Allan McNish starts the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours on Saturday (16 June) aiming to win the legendary race for a third time and re-take the lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Dumfries-born driver who won the annual French race in 1998 & 2008 drives a pioneering diesel hybrid Audi sportscar in the twice-around-the-clock endurance race. McNish shares his Audi R18 e-tron quattro with eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Dindo Capello (Italy) – a three-time Le Mans winner himself – the same three-driver combination at Le Mans since 2006. This year’s twice-around-the-clock race is the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, McNish having won (Sebring 12 Hours, USA) and then fourth (Spa Six Hours, Belgium) in the opening two races which leaves him trailing Audi team-mates Romain Dumas and Loïc Duval by just two points.
With 50-points on offer to the Le Mans winning drivers in the eight-race WEC which concludes in China (November), McNish has a double incentive for more Le Mans glory.
“After setting the fastest time in the one-day test recently we [Audi] can head back to Le Mans for the race week knowing we have a good base point in terms of car set-up,” confirmed McNish. “The team has been studying data in the meantime so that we can further improve but I was very satisfied from what we learned there recently. Going back to Le Mans is always very special and the race itself is always an amazing occasion. This year, like back in 2001 and ’06 when Audi brought in TFSI turbo direct petrol injection and then TDI turbo diesel, we debut a new technology in the form of the diesel hybrid and another era in what is arguably the most historic and well known motor race in the world. With the R18 e-tron quattro, which I drive, and the ‘normal’ turbo diesel R18 ultra, Audi has two car concepts capable of winning Le Mans and scoring win number 11. I gave this car a debut race pole-position [Spa, May] but I’m now focused on giving it a maiden win at Le Mans but know it’s going to be tough. We’ve prepared well and I can’t wait to get on track again.”
New regulations, including a reduced air restrictor, has brought about a power reduction of approximately 30hp to over 510hp – maximum torque over 850 Nm – for both the R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra. Both cars, which made their race debut in Belgium last month, have completed a combined 50,000km in testing including several endurance tests. The 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, staged on the 8.47-mile track, is scheduled to start at 2pm (UK time) and features a capacity grid of over 50-cars.
Allan McNish Le Mans 24 Hours Formguide (Début: 1997 – seven podiums including 2 wins from 12 races)
Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 (co-drivers Dindo Capello & Tom Kristensen)
Age: 42. Born: Dumfries, Scotland. Lives: Monte Carlo, Monaco
How is power ‘harvested’ for the hybrid system?
“Energy during the braking phase is transmitted through the Motor Generator Unit. The MGU then electrically accelerates a carbon-fibre flywheel that sits beside me in the cockpit and spins at about 45,000rpm. Exiting a corner, the system delivers the energy to the front axle but only above 120kph. The regulations allow 500kJ of energy to be transferred to the front wheels between two braking zones defined by the organisers.”
Is the hybrid constantly in use on every lap?
“No. The governing Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) limit the number of “zones” where you can feed those 500 KJ each lap that varies from circuit to circuit. At Le Mans, drivers of the R18 e-tron quattro have the option of using the hybrid system a maximum of seven times. Unlike permanent four-wheel-drive quattro, the front and the rear wheels are not connected because the rear wheels are only ever driven by the V6 3.7 litre TDI diesel engine. We gain approximately an extra 200hp in actual power.
Zone no. 1: Dunlop Chicane (no. 8 marshal’s post)
Zone no. 2: Forza Motorsport Chicane (no. 42 marshals’ post)
Zone no. 3: Michelin Chicane (no. 60 marshals’ post)
Zone no. 4: Mulsanne Corner (no. 76 marshals’ post)
Zone no. 5: Indianapolis Corner (no. 96 marshals’ post)
Zone no. 6: Porsche Corner (no. 115b marshals’ post)
Zone no. 7: Ford Corner (no. 131 marshals’ post)
Is the hybrid system available at all speeds?
“No. Another regulation stipulates that our Hybrid system can only be used above 120kph. The stored energy is delivered to the front wheel only. When you exit a corner where we can use the hybrid, there is an extra kick of power and when it has used its energy and returns to ‘standard’ – about 510hp of the V6 diesel engine – you can feel a difference. It is not a big drop off and so the energy is dispersed pretty quickly, within a couple of seconds. It is noticeable, but it is done in such a way that it doesn’t affect the car balance.”
Do you expect additional front tyre wear with drive going through these wheels at times?
“We are very early in the life of the e-tron quattro but have not noticed any additional tyre wear particularly.”
