Latest news with #LeMansHypercar
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Spa 6 Hours: AF Corse Ferrari triumphs again after flag-to-flag battle
Ferrari made it three out of three in this season's World Endurance Championship with victory for James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi at the Spa 6 Hours. The trio took the win on Saturday by 4s from the sister 499P Le Mans Hypercar shared by Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco, with the third-placed Alpine A424 LMDh driven by Frederic Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher a further second in arrears. Advertisement Ferrari might have dominated qualifying, the three 499P blocking out the top positions in Hyperpole, but the race in Belgium was a close-run affair in which it faced a stiff challenge from Alpine, BMW and Peugeot. The second-placed Ferrari appeared to be in the ascendency after the second of two safety cars that ended with an hour and a 51 minutes remaining. Race winner GT3LM, #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera, Race winner #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi Race winner GT3LM, #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera, Race winner #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi FIAWEC - DPPI FIAWEC - DPPI But when the two factory AF Corse Ferraris pitted a lap apart with just over an hour to go Pier Guidi in #51 was able to overturn a 6s deficit to the #50 which Nielsen took over from Fuoco. Advertisement Both Ferraris fell behind the two WRT BMW M Hybrid LMDhs, but Pier Guidi was able to quickly clear them, while Nielsen lost time, also falling behind the pair of Jota Cadillac V-Series.R LMDhs. The strategies of the two Ferraris diverged over the final hour, Pier Guidi pushed in the knowledge that he would have to make a late splash, while Nielsen went into fuel save mode. Pier Guidi stopped with 12 minutes to go, emerging with an 11s advantage over his team-mate. #35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi #35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi FIAWEC - DPPI FIAWEC - DPPI Nielsen just had the measure of Schumacher in the closing stages as he eked out his energy allocation to the end. It was a case of what might have been for the #36 Alpine. Advertisement A slow puncture in the penultimate hour blunted the French manufacturer's challenge, though it effectively allowed Schumacher to bring forward his splash for fuel. BMW led the race with the #20 entry shared by René Rast and Robin Frijns, losing a clear shot at the podium with a brake problem that precipitated its retirement in the final hour. The Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMH that was best placed to gain a another podium for the marque also retired, after Malthe Jakobsen in the #94 shared with Loic Duval and Stoffel Vandoorne clashed with Frijns at Les Combes. Peugeot had split its fuel strategies earlier in the race, which gave Jean-Eric Vergne, driver of the #93 car the lead, but when the safety car came out shortly after he stopped the tactical gamble was undone. #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button Eric Le Galliot Eric Le Galliot Advertisement Toyota took fourth with the GR010 HYBRID LMH shared by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi, despite its two cars qualifying ahead of only the Aston Martin Valkyries LMHs. The Jota Cadillacs ended up fifth and sixth, the #12 car shared by Alex Lynn, Norman Nato finishing nine seconds up on #38 driven by Jenson Button, Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais. The second Toyota driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries claimed seventh ahead of the second Alpine shared by Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin. Porsche salvaged a best result of ninth with the #6 factory Penske 963 LMDh shared by Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Pascal Wehrlein. Advertisement BMW rounded out the top 10 with the #15 M Hybrid driven by Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello. #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera Andreas Beil Andreas Beil LMGT3 honours went to the AF Corse-run Ferrari 296 GT3 shared by Francois Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera, despite an early race penalty. Rovera finished 40s up on the Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 of Dennis Olsen, Giammarco Levorato and Stefano Gattuso. To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
WEC set for another Hypercar rules extension until 2032
