Fuelled to win at Le Mans?

Posted Jun 13th 2009 5:37PM by David Hobbs
Filed under: Sports/GTs, Motorsports, Racing cars

Ok, so we know fuel is important when it comes to motorsports but could it be the deciding factor in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans?

When Shell and Audi first cosied up a few years ago, they developed a winning partnership. That was with good old-fashioned petroleum but things changed even more dramatically when the D word was mentioned and Audi arrived at Le Mans in 2006 with their diesel R10 TDI cars.

Since that victory things have developed even further and the Shell V-Power diesel, combined with the Instant Response Technology that's designed to improve engine responsiveness, has given the team an edge over its competitors in terms of better turbo power and lower fuel consumption; essentially the cars are now more efficient.

So how has this translated itself on the circuit? Well, Richard Karlstetter, Shell's Global Technology Manager for Racing Fuels, had understandably been keeping a close eye on the diesel cars in the first few hours of the race and found something that could prove crucial to the race results.

Gallery: 24 hours Le Mans 2009 II

"The R15s are staying out consistently longer than the other diesels, both the R8s and the Peugeot. The Peugeots came in for the first refuel after 10 laps but the Audi R15s kept going for another lap."

One lap may not seem too big a deal on first reflection but think of the number of stops over 24 hours combined with the new rules that means only two mechanics can work on the car at one time and the likelihood of a problem - however large or small - developing, then the fuel could be playing a bigger part in the race outcome than most people would give much thought to.

"Fuel is much more important now at Le Mans. These diesel Audis cannot function without high quality fuels," Richard added. "There is much better combustion in the engine using the Shell V-Power diesel because of the better detergents. And Le Mans is the perfect place to test these things out."

And if there's anyone that's got it consistently right at Le Mans over the past few years, its Audi and Shell.

Gallery: Le Mans Girls