Fresh off of what arguably was one of the most exciting Le Mans races in recent time, a new sportscar concept that has its sticker stamped for the the 2012 installment of the race is already taking shape.
This car is the DeltaWing Concept Sportscar, a creation that was born from the collective minds of DeltaWing Racing Cars LLC and back-to-back American Le Mans Series championship winning racing team, Highcroft Racing. Described as a new and experimental race car, the DeltaWing Concept Sportscar aims to introduce a new approach to competitive racing, one that strives for increased performance through increased horsepower and aerodynamic downforce. Rather than the traditional set-up of today’s racers, the DeltaWing concept concentrates on taking advantage of efficiency gains that are found outside the parameters of standard regulations to reduce fuel consumption without cutting down on performance performance.
Hit the jump for more details on the DeltaWing Concept Sportscar.
In Chevrolet’s latest Track to Street series, Corvette Racing takes us along on a hot lap around the LeMans track. This is the very same track where driver Oliver Gavin received first place in the GTE Pro division of the 24h endurance race a little over a week ago.
In addition to the lap around the track, Chevrolet has also provided a second video featuring in depth interviews with drivers like Richard Westbrook as they describe what it’s like to be on and off the track. This video came out before the team’s win at LeMans, but after watching the Gavin make the quick lap around LeMans, it seemed necessary to go into the the team’s preparations for the 24 hour long event.
Let’s just say that we envy the thrill of being a part of such a famous event, but are in awe of the endurance these drivers have to have in order to complete the race.
Aston Martin and their V12 Zagato Racer better be on top of their game when it comes to this year’s 24-hours of Nürburgring. Lexus, in cooperation with Gazoo Racing, will be entering the race with a pretty impressive LF-A supercar that should give fellow racers a run for their money.
During its latest testing, the Lexus LFA by Gazoo started off from position 12 and finished the race in fifth place with an average speed of 161.139 km/h. Its fastest lap was completed with an average speed of 170.540 km/h, corresponding to a lap time of 8:34.416 for the combination of the shortened GP-track and the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring. This is an impressive result considering that, at a previous test session, the car suffered a stroke of bad luck another car crashed into it when the LFA driver, Ishiura, was entering Turn 1. This resulted in a severely damaged rear righthand section, retiring the vehicle from the race.
Gazoo Racing has been working with the Lexus LFA for the past three years, even before the street version of the vehicle went on sale in 2010. During that time, Gazoo has been revising the vehicle to obtain maximum results on the track. These revisions include tuning the vehicle’s underbody with carbon fiber reinforced plastic, as well as switching out its tires for Bridgestone racing tires, size 330/40R18. Gazoo also took the liberty of adding a few aerodynamic parts to complete the look and feel of the racer. Under the hood, we’ll find the same 4805 cc V10 engine with over 560 HP coursing through its automotive veins.
Make sure you check out the Lexus LFA at the ADAC 24 hour race on June 25, 2011, but for now, hit the jump to see a video of Hiroaki Ishiura, one of three professional drivers who will be piloting the LFA on the day of the race, as he gets through some of the vehicle’s testing.
You know the world is coming into electric vehicles when there’s a company out there whose name spells it out for everyone. GreenGT has been around for a few years bringing us electric vehicles such as the 2009 GreenGT Sprint, the 2010 Citroën Servile, and the 2011 GreenGT 300. Its last project was the Green GT Electric Race Car Concept and we now hear that it has been whipped into a production version and invited to compete as an experimental car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012.
The GreenGT LMPH2 will incorporate all of the safety features found in the company’s previous models and will be built on an LMP chassis. It will be fueled by 12 kg of hydrogen in 700 bar high-pressure tanks which are on board the vehicle. This hydrogen will be fed into a fuel cell, and when combined with oxygen, will produce electricity to run the racer. The only emissions escaping it will be steam so the LMPH2 will be fully carbon neutral.
GreenGT will be presenting the first LMPH2 in the fall of 2011 to undergo testing before the big year ahead of them. This first model will feature a 100kW (134 HP) fuel cell that will then be followed with a 300kW (402 HP) fuel cell.
Hit the jump to watch veteran driver, Christian Pescatori, take a couple of laps in the GreenGT prototype. Pescatori will be driving the GreenGT racer throughout its developmental stages.
As a race car driver, nothing is scarier than crashing into a barrier, sending your car airborne, seemingly helpless to fight the laws of physics that take over. Ultimately, as a driver, all you can do is brace for the impact, and pray that the ensuing damage is about as minimal as it could possibly be.
During the first part of Le Mans, Audi driver, Allan McNish, was involved in a horrific accident after the Scotsman accidentally bumped his R18 TDI into a Ferrari 458 Italia. The collision caused the R18 TDI to barrel into the sand trap, crashing the barrier and sending just about every piece of the race car flying everywhere, including near a group of reporters who probably didn’t find it thrilling to see a debris of metal, carbon fiber, and tires raining down on them.
The only positive outcome from this accident - and given the circumstances, it was the best anyone could have hoped for - was that no one, including McNish, was injured from the spectacular, albeit horrific crash.
Just goes to show just how thin the line is in auto racing. One second, you’re posting flying lap after flying lap and before you know it, your race car is doing an airborne cartwheel while you sit helpless behind the wheel praying for the best outcome possible.