The existing Hypercar World Endurance Championship rule book appears set for a further extension that could allow the current generation of cars to race until the end of 2032. Series boss Frederic Lequien has revealed to that a follow up on the two-year extension to the end of 2029 announced last summer is on the table. Advertisement 'The only thing I can say is that we must be realistic,' he said. 'We have something that is working so well, and we will soon be welcoming more manufacturers [Hyundai, Ford and McLaren]. 'To not think about extending the homologation would be a mistake. I am not saying we are going to do it, but we are thinking about it.' Lequien did not mention how long the existing rules might be prolonged for, but it appears that three years is the option being most strongly considered. The Le Mans Hypercar rules came into force in 2021, with the second route into Hypercar, LMDh, opening up for 2023. #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi Paul Foster Paul Foster Advertisement At that point the initial five-year rules cycle for LMH was prolonged by two years until the end of 2027 to bring it in line with LMDh. The further extension was announced on the eve of last year's Le Mans 24 Hours when WEC rule makers the FIA and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest firmed up plans for the introduction of hydrogen-powered cars in 2028. The vision outlined by the governing bodies called for these cars to be able to compete with the next-generation of conventionally-fuelled Hypercar machinery from 2030. The idea of pushing back the end date for the current rules in both the WEC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America has been welcomed by the manufacturers. Advertisement Urs Kuratle, who heads up the LMDh programme at Porsche, said: 'We would be in favour of it: it would be a good thing, good for the manufacturers in both championships. 'It is something we know is being discussed but as a manufacturer we are not yet involved in those discussions, but from our point of view it would make sense.' Urs Kuratle, boss of 963 programme at Porsche Penske Motorsport Urs Kuratle, boss of 963 programme at Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche Penske Motorsport Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie echoed Kuratle's viewpoint. 'There are new manufacturers entering the WEC in 2027 and them having only three years of racing to try to create some value from the investment they are making is a bit short, so it would all make a lot of sense,' he said. Advertisement 'The conditions of the extension have not been discussed with us: now we are waiting to see what the ACO and the FIA wants to do officially.' What is not clear is whether there will be attempts to bring the LMH and LMDh rules together during any extension period. But the manufacturers appear unanimous in a belief that there should only be one platform when the next rules cycle comes into force. 'No one likes having two platforms,' said Kuratle. 'If everyone sits around the table, and I can see that happening in the future, and discusses openly for the good of the sport, and says 'let's take this from LMH and that from LMDh', we could make a common ruleset or platform.' #93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Éric Vergne #93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Éric Vergne JEP / Motorsport Images JEP / Motorsport Images Advertisement Jansonnie stressed the importance to Peugeot of being able to develop its own chassis and the hybrid element of the powertrain, an option allowed to its LMH. That is not the case in LMDh where manufacturers develop their machinery around a so-called spine supplied by one of four licensed constructors and have to run an off-the-shelf energy-retrieval system. He affirmed that a move away from a front-axle hybrid drive would not be a sticking point for the French manufacturer. 'If tomorrow the regulations have to change saying we have to do two-wheel-drive, but with the way the LMH regulations are done where you are in control of the complete design of your car, it would be fine for us,' said Jansonnie. Advertisement It is also unclear if the hydrogen class, which would allow both internal combustion and fuel cell cars, will come into force in 2028 as planned. There are no hydrogen regulations as yet and Toyota, which confirmed its interest in running the alternative fuel in the WEC at Le Mans in 2023 by showing its the GR H2 concept, has stressed the difficulties in being ready to race in '28. Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director David Floury said that having a car ready for the current start date would be 'extremely challenging' given the absence of regulations. Read Also: Pascal Wehrlein could join Porsche for Spa 6 Hours ahead of Le Mans debut To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Genesis GMR-001 Le Mans Hypercar's V8 Is Two Turbocharged Rally Car Engines Stuck Together
