Dome racing returns to compete in Le Mans 24 Hours and Spa-Francorchamps

2012 Dome S102.5

Japanese racing-car manufacturer Dome is returning to the Le Mans 24 Hours with the Le Mans-based Pescarolo Team.

Back in 2008, with our magnificent ambition and full of hope for a huge success, we invested obviously the largest budget in the history of Dome, which was still nothing compared to the budget Audi or some big names had, into the Dome S102 development programme and competed in the 24-hour race.  Sadly, though, it was impossible to keep the ambition and the hope going forward after the race, and therefore the Dome S102 had to live in idleness for a few years.

The Dome S102 displayed in the reception hall in our HQ has never been talkative, but every time I saw her, who I believe has got world-class performance, left with no heart as if it was an exuvia, I asked myself a question with the obvious answer, “why does she have to be held captive here?”  Although I had always felt a sense of discomfort to see her sleeping there, three years quickly passed with no mercy.

Some of you could have got wondering why she had not had any chance to come back to competition.  I would disclose the reason in future, but the main point today is not about it.  The thing which has turned out to be obvious after the three-year boredom is the boring days were more than enough for the Dome S102 and us.  It is not our duty or obligation to compete in Le Mans 24 Hours.  We have no reason why we challenge the race.  There is no necessity for us to go to France.  We don’t have plenty of spare money, either.  All the above are absolutely correct but are not enough to stop us from going crazy about her.

Dome is a racecar constructor.  Therefore our pride is in our technology used to develop racecars but not in race operation.  For that reason we often worked together with race teams specialised in sports car racing such as RFH.

Some non-Japanese teams did contact us and asked us if we can lease the Dome S102 in the last three years.  We also received some very interesting offer for 2012 season again.  We would have been more than happy to make a contract with one of them if we hadn’t had the bad memories in the past.  As mentioned in the article “Graduation from Le Mans”, all the relationships with the race teams in the past ended up with unpleasant financial dispute.  As I never want another problem happening again, I have decided to fund the whole 2012 programme with Dome’s own money.

There are still several components here and there on the Dome S102 we would like to update before the first test to be honest, but this time we have decided to limit design period and use most of the time and budget for developing and setting-up the car by running as many tests as possible.  We have learnt from the previous challenges in which we suffered from lack of testing due to the too long design phase, and every race finished before we found the limit of our racecars.  We will keep the new policy even after this year’s race and will find the ultimate performance of Dome S102 by the end of this year.

We have to admit delivery of some important components has already delayed in the current design / manufacturing phase, which started last December.  Because of the delay, we are now expecting even the worst case – i.e., not only postponing the scheduled shakedown but no update on the car in the delayed shakedown - but we are still working hard to get the car ready by the scheduled shakedown in mid March.

What we have already fixed are the engine supplied by Judd, the tyres supplied by Michelin, the director Hiroshi Fushida, and the chief engineer Hiroshi Yuchi.  We are very close to decide a driver, but another driver is still under discussion among us, and we are still negotiating with some drivers for the last race seat.  Our policy on the race drivers has been concrete, though, which is “two non-Japanese drivers + one Japanese driver”.

We entrust race operation to the French squad, Pescarolo, this year. The audiences will see a Dome S102.5 occupying one of the two grids Pescarolo has got, but what is actually happening is Dome outsources the race operation to Pescarolo.

As I always speak out, Dome is not interested in or proud of strategy or techniques to manage the 24-hour long race because we are a racecar constructor.  Le Mans 24 Hours is an endurance race indeed, but what Dome aims is the speed in the qualifying sessions in which the true performance of the racecars is tested.  Incidents that could happen during the 24 hours, such as being collected by the car in front, engine blow, and puncture, are as out of control as natural disaster for a racecar constructor. For that reason our pride will never be hurt by a bad result due to such incidents during the 24 hours.  Following the policy of ours, we have asked Pescarolo to cancel the 24 hour test Pescarolo had originally planned but have asked to have as many short tests as possible during which we will develop and set-up the car.  I am pretty certain the guys in the French squad are shocked to know how we prepare for the 24-hour race, though...

