At 10 am in Brasilia on Saturday will be given the start for the 83rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third round of the World Endurance Championship WEC, in English.
Despite of Brazil already having hosted racing category, the competition is not as well known here as Formula 1, for example.
But the tournament with endurance races (the shortest is 6 hours) focuses supercars with technologies that will arrive to street models long before applied in Formula 1. So much so that more manufacturers are betting on WEC and replicate techniques in production scale.
Toyota and Audi participate in the main category since the first step with this name in 2012. Last year it was the turn of the Porsche return to contention long runs. This year, the rookie is Nissan. And Ford has confirmed it will join the league from next season
Categories
The World Endurance consists of four categories. The main, call LMP1 prototypes single-seater and meets most of the official factory teams. This year, will contest Le Mans, Audi, Toyota, Porsche and Nissan.
In LMP2, the vehicles are also prototypes, but with less power, and can be opened. The two others, GTE Pro and GTE Am cars are sold in series, but with several modifications. It compete models like Ferrari 458, Aston Martin Vantage and Chevrolet Corvette.
Of clues to the street
Barn technologies, the WEC anticipates some features that the car street will in a few years. Nissan, for example, opens with an unusual set in the category, with front engine and traction, while the vast majority of competitors bet on cars with engine and traction on the rear wheels.
The GT-R Nismo LM, as the vehicle was baptized, has a 3.0 V6 biturbo engine of 550 horses (the same engine of the GT-R), combined with a set of electric motors, which together may exceed 1,600 hp. For the race, however, the number should be in the region of 1,200 hp. The exchange rate is sequential five-speed.
Among the cars that compete Le Mans, the GT-R Nismo LM is closer than you can have a street vehicle, however it has been developed to the slopes.
Already the Audi used the league to hone their hybrid technology, called e-tron and weight reduction, called Ultra. Yet for the 2011 season, the brand adopted the technology, mixing and diesel and electric, and using abundantly the carbon fiber in the construction of cars.
New contract
Ford announced on Friday (12) will return to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016, exactly 50 years after the victory of the brand in the French circuit using the first generation of GT.
The model will compete in the GTE Pro category, and will be based on the production model, unveiled in January during the Detroit Auto Show. According to Ford itself, the GT is the most advanced model in terms of technology and performance that the company has developed to date. No technical information, what is known is that the GT will have V6 3.5 engine, the most powerful EcoBoost line.
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