It's pretty rare to see a genuinely new engine get developed these days even for race cars, especially from smaller automakers that don't have as big of a motorsport presence, so it was shocking when Genesis announced that its upcoming Le Mans Hypercar would be powered by a V8 engine. The Hyundai Motor Group hasn't made a V8 since 2021 when the Tau engine was discontinued, so would the company be coming up with a totally new motor for its GMR-001? Well, not exactly. Genesis Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul revealed that the LMDh racer's V8 was created by sticking two WRC-derived turbocharged four-cylinder engines together. Hyundai has competed in the World Rally Championship for the past 12 years, winning the manufacturer's trophy in 2019 and 2020, and Abiteboul was team principal since January 2023 and president since January 2024, so the move makes sense. Abiteboul says the decision to fuse the WRC engines together was largely due to timing and so Genesis wouldn't have to design something new from scratch: Anyone who knows about engines will appreciate that we only had six months to develop a complete engine. We elected to go with a V-8, precisely because the V-8 was a great opportunity not to have to redesign a complete engine from scratch and instead take inspiration from our [Hyundai Motor Group's] existing WRC [World Rally Championship] engine, a very competitive 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four that we've been using for several years. We took that engine and made it two times four in line, which gives us a V-8. Those WRC motors make around 380 horsepower, though without restrictions that figure could surely be boosted up. Current WRC cars are hybrids, all using a spec motor that adds an extra 134 horsepower, but that system won't get carried over in the creation of the V8 as LMDh cars have their own spec hybrid system that uses a 67-hp electric motor. Genesis is also working with famed racing constructor Oreca on the GMR-001's development. Read more: GM Hopes A Clutch Pedal Is Enough To Make Enthusiasts Buy EVs We were in a dearth of cool top-end Le Mans race car designs following Audi's dominating diesel era, but with the LMDh and LMH classes we're finally seeing some wild designs again, and the Genesis might be the best looking one yet. Asked about the relationship between design and performance, Abiteboul said the two go hand-in-hand: One of the most famous French aero designers used to say that a nice airplane flies well, too. And I tend to believe that. Sometimes, technical regulations can induce you to design cars that are not necessarily very nice-looking because they are extremely sophisticated. I keep thinking of Formula One because that's where I spent the largest part of my life. There was a period of time when cars were packed with aerodynamic surfaces: lots of wing legs, shark legs and so on and so forth. But in the end, I believe there is no opposition between aesthetics and functionality. In any case, the car that wins is always the more beautiful one. Abiteboul added that maintaining Genesis' Korean identity is important for the Magma team. That's not just in terms of design (the Magma logo is even a reference to Korean characters), but in how quickly the GMR-001 is coming together. Since its initial debut in Dubai in December Genesis has only shown renderings and a half-scale model of the GMR-001 so far, but the real thing will be unveiled in April before testing begins in August, and it'll be racing in early 2026. "By all standards, we really compressed the timing of what is normally done to an extreme, because we also want to show the speed of Korean culture — or what I'd like to call, Genesis hyperspeed," said Abiteboul. When the GMR-001 hits the track in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season, it'll be up against competitors from Acura, Alpine, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche — Lamborghini has canceled its WEC Hypercar entrant, but Ford will be joining in 2027. Genesis will then join the IMSA SportsCar Championship for the 2027 season. The company will be fielding two cars in each. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Aston Martin Shows Final Livery for Valkyrie LMH
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Aston Martin is preparing to make a major splash in motorsport as it readies the Valkyrie hypercar for its dual-racing debut in the 2025 season. The automaker has unveiled the final livery designs for its LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) variant of the Valkyrie, which will compete in both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. These stunning liveries were revealed just ahead of the upcoming racing season, with two distinct designs for each series. The WEC Valkyrie will be draped in a classic British Racing Green, complete with the iconic #007 number, a playful nod to Aston Martin's long-standing connection with the fictional British secret agent, James Bond. The sister car, marked #009, will also compete in the series, continuing Aston's legacy at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Meanwhile, the IMSA series Valkyrie will sport a darker shade of blue, accompanied by the #23 number. The IMSA contender will be piloted by Ross Gunn and Roman de Angelis, while the WEC team will feature drivers Marco Sorenson, Tom Gamble, Alex Riberas, and Harry Tinknell. The