That’s how we have ended up with the very egoistic programme for the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours.  The detail of the Dome S102.5 and the team structure will be disclosed in a column or news by Hidenori Suzuki (Sportscar-racing) soon.  I hope you would read it through, too.

                                                                                                Minoru Hayashi - Team principal

[Source : DOME Racing]

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Audi with hybrid drive at Le Mans for the first time

2012 Audi LMP - Test car

• ACO and FIA accept AUDI AG entries
• Four Audi LMP1 sports cars at the 80th running of the 24 hours
• Conventional drive is further developed

INGOLSTADT/PARIS : February 2, 2012 – Audi competes in the 80th running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16–17, 2012 with a total of four LMP1 sports cars. Two of the four cars in action will be equipped with hybrid drive for the first time. Audi Sport Team Joest also follows a two-pronged approach in the newly created FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) during the 2012 season.

Following the first win for a TFSI engine (2001) and the historical first triumph for a diesel powered car (2006) the brand with the four rings targets yet another technical milestone at the world’s most famous and most important endurance race. "To develop the hybrid technology for Le Mans is at least as ambitious and challenging as our diesel project was in its early stages,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "The first test results are very encouraging and we are intrigued to see just how this technology performs in combination with our ultra lightweight technology on the race track at Le Mans. As before, we still, however, see potential with the conventional drive – just as our colleagues do in production development. This is why we are absolutely delighted that the ACO and FIA selection committee has accepted our entries and that we can join the grid with four cars at the commemorative running of the Le Mans race.” 

Audi Sport Team Joest has entered two cars for the new FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Audi plans to field additional cars at selected races such as the 12-hour race at Sebring (USA) and in the 6-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) which doubles as a dress rehearsal for Le Mans for the Audi squad.

At the 80th running of the French endurance classic, Audi competes with the start numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’ (hybrid drive) as well as ‘3’ and ‘4’. As stipulated by the regulations one driver per car is now nominated. Those drivers are André Lotterer, Allan McNish, Timo Bernhard and Oliver Jarvis.

The new Audi sports prototype with hybrid drive will be presented at the end of February. The first competitive outing follows in the 6-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps on May 5. For the World Championship opener at Sebring on March 17 Audi Sport Team Joest relies once again on the Audi R18 TDI that proved victorious at Le Mans last year. Audi has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans a total of ten times since the year 2000 and is, as a result, the most successful brand by far in race’s recent history.

[Source : AUDI]

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Audi wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011 !

2011 Le Mans 24 Hrs Winners : Benoît Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer - Audi R18 TDI #2 - Audi Sport Team Joest

• Audi clinches tenth triumph at the Le Mans 24 Hours
• Impressive performance by the new Audi R18 TDI
• Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer show strong nerves on the run toward victory

INGOLSTADT/LE MANS : June 12, 2011 – At one of the most thrilling and dramatic 24-hour races in Le Mans history Audi-ultra-lightweight technology has prevailed. At the fascinating thriller which kept 250,000 spectators at the race track and millions in front of their TV sets watching in awe Marcel Fässler (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Tréluyer (France) in the innovative Audi R18 TDI clinched the tenth Le Mans victory in total for the brand with the four rings.

Audi R18 TDI #2 - Audi Sport Team Joest

The drama at the 79th edition of the world’s most famous endurance could hardly be surpassed. After Audi had lost two of its Audi R18 TDI cars as early as in the first third of the race due to accidents all hopes were pinned on car number "2” that had secured the pole position in qualifying for Audi. For 16 hours Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer were on their own in the battle against three factory-fielded Peugeot cars that left no stone unturned to keep Audi from taking victory.

On Sunday morning the four quickest vehicles were still within just a few seconds of each other at the front of the field. The lead kept changing, also on account of the different strategies. And Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer continually brought the performance advantage of their diesel sports car to bear which in the first year of the engine downsizing was clearly the fastest car in the field at Le Mans. At 3m 25.289s André Lotterer on the 229th race lap even managed to beat the fastest time set in qualifying.

