Efficiency or Equalization?
As Alex Goldschmidt investigates, the rule changes that have been implemented by the FIA and the ACO for the LMP1-H cars this year have become in essence, the “Efficiency Balance Of Performance” game changer...
This is also because of the need to balance out any advantages that may be gained are quickly kept at bay. With the recent changes deciding that the petrol-powered LMP1 hybrids will have more in their favour in terms of fuel capacity and energy recovery, it has not sat well with Audi Sport.
In particular, Ulrich Baretzky, the man “who lives in the land of the engines,” according to Tom Kristensen, explained to myself on
the official Audi Sport “Meet The Team” event how Ingolstadt approached the new season initially, but ended up with a disadvantage in his eyes: “The engines are fixed now, so there is no point in changing. We started to make efficiency worthwhile and to work and improve it, but we are now in a situation where we are punished for that, and the rules are not in favour of efficiency. I hope this will change, as it has to do so.”
The new 4.0 TDi turbocharged engine that the brand with the four rings is now using is free from any major restrictions in terms of its construction, and was taken from drawing board to racetrack within an 18 to 22 month period. An impressive feat in any development scheme, which was due to the experience that Audi Sport have been able to call upon since introducing the pioneering R10 TDi in 2006 that blew away the competition.
Their decision to use Diesel power has paid dividends, but Baretzky was one of the main people pushing for the current regulations to be put into force, as the regulations called for air restrictors before the choice of what engines could be used were limitless within the scope: “This was limiting the power and also damaging the efficiency, which is why we pushed for energy and efficiency based rules. Now we can have as much air as we want, so we can ensure a more efficient combustion process. “
He even went on to say that the bigger the engine, the more efficient it is. It may sound like a crazy statement to admit, but in some respect, a lot of high-performance cars also are bigger in some vehicles these days.
There is also a possibility that Audi will be looking at a potential ERS-H system that will work with a future car that the current World Champion outfit in the future, but it is a case of wait and see. Developing new technology has its trail and error phase, but with their normal bullet-proof reliability, Ulrich said that there was no real advantage that could be gained in the R18 e-tron quattros due to the dead weight that it actually ended up being: “there is nothing to hide that we had a lot of problems, but we passed the 36-hour endurance test with no technical problems or failure.