Valkyrie LMH shares much of its DNA with the road-going version, but it has been specifically modified for the demands of endurance racing. The front end is fitted with a larger splitter, and a massive rear wing is added to generate the necessary downforce for high-speed stability. Notably, the LMH model forgoes the hybrid system found in the road version and instead uses a naturally aspirated V12 engine. This engine has been re-engineered to run leaner while ensuring reliability throughout the grueling endurance races. Aston Martin's CEO, Adrian Hallmark, expressed the significance of the company's return to top-tier motorsport. "To be returning to the fight for overall honours at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a proud moment for Aston Martin. The Valkyrie is an embodiment of our enduring sporting ethos, and it marks a key milestone in our racing heritage." The company's ambitious dual-program season, with the Valkyrie competing in both WEC and IMSA, reflects Aston Martin's commitment to excellence and competition. The team is ready to face high-level competition, acknowledging the challenge but driven by the desire to win. As Hallmark stated, "It's a great time to be joining the pinnacle of sports car racing." Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford Is Entering LMDh in 2027. The Goal? Absolute Victory at Le Mans
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." More than 60 years ago, Ford set out with the ambitious goal of becoming the first American manufacturer to ever win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall. The resulting quest may just be the greatest story in racing history, culminating in four straight wins from 1966 to 1967 as part of an iconic rivalry against Scuderia Ferrari at the height of the brand's sports car racing powers. (You may have heard of our own A.J. Baime's book about it.) Despite powering two more race winners in 1975 and 1980, Ford has not actually tried to win the race as a manufacturer since. That changes as of 2027. In the year that will mark six decades since Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt won the race in a GT40 Mk. IV, Ford is headed back to the world's greatest sports car race. Not just with a GT car, but with an LMDh-spec prototype, competing in the top class for the overall win. It is a monumental move, one made all the more monumental by Ferrari's 2021 choice to return to the top class at Le Mans after a break of more than 50 years. Unless Ferrari sunsets its 499 P program early and does not build a successor, the classic rivals will meet again in what figures to be at least a 10-manufacturer top class. 2027 should also mark the first-ever race where all of Ford, Ferrari, and all-time Le Mans win record holder Porsche all compete against one another with full factory teams. If no manufacturers drop their Le Mans Hypercar programs before 2027, that legendary trio will compete against top-class prototypes from Toyota, Peugeot, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Genesis, and Alpine. Acura additionally races an LMDh-spec car in IMSA's GTP class, but that car has not yet raced at Le Mans, and Honda has not announced any plans to do so in the future. Ford has not yet announced details about the program itself, only that the brand plans to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 hour classic with an LMDh-spec race car in 2027. Because Ford has chosen the LMDh rule set, the car will be built around one of four common chassis options from either Multimatic, Ligier, Dallara, or Oreca. It will be a hybrid built around some common parts — but Ford will have a significant degree of freedom in designing around those parts. Since the LMDh rule set has relatively open engine regulations based on power output regulated by a torque sensor, rather than configuration, Ford has some room for creativity in what they put in their prototype. BMW, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Genesis have all opted for turbocharged V-8s, while Acura and Alpine have chosen to use turbocharged V-6 engines. Cadillac, and only Cadillac, built its prototype around a naturally-aspirated V-8. Notably, Ford currently uses a naturally-aspirated 5.4-liter V-8 based on the 5.0 Coyote engine in its Mustang GT3 racers. Ford says that the program will be run by a full factory team, a departure from its strategy for both of its last two factory-backed GT programs. Those teams were run alongside team partners Multimatic and, in the case of the previous Ford GT, Chip Ganassi Racing. Ford will join only Toyota, Peugeot, and Genesis in opting for a full factory effort rather than a partnership with an existing team. Further details, including a chassis partner, engine plans, and whether or not the car is also destined to race domestically in IMSA's GTP class, should be revealed over the next two years. It's safe to say we can't wait to learn more. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
