ALMS CEO Scott Atherton discusses the relevance of sports car racing
Audi R15 TDI - click above for high-res gallery
Given the current economic difficulties, automakers are finding it increasingly difficult to justify participation in motorsports. Series such as NASCAR and Formula 1, in particular, are finding their relevance questioned. One area that seems to be doing OK, for now, is sports car racing such as the American Le Mans Series. Scott Atherton, CEO of the ALMS, recently sat down with Green Fuels Forecast to discuss the current status of the sport.
Recently, Corsa Motorsports had its first run with its new hybrid prototype and will resume running this week at Lime Rock. Currently, hybrid drive is only allowed in the prototype classes, but Atherton expects that upcoming rules changes for 2010 and 2011 will open the door for hybrid and KERS systems to be adopted in the GT ranks. Multiple manufacturers have expressed interest in running hybrid GT2 cars the first could debut in 2010. Atherton believes the openness of the Le Mans rules makes it a great platform for developing alternative powertrain and fuel technologies, and he intends to keep it that way.
Gallery: Audi R15 TDI
Gallery: Geneva 2009: Peugeot 908 hy
[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ralph 1:53PM (7/14/2009)
Whether the average customer realizes it or not auto racing will always be of benefit. Many of the components, materials, safety enhancements and even fuel saving enhancements/strategies in today's mainstream autos were either invented or enhanced through racing.
Reply
DaveD 2:35PM (7/14/2009)
I'm really glad to see the ALMS series still thriving. The other racing series are often trying their best to squelch technology advances that could truly benefit the fuel economy and safety of cars on the road.
Yes, they do eventually produce some results because they are forced to but it takes much too long to get there. A good example is Formula 1 where the teams EACH spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year and almost all of that goes towards some silly tricks to get around rules that limit the cars intentionally. Look at how they screwed up the possible advances of KERS systems by limiting them to only 6 seconds of boost per lap! How much more of that $400million would Ferrari have spent on better battery technology if they could actually use the system? What about the $400-$500million McLaren spent?
Does it really seem like the best they could do is 3mpg with the kind of money they spend? They do all kinds of rules to limit the top speed for safety of the drivers. Make them find a way to average 5mpg during a race and I bet you'd get some pretty interesting results with all the money they throw around.
It's good that ALMS is trying to push ahead more aggressively because someone needs to put more than lip service into the idea that furthering technology for the rest of the auto industry is a primary goal, not just a side effect the racing series are forced into.
Reply
Bill 5:41PM (7/14/2009)
"Does it really seem like the best they could do is 3mpg with the kind of money they spend? They do all kinds of rules to limit the top speed for safety of the drivers. Make them find a way to average 5mpg during a race and I bet you'd get some pretty interesting results with all the money they throw around."
As an F1 fan, I think that's a great idea! The race is a fixed distance (except when they run out of time) so the fuel allotment for each team could be fixed. Even phase it in so that the allotment goes down over time.
The efficiency of their regen braking storage would go up dramatically once they had incentives like whether or not they can finish the race...