Do you press a button in the cockpit to activate the Hybrid system?
“It’s an automated system and I don’t press a button like in some other formulas. It’s done automatically which benefits the driver because we are doing many other things.”
Is there a special sequence that must be undertaken to start up the R18 e-tron quattro?
“When we drive out of the pits, we switch on the hybrid system, prior to us starting the engine. The system is activated when we start to drive the first time and de-activated when we stop driving at the end of a session.”
Does the R18 ultra and R18 e-tron quattro have the same size fuel tank?
“The R18 e-tron quattro, being a hybrid, has two litres less capacity than a none hybrid but petrol and diesel powered cars have an offset. A petrol-engined car has 75 litres and the diesel has 60 litres fuel capacity. Therefore the hybrid petrol has 73 litres and the hybrid diesel has a 58 litre fuel capacity.”
You raced the e-tron quattro for the first time at Spa in May. You claimed pole-position in dry weather conditions. Why, in similar track conditions in the race the following day, did the e-tron quattro appear to be slower than the R18 ultra despite your car’s power advantage?
“In Spa we saw the e-tron quattro very much at the beginning of its life. On a clear track, we had a very fast car that was shown by my pole-position. But in the race we had quite a learning curve – looking towards Le Mans. Although the R18 ultra is new its very much more conventional – a big positive development from the R18 from last year. What we did find was that on average the ultra had a slightly higher performance over the duration of the race. However, I’m very sure with the development of the car [R18 e-tron quattro], then that should swing in our favour when we get more on top of the car balance.”
Does the R18 e-tron quattro have extra batteries for the hybrid?
“There are various systems to store energy harvested for hybrid vehicles. One is a battery while another is with a flywheel. Audi Sport chose the flywheel system for its application. The R18 had to be made lighter by 10% to allow for the extra weight of the hybrid elements to be carried on the e-tron quattro and to still be on the 900kg weight limit. This means that the R18 ultra is ballasted to the minimum weight limit of 900kg. The weight ballast can be placed in the car wherever is optimal at any particular circuit. That can also be done with the e-tron quattro but only to a certain extent. A tremendous amount of effort went into that process. To take an already very light car [2011 R18 TDI], make it even lighter [R18 ultra] at the same time as improving the strength of it and to put in a quattro system, was certainly a feat of engineering.”
How many Audi team personnel will be at Le Mans?
“We are running four cars so more personnel are required. Approximately 140 Audi team members will be at Le Mans bidding for Audi’s 11th Le Mans win.”
Are there any other real differences between the two R18 concepts?
“The only real difference is the hybrid element – the two motors at the front, the flywheel, the cabling and the drive shafts powering the front wheels. The suspension geometry, the monocoque, the engine, aerodynamics, are all the same.”
What are the two large colour coded bottles just inside the passenger door?
“One is the driver’s drinks bottle and the other is a screen wash bottle – both are generally changed at each pit stop.”
Your LM24 race lasted less than an hour last year, does that make you more determined this year?
“2011 Le Mans was certainly a thrilling race. For ‘my’ car it was very short and obviously quite catastrophic, in terms of the accident and the results of that. When you go to Le Mans you go there very determined to win and that incident was last year, it’s in the past, and forgotten about. I do not reflect on the incident and I will not discuss it at Le Mans this year.”
How many mechanics can work on the car during a pit-stop?
“Regulations allow only two mechanics to be physically working [touching] on the car at any one time which means a certain amount of choreography is required at a wheel change for example. Two mechanics do one job, then they come into the pit area and two others go out and do another part of the job, and this goes on.”
Approximately how many gear changes do you make each lap?
“Around 57 gear shifts every lap . . . which is quite a lot!”
Le Mans – sum up your history of this famous race
“I was always aware of Le Mans, of course, with the famous Ecurie Ecosse team from Scotland who won in 1956 & ‘57. I was asked to do the 24 Hours in 1993 but opted not to as I was concentrating on my single-seater career. The first time I went to Le Mans for the 24 hours was in 1997 as a reserve driver for the Porsche “factory” team and was racing for Rook Porsche. I’d actually finished third at Le Mans in the World Kart Championship in 1985 but it was in 1998 when I won the 24 Hours. I was blown away with the history of the race, the length of the lap, the 340kph plus speed on the Mulsanne. It was a shock to the system – it was mind blowing. It’s not a physical track but mentally it’s a big challenge due to the pressure, the race duration and the long driving stints in the car.”
Source : Allan McNish