Misplaced Pages

#385614

45-598: The Acura ARX-01 , later known as the HPD ARX-01 , is a series of Le Mans Prototypes built for sports car racing , specifically in the American Le Mans Series , Le Mans Series , and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . It is the first purpose-built race car by the Acura division of Honda Motor Company , part of their multi-year program to eventually compete in endurance race . The car debuted in 2007 in

90-434: A 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8. In seasons 2017 through 2020, the engine produced about 600  bhp . Dallara , Onroak Automotive (Ligier), Oreca and the joint-venture Riley Tech / Multimatic were selected by FIA as the four exclusive chassis constructors, which must be closed-cockpit designs. Before the start of the 2021 season LMP2 cars have been slowed down to ensure the necessary lap time difference between

135-600: A Le Mans Prototype program for the American Le Mans Series , competing in the LMP2 class for the initial year of competition in 2007. Acura announced they would be using customer chassis from Lola Cars International of the United Kingdom and Courage Compétition of France, while the engine would be built entirely by Honda Performance Development of the United States. Acura planned to use the customer chassis for

180-472: A Lola chassis and concentrate on developing the new Acura V8 engine. A third Courage LC75 would be retained by Honda of America for use as a developmental prototype. By early 2007, all three teams had begun testing their cars as well as beginning modification. By the time the American Le Mans Series opening round at the 12 Hours of Sebring arrived, the two Courage LC75 teams had modified their chassis to such an extent that Acura applied for homologation from

225-562: A class above production-based grand tourer cars, which compete alongside them in sports car racing . Later, LMP1 designs included hybrid cars that use electric motors to assist acceleration. The Le Mans Prototype LMP1 class has been replaced by Le Mans Hypercars in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the 2021 season . Non-hybrid LMP1 cars were eligible to be "grandfathered" for two more seasons and compete alongside

270-740: Is commonly referred to as a Le Mans car in the media. The first use of what would become Le Mans Prototypes was at the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans . In an attempt to increase the number of entrants beyond the small field of Group C competitors that the World Sportscar Championship had to offer, older Porsche 962s were allowed entry in Category 3. To further increase the size of the field, small open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines which were raced in small national championships were allowed in Category 4. Later, ACO announced its intentions to completely replace

315-470: Is handcrafted at their distilleries. The original Patrón Tequila was produced by Casa 7 Leguas , one of the oldest Mexican distilleries. St. Maarten Spirits (owners John Paul DeJoria and Martin Crowley) purchased the brand rights in 1989 and in 2002 production moved to a new distillery. In 2000, Ed Brown , co-founder of Patrón and former Seagram executive, took over as CEO. In January 2018, Patrón

360-595: The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car. As of 2023, there are two classes within Le Mans Prototypes, designated LMP2 and LMP3 . While not as fast as open-wheel Formula One cars around a track, the LMP1s were the fastest closed-wheel racing cars used in circuit racing. Le Mans Prototypes are considered

405-591: The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). With the application approved, the Acura Courage LC75s were renamed as Acura ARX-01a. As for the engine, Honda Performance Development (HPD) created a new 3.4-liter V8, the maximum size allowed by the rules, the first V8 ever branded as an Acura as well as the first motor built entirely in the United States by Honda. Elements of

450-822: The 2015–2019 first-generation ruleset were the Ginetta-Juno P3 , Ligier JS P3 , Norma M30 , ADESS-03 , and the Ave-Riley AR-02. The cars were eligible in a number of series, such as the Asian Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series, as well as the V de V Endurance Series and the IMSA Prototype Challenge . A number of championships for the class have also been created, such as the FRD LMP3 series and

495-750: The Acura V8, dubbed the AL7R, share similar architecture with the Honda engine used in the Indy Racing League although none of the parts are interchangeable. The two new Acura ARX-01as, along with the other Lola team car, debuted at the 2007 12 Hours of Sebring after much preparation. Battling not only the Porsche squads in their own class, they also attempted to compete with the Audi R10 diesels in

