August 11th, 2010 12:07 am
The world of automobile racing is glamorous and rich and is the height of the sport; this is very much evident in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race and its spin-off championship series the American Le Mans championship series. The motors that compete in these events are very different as there are two distinct classifications of cars, and within these classifications of cars there are several sub-categories, all of which are based on the same track at the same time, for victory in their own class and over all victory. These races vary in length from the shorter ten-hour events to the longer 24-hour races, and in the world of automobile racing, races of this length are known as endurance racing. The money required to compete in even the lower classifications of cars can run in to millions of dollars, and typically these race prepared cars are over £1 dollars. Once you have the vehicle, you need the money to run a team and transport the vehicle and team around the world to compete in all the races that make up the America Le Mans championship series, and the Le Mans 24 hour race in France. In the top formula the generally team will have a budget of tens of millions of dollars to run the vehicle, cover the races and develop the vehicle to have a chance of being successful.
As mentioned before, the championship series is made up of two distinct classifications. These are Le Mans prototype and Grand Tourer or LMP and GT. The subcategories in someone’s prototype classification are LMP1 and LMP2, and in the Grand Tourer class they are GT1, GT2, and GT3. In this article we will just look at the LMP classes of cars.
Le Mans prototype one or LMP1, are custom built race cars with the most powerful engines. There’s a variety of engine types around, from larger naturally aspirated engines to smaller engines that have a supercharger or turbocharger, and they can also be powered by petrol or diesel. Their minimum weight is set at 900 kg and the maximum size of their fuel tank is set in the rules. These cars can be covered or open top, this class is designed for manufacturers to compete in.
Le Mans prototype two or LMP2 are custom built race cars with slightly less powerful engines, they also have a variety of engine types to choose from but they are all designed with less powerful than the ones that LMP1 cars can use, but they can also be powered by petrol or diesel. Their minimum weight is set to 825 kg and their fuel tank size is also set in the rules. These cars can be covered or open top, this class is designed for private teams to compete in.
The thinking behind these two classes is that the LMP1 will be the fastest cars down a straight, but due to their higher power to weight ratio be slower round the corners. This should make for close racing between the two categories, and most circuits the LMP1 cars are the fastest due to their straight-line speed advantage, but in the American Le mans series LMP2 cars have been victorious on some of the twisty circuits.
When the designers choose a cover design, it can be as vital for finishing as the right type of wiper blades, as these races do not stop for bad weather. In the Le mans 24 hour race in France, one year recently it rained for the majority of the 24 hours, this made it necessary for replacement wiper blades to be changed during a race. Due to the rules only a certain number of people can work on the vehicle at any time while it is in the pit lane, so the task of changing wiper blades costs vital seconds. This is why the majority of teams researched into different types of replacement wiper blades after this event. Most the teams switched their wiper blades from classic rubber ones to what is known as a flat wiper blades made from silicone. The flat wiper blades made from silicone lasted 3 to 5 times longer than classic rubber blades, also due to their frameless design they aided in the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle.
Tags: auto, Automotive, Car, motoring, wiper blades