EEMS in Sportscar racing
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Team Nasamax |
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Taurus Motorsport |
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The ACO and the Le Mans 24 Hours
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) is the organiser of the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar endurance race. The story of this French event that takes place on a circuit largely made up of public roads dates back to the 1920s and its past winners include many of the greatest drivers, teams and manufacturers in the annals of motorsport. Historically the ACO has encouraged technical innovation in alternative power sources. In the 1960s gas turbine powered cars successfully competed in the race, in the 1990s LPG and hybrid powered cars were also tried. The ACO has also championed fuel economy through the Index of Thermal Efficiency competition within the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Currently the race is contested by four different classes of racing car. The premier LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype) class is for purpose-built, two-seater sports prototype racing cars that conform to FIA safety and aerodynamic regulations. LMP1 cars must weigh a minimum of 900kgs and can be powered by naturally aspirated engines of up to 6-litres or turbocharged engines of up to 4-litres running on gasoline or 5.5-litres running on diesel.
The LMP2 class regulations are broadly similar to LMP1 except the cars must weigh a minimum of 750kgs and can be powered by naturally aspirated engines with a maximum of eight cylinders and up to 3.4-litres in capacity. Turbocharged engines are limited to 2-litres. Also running alongside the prototype cars are the GTS and GT classes for production based cars. Diesel engines are not currently permitted in the LMP2, GTS or GT classes.
The US based American Le Mans Series and the European based Le Mans Endurance Series are also run in accordance to the ACO regulations.
In 2003 the ACO introduced amendments to its engine rules to allow cars with diesel engines to race in the LMP1 class and thus compete for the overall victory. The current ACO rule book also makes provision for the participation of cars using alternative fuels and reserves the right to alter its technical regulations to allow such entries to compete on equal terms with cars using conventional fuels.
