Porsche’s historic 17th victory at the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours saw a landmark in the development of sports-prototype racing. The 2.0 litre V4 turbocharged internal combustion engine fitted to the Porsche 919 Hybrid, allied to an 8 megajoule hybrid energy system, was the smallest to have triumphed at the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe for 37 years.
Alexander Hitzinger, Technical Director of Porsche’s 919 Hybrid programme said: “Shell’s support in providing the right fuels for world class endurance racing is important. What we need is high performing and extremely efficient fuels at constant quality to meet the FIA WEC regulation targets and our internal Porsche targets. It’s good to have Shell in the FIA WEC and here at Le Mans as a reliable fuel partner you can trust.”
We have seen a strong and tight battle between the different drive train designs for many hours, with various cars and technologies leading the race. At the end, the downsized, turbo charged direct injection gasoline engine design, powered by Shell V-Power LM24 and combined with the highest hybrid category was the winning package this year in Le Mans.
The technical regulations at Le Mans are written with energy efficiency at the forefront – how the teams choose to turn the energy available to them into performance is then a matter of their own preference. In the premier category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Porsche races against Toyota’s 3.7-litre non-turbo gasoline engine with 6 megajoule hybrid capacity, Audi’s 4.0-litre turbodiesel with 4 megajoule hybrid capacity and Nissan’s 3.0-litre turbo gasoline engine with 2 megajoule hybrid power.
Although these engines are designed for efficiency, they also deliver raw power. Porsche claimed pole position at an average speed of 249.2 km/h around the 13.6 km Circuit de la Sarthe, while Audi finally consigned Porsche’s 44-year-old record for the fastest racing lap of all time to the history books, lapping in 3m17.475s to set a new marker.
“The suite of Shell V-Power LM24 fuels for diesel and gasoline engines were the result of an 18-month consultation and testing programme between Shell and the competing car manufacturers, in line with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the FIA, who create the rules.,” said Richard Karlstetter, Shell’s Racing Fuels Technology Manager. “They are extremely advanced, designed from the ground up, co-engineered with leading car manufacturers, to meet the extreme targets on performance and efficiency and we can gain considerable insights at an early stage, how to develop the road fuels that will be needed in the future”
Le Mans has a strong track record as the proving ground for technology that has filtered through to benefit road car users – from starter motors to disk brakes. Shell has directly supported many winning advances in powertrain development such as turbocharging (1976), direct fuel injection (2002) and diesel (2006) that have gone on to take an increasingly prominent role in daily motoring life.
Richard Karlstetter added: “The competing manufacturers and Shell view the WEC as the proving ground for next generation road car technology. As an industry, we are addressing solutions to meet our growing transport needs with ever-increasing efficiency and the architecture for the next generation of personal transport can be found in the engines and fuels competing in the WEC.”
Fast Facts – 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours
Shell V-Power LM24 and Shell V-Power Diesel LM24 fuels were provided to all 56 entries in the race across all categories: LMP1-H, LMP1-L, LMP2 and LM GTE
Shell Global Solutions delivered 300,000 litres of fuel to Le Mans in 2015, covering the official Test Day, Practice, Qualifying, Warm Up and Race – that’s 10 times the amount delivered to support each of the other FIA WEC events in the season
The first victory at Le Mans using Shell fuel was the Bentley of John Duff and Frank Clement in 1924
Shell first provided fuel for all competitors in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1930
Shell installed the first gravity-fed refuelling system at Le Mans in 1931 – replacing the individual cans that were used initially
The iconic ‘Shell Motel’ was constructed at the head of the Le Mans pit lane in 1966, offering the first combined media centre, race officials’ office and rest area until the current pit complex was built in 1990
Porsche is only the third manufacturer to win at Le Mans with a 2.0-litre engine – the others being Ferrari in 1949 and Alpine-Renault in 1978
In total Shell fuel and lubricants have powered more than 60 victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours – including 14 Porsche wins – in 83 editions since 1923