The reliability of the new Audi R18 TDI was impressive as well. Across the entire race distance the vehicle designated as number "2” did not have to come in for a single unscheduled pit stop. Only a problem with the fuel tank caused a bit of a headache for Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and the Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest, Ralf Jüttner. The full 65-liter capacity could not be used. Consequently, André Lotterer had to achieve a sufficient lead for an additional refueling stop in the final phase – in extremely difficult conditions in drizzling rain at times which made the track extremely slippery.

Lotterer mastered this hurdle as well. After the final stop the German started his last stint with a seven-second advantage over the second-placed Peugeot. In the end he crossed the finish line after 24 hours being frenetically cheered by his team colleagues Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer and the entire Audi squad in first place with a lead of 13.420 seconds. For the three Audi drivers who had finished as the runners-up last year this marked the first Le Mans exploit – and the tenth for Audi.

"It was a fantastic triumph of Audi ultra-lightweight technology in extreme conditions,” commented Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Management Board of AUDI AG, who had watched the captivating race himself in the pits. "After we celebrated a record victory last year primarily thanks to reliability and efficiency, we not only had the most reliable but also the quickest car this year.” Management Board Member for Development Michael Dick said, "The team as well as the entire Audi squad did a first-class job that deserves great respect. This tenth Le Mans success of our brand was no doubt the one that required the toughest battle – which perhaps also made it the most valuable one. At the same time, albeit involuntarily, we proved that our engineers design very safe cars.”

Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller sustained no injuries in extremely severe accidents in the first third of the race. McNish in the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number "3” had taken the lead shortly before the end of the first hour when a GT car hit his left rear wheel in the "La Chappelle” section. The R18 TDI spun off the track, hit the track barrier in a heavy impact and rolled over. The Audi R18 TDI’s one-piece carbon fiber monocoque withstood the crash. McNish was able to climb out of the wreckage uninjured and returned to the race track after a precautionary medical check at the hospital.

Mike Rockenfeller had an even greater guardian angel when shortly before 11 p.m. while running on position two he was also touched by a GT vehicle on the left rear wheel while running at a speed of about 300 km/h. The Audi R18 TDI turned left and at 270 km/h hit the guard rails on the entrance to the "Indianapolis” turn. The carbon fiber monocoque developed and produced by Audi using a new type of technology withstood the impact. The front crash absorber and all other passive safety devices of the car fulfilled their purpose as well. Mike Rockenfeller was able to climb out of the wreckage. As a precautionary measure, last year’s winner spent the night in the hospital but was released again on Sunday morning.

"The safety standards at Audi are simply incredible and have saved my life,” said Mike Rockenfeller. "I’ve never had such an accident before in my career and hope I’ll never have such an experience again.” Allan McNish commented in a similar vain: "I want to thank the Audi designers for having developed a car that you can climb out of unharmed after such severe accidents.”

On clinching its tenth victory in 13 years Audi has added another impressive chapter to its success story at the Le Mans 24 Hours. After the first success of a TFSI engine in 2011, the first triumph of a diesel-powered car in 2006 and the first exploits with variable turbine geometry, VTG, last year Audi again triumphed with innovative technology. "Audi ultra technology has passed an extreme acid test this weekend,” said Head of Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich after the car had crossed the finish line. "If you pursue new paths this always involves a risk. But this risk has absolutely paid off. The Audi R18 TDI was in a class of its own at Le Mans 2011. Particularly due to the two extremely serious accidents this has been the most difficult Le Mans race for us in an emotional sense so far. That our team managed to keep the strong competition at bay for 16 hours with just one car is almost unbelievable. Everyone at Audi can be proud of this triumph. However, the news that Allan (McNish) and Mike (Rockenfeller) came out of these extremely heavy accidents so well is at least as important as that of the tenth Audi victory.”

Images : Audi at Le Mans 24 Hours

[Source : AUDI]

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Deltawing Concept to Le Mans in 2012! : Highcroft to campaign Gurney-built racer on world's greatest racing stage

Project 56 Group - DeltaWing concept RaceCar

Some of the biggest names in American motorsport have joined forces for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans to showcase a unique concept demonstrating extreme performance with half the weight and horsepower of a traditional racing car.


