The opening rounds of the World Touring Car Championshio took place last week in Brazil and Seat won both races with drivers Yvan Muller and Gabrieli Tarquini. Spain-based Seat is a division of Volkswagen, and like other brands in the group they are pushing diesel engines in motorsports as well as on the road. This year's Seat Leons are powered by 2.0L four cylinder TDI engines. The front wheel drive Seats were at a definite disadvantage to the rear drive BMWs in handling but the torque of the turbodiesel engines allowed them to easily pull away on the straights. Unfortunately we don't get these touring cars here in the U.S. but we'll be looking forward to checking out the VW Jetta TDI cup this spring and summer.

[Source: Top Gear]

Up through the mid-nineties, Formula One racing was a bastion of technological innovation. Cars ran with 4-, 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-cylinder engines. There were naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. They had active suspension systems. Since that time the sports governing body, the FIA has been clamping down with more and more restrictive rules. Cars must run standardized fuels, have V-8 engines of 2.4L displacement and now even have standard engine ECUs. Le Mans style sports car racing on the other hand has actively encouraged alternatives like diesels, biofuels, and different engine types like Wankel rotaries. A report titled CARS 21 published by the European parliament is calling on the FIA to allow for more innovation that can lead to environmental advancements for road cars. The American Le Mans Series is actively moving down this path and provides some of the most interesting on-track action to be found anywhere. FIA president Max Mosely has welcomed the call from the EU, so hopefully we'll see some loosening of the reigns in F1 in the next few years. A lot of safety and performance advancements have come out motorsports over the years and the pace of development could help bring more relevant technology to the road if the rulemakers allow it.

[Source: AutoCar, via Autoblog]

Toyota can now lay claim to having fielded the first hybrid vehicle to win an endurance race. The Denso SARD Supra HV-R won the Tokachi 24-hour race in convincing fashion, finishing 19 laps up on the second place car for a total of 616. The hybridized Super GT-spec Supra took the pole, lead all day, and opened up a significant gap in the final hours of the competition. It also had the fastest lap of the event. Powered by a 4,4480cc 3UZ-FE V8 augmented with a regenerative braking system, in-wheel electric motors in front, and a larger single electric motor for the rear wheels, the Supra HV-R was the sole GT-class entrant in this year's race. With reports saying that a production version of the FT-HS concept is on the way, we should be able to get a taste of what a streetable hybrid sports car is like in due time. In the meantime, Toyota has gone out and shown what a motorsports-prepared hybrid is capable of.

[Source: SARD]

In big time motorsports, particularly sportscar racing, one pattern keeps repeating itself. There will be a period of several years after a new category or set of rules is established when several big teams or manufacturers jump in and there is intense competition. Then one team will come up with a breakthrough, and move out front and utterly dominate the series for a while. Other teams become disheartened and drop out leaving only the dominant team and a few stragglers before the category eventually collapses due to tack of interest. It happened to the original Can-Am series when the Porsche 917-30 rolled over everyone, Group C when the Porsche 956-962 dominated, IMSA GTP with Nissan and now ALMS with Audi and the R10 TDi.

There have been several keys to Audi's success in LMP1 over the past eight years. Sheer speed hasn't hurt, but there were times when other cars were as fast as the Germans. Efficiency and fuel economy have been among the biggest boons to the R8 and now the R10. Being able toe swap out the entire rear suspension and gearbox module in a matter of minutes was a huge boost to Audi at LeMans. The direct injection that Audi used on the gasoline powered R8 helped them get more power from the same amount of fuel and run farther. And the introduction of the diesel R10 last year allowed them to run an extra 3 laps per tank at the the 8 mile long LeMans track.

Now with essentially no competition in their class in the ALMS, it appears that they may be considering dropping out of that series. It would be nice if Peugeot would bring their new 908 HDi LeMans challenger over to take on the R10 in the American series. More likely, the series will go into another period of renewal, with a new set of rules being developed to attract new competitors. Hopefully the next generation rules will encourage more use of alternative fuels and provide more incentive for improved fuel efficiency.

[Source: GermanCarBlog]