SECTION 10

#1732787618386

540-719: The Acura-powered Lola of Fernández Racing took third. In the third race of the season at Long Beach, Acura gained their first overall pole, with the Andretti Green Racing ARX-01a outpacing the two Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyders and the Audi R10s . On July 12, 2008, the #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing ARX-01 earned Acura's first-ever overall victory in the American Le Mans Series. David Brabham and Scott Sharp started

585-629: The American Le Mans Series until after the Le Mans 24 Hours. Highcroft faced stiff competition but was able to beat the Cytosport Porsche by 20 points despite running a 25 kg series-imposed ballast. The team won 4 victories and extended the points lead further when Cytosport was absent from Lime Rock due to a crash. Drayson Racing and Dyson Racing also ran in ALMS and had a straight-line speed advantage over Highcroft, becoming most obvious in

630-678: The American Le mans Series before expanding to customers in Europe. Over the years various specifications of the ARX-01 chassis have been developed, each signified by a letter suffix. In 2010 Acura withdrew their name from the program and Honda Performance Development which developed the car for Acura continued the program into 2011. At the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Acura officially announced their plans to develop

675-818: The British LMP3 Cup. First-generation cars were powered by a 5.0-litre normally-aspirated Nissan VK50 V8 engine , producing 310 kW (420 hp). A 2nd Generation ruleset was introduced for 2020, with new cars introduced: the Ginetta G61-LT-P3 , Ligier JS P320 , Duqueine D-08 , and the ADESS-03 Evo. These cars can be built from its predecessors using an upgrade kit. The new LMP3 prototypes are used in Asian Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup , IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge , European Le Mans Series, and Prototype Cup Germany. For

720-632: The GT class regulations, forcing the ACO to promote them as prototypes. In 2000, changes were made to the LMP regulations, as the ACO once again split the open-cockpit LMP class. The two new classes became known as "LMP900" and "LMP675", with the numbers denoting the minimum weight requirements (in kilograms) for each class. The LMP900s were to be more powerful and faster in top speed, but also heavier and more cumbersome. The LMP675s were to be smaller and more nimble, yet lack

765-519: The Group C cars with Le Mans Prototypes . Two classes were created, with LMP1s running large displacement custom-built engines that were usually turbocharged, and LMP2s using the smaller displacement production-based engines. Both classes were required to have open cockpits. However, LMP1 cars that year were just former Group C cars, some still with closed cockpits ( Toyota 94C-V , Courage C32 , Kremer K8 Spyder , Porsche 962C GTI , ALD C289 and Alpa LM). At

810-676: The Highcroft entry from pole, and managed to retake the lead from the #7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder in the final 90 seconds of the Northeast Grand Prix . This was followed by a second overall win at the Detroit Sports Car Challenge , this time led by Andretti Green Racing's Franck Montagny and James Rossiter . The Acura ARX-01b won six of the eleven races in the LMP2 class for 2008, with four for Highcroft and two for Andretti Green. Highcroft

855-686: The Hypercar category, a single aero kit has been made mandatory across the whole season and is limited to the Le Mans specification in the WEC; the ELMS teams have retained the right to switch between the aero kits. LMP3 is an entry-level prototype class intended for introducing young drivers and new teams to endurance racing before they progress to the higher classes of prototype racing, LMP2 and ultimately Hypercar. LMP3 uses closed-cockpit chassis, which can be built by any licensed constructor. Cars eligible for

900-545: The LMP2 and a new class—Hypercar. In the original version of the new ruleset, revealed in November 2020, only the power of the Gibson engine has been reduced—to 560 bhp. Right before the start of the season, the cars were further weakened, by trimming an additional 20 bhp to a total of 540 bhp. The minimum weight of the cars has also been increased by 20 kg and has been set at 950 kg. Furthermore, mirroring

945-709: The LMP2 class, finished 5th overall (best result ever for an LMP2) and won the Michelin Green X Challenge across all class. Highcroft Racing originally intended to compete in the ALMS LMP1 category using the ARX-01e powered by the HPD 3.4-liter V8 engine. The team took delivery only a week before the Sebring 12 Hours but was able to convert it into a 2nd-place finish. The ACO finally appeared to have been able to level out

SECTION 20

#1732787618386

990-603: The LMP2 teams', drivers' and manufacturers' championship. For 2010, Highcroft Racing