’ The WRX has this year…

The proportion of the combustion engine in the power unit has been significantly reduced In Formula 1, eras are not just shaped by the teams and drivers competing, they are also defined by the technical regulations that underpin them. In 2014, the series entered the turbo-hybrid power unit era, followed by the comeback of ground-effect cars in 2022. In 2026, both the engine and chassis regulations will undergo far reaching changes. There is no paradigm shift on either side, but the rule changes as a whole will lead to a ‘moderate revolution’, according to FIA single seater director, Nikolas Tombazis. In truth, the revolution began several years ago. The FIA, Formula 1 and engine manufacturers sat around the table to negotiate the engine of the future. The manufacturers already involved…

LE MANS – RACE REPORT When the chequered flag fell at the end of the maiden 24-hour race for GT3 cars at Le Mans, it was a team with history in the event’s preceding GTE era that were celebrating. Manthey Racing, a three-time winner in the GTE-Pro category, prevailed in the new LMGT3 class, despite losing one of its front-running Porsche 911 GT3 Rs to a gearshift actuator issue on Sunday morning. The German squad’s sister no.91 car remained in the hunt and resisted a challenge from the no.31 BMW M4 GT3 in the closing hours to take the class win. ‘We made no mistakes on the no.91,’ said Manthey managing director, Nicolas Raeder. ‘The no.92 had the same speed. We made no mistakes there either, with a good performance…

At 90, the Vintage and Sports Car Club (VSCC) is almost as old as some of the cars that compete in its events. It’s also old enough to be eligible to enter some of its own races! Joking aside, the organisation has done much in that time to keep historic racecars alive and kicking. These days, much of the VSCC’s activity is based around vehicles built in the decade the organisation was founded (the 1930s) and the decade before that. Or, to put a suitably historical boundary on it, cars built before the Second World War, also known as pre-war. The club organises a selection of race meetings, sprints and hillclimbs in the UK and, such is the popularity of its racing, a small industry has grown up around racecars…

TECHNOLOGY – TYRE RECYCLING Over the last few years, we have seen plenty of promises, and steady progress, towards reducing the carbon footprint of motorsport. Most notably, Formula 1 has committed to a net zero carbon future by 2030, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions by 50 per cent and switching to 100 per cent sustainable fuel for the next era of F1 cars coming in 2026. The latest impact report shows that the championship is on track, with the 2022 season reporting a 13 per cent lower carbon footprint than the baseline of 2018. To achieve the remaining 37 per cent CO2 emission drop, F1, together with the incumbent teams and promoters, are continuing to use renewable energy, reduce freight where possible and maximise any and all opportunitites…

The FIA World Rally Championship has performed a spectacular u-turn on its plans to remove the hybrid system from its Rally1 cars at the end of the 2024 season, instead confirming rules stability until the end of 2026, as originally planned. The decision to not make the previously announced changes extends to Rally2, which was going to receive an optional upgrade kit to close the performance gap to Rally1. However, damage has already been done to privateer companies that have seen orders cancelled following the decision in February to ditch hybrids and create a platform that would lead to cheaper top-class cars that could be developed around the world. During an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in June, the FIA explained its decision to backtrack on axing hybrids. ‘I…

The record books now show that Ferrari took back-to-back outright wins at Le Mans in 2023 and 2024, further reinforcing that the Italian manufacturer is a force to be reckoned with at the French endurance race. Its win this year was against one of the best entry lists of recent times. Nine manufacturers competed in the top class, four with the same car they ran in 2023. The BoP was effective, albeit not perfect, and rain caused mayhem for strategy on multiple occasions. Introducing the new two-stage BoP process for the race was controversial but, as it turned out, very necessary. Teams had campaigned vigorously at the previous FIA World Endurance Championship round that it should be used, but technical leadership figures from the FIA and ACO were adamant that…

L MP2 is one of sportscar racing’s longest serving categories, and has evolved greatly since it first appeared at the 24 Hours of Le Mans two decades ago. Its current regulation cycle started in 2017, when it went from being an open formula for a wide range of chassis and engine manufacturers to a cost-controlled platform for closed-cockpit prototypes. Four companies – Dallara, Ligier, ORECA and Riley (now Multimatic) – were selected to build chassis and Gibson Technology became the exclusive engine supplier. Over time, the teams buying and running the cars determined the ORECA 07 to be the pick of the bunch, which inadvertently turned LMP2 into a de facto single-make category as other constructors struggled to gain a foothold. ORECA has now produced 127 LMP2 cars, which have…

RACECAR FOCUS – LAMBORGHINI DIABLO JOTA GT1 ‘Apparently, I am the only person ever to drive out of the Sant’Agata factory gates with a bare Lamborghini chassis on a trailer’ Mike Youles In 1995, Lamborghini was set to join the spectacular GT1 field for the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Diablo that was effectively built from scratch in three months, in a converted chicken shed in Oxfordshire, UK. It was due to take on an all-star grid that included entries from McLaren, Ferrari, Lister, Jaguar, Porsche, Nismo, Honda and Marcos. No pressure then. Despite a successful test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, the project fell victim to company politics and, consequently, the Lamborghini Diablo Jota GT1 was never raced in anger. Largely forgotten and exiled in…

BMW’s M4 GT3, which has won multiple endurance races in its short career since 2022, has received an EVO upgrade kit to make it easier to set up and to work on for the customer teams running it. The car has new anti-roll bars on the front and the rear axles, larger rear brake discs (now 380mm), and a more user-friendly differential to make it easier for teams to place the car in the right performance window. BMW has also focused on brake cooling in order to increase the window in which a team can change the pads during a 24-hour race. ‘If we would not be limited to have to change [the brakes] between hour 11 and hour 13, that is a big improvement,’ says Kurt Mollekens, co-sporting director…