The Project 56 group brings together the design talents of DeltaWing Racing Cars LLC; the manufacturing capabilities of All American Racers - the company owned by 1967 Le Mans winner and American racing legend Dan Gurney; and back-to-back American Le Mans Series championship winning racing team, Highcroft Racing.

American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón founder Dr. Don Panoz has also joined the project as a key advisor.

The group has received an invitation from Le Mans 24 Hour race organizers, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest to contest the 2012 race as an additional 56th entry.

The 56th place on the grid is reserved for a technologically innovative car to participate “outside the classifications” – a vehicle showcasing new applications and unique technologies previously unseen in the world’s greatest endurance race.

While racing cars have traditionally strived for increased performance through gains in horsepower and aerodynamic downforce, the DeltaWing concept concentrates on exploiting efficiency gains found outside contemporary regulations to reduce fuel consumption without reducing performance.

The new and experimental car is targeting competitive performance with only half the horsepower of the outright contenders. It does this through halving the amount of aerodynamic drag of traditional racing cars as well as a similar reduction in weight.

The Project 56 Group is in discussion with engine partners to provide a 1.6-liter turbocharged power plant for the project – producing approximately 300 horsepower.

The car will be unlike any previously seen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car features a slender nose with extremely narrow front track – minimizing the horsepower required to push the car to speeds of 200mph around the 8.5 mile circuit.

Eliminating the use of traditional wings, downforce for the DeltaWing is generated solely beneath the car by the contoured underbody.

The DeltaWing selection was revealed today at the ACO’s annual press conference coinciding with this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans event.

Construction of the new machine will begin next month at Gurney’s California facility. The Highcroft Racing team will begin track testing of the new car later this year.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world’s oldest and most famous endurance race. First held in 1923, the event has attracted the world’s finest automotive manufacturers and drivers.

Highcroft contested the race for the first time in 2010 while Gurney won the race in 1967 aboard a Ford GT40 with AJ Foyt – famously spraying champagne on the podium for the first time to kick start a now world-renowned tradition.

Specifications

• Vehicle weight: 475kg
• Horsepower: 300 BHP
• Wheel base: 2.9 m
• Aerodynamic drag: Cd 0.24
• Front track: 0.6m
• Rear track: 1.7m
• O/A length: 4.65 m
• O/A width: 2.00m
• Height: 1.03 m
• Brakes: Carbon discs and pads
• Fuel cell capacity: 40 liters
• Chassis construction: Lightweight composite
• Front tire: 4.0/23.0 R15
• Rear tire: 12.5/24.5 R15
• Weight distribution: 27.5 percent Front, 72.5 percent Rear

Key Technical features:

• Engine and transmission are “non-stressed members” in the chassis structural design which allows the installation of a wide variety of lightweight powertrains.
• The car features a 4 cylinder 1600cc liquid intercooled turbocharged engine that will produce approximately 300 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and weigh 70kg.
• Transmission is a 5 speed plus reverse longitudinal design with electrical sequential paddle shift actuation. The differential features an efficient variable torque steer/differential speed-controlled planetary final drive reduction layout with the entire transmission weighing only 33kg.
• Vehicle weight distribution is necessarily more rearward than traditionally seen with 72.5 percent of the mass between the wide track larger rear tires.
• 76% of the aerodynamic downforce acts on the rear of the car which has a lift to drag ratio of >5.0.
• Rear wheel drive coupled with the rearward weight and aerodynamic distributions greatly enhances inline acceleration capability.
• Unique amongst today’s racing cars, more than 50% of the vehicle’s braking force is generated behind the center of gravity giving a dynamically stable response.
• Locking propensity of the un-laden front wheel at corner entry is greatly reduced due to virtually no lateral load transfer with the narrow front track/wide rear track layout, steered wheel “scrub drag” moment is virtually zero greatly increasing tire utilization and reducing mid turn understeer.
• Advanced computer modeling of structures, impact energy management, aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics and tires has been used to develop the DeltaWing design.
• Driver position, restraint layout and energy absorbing structures designed to meet the latest occupant survival criteria.

[Source :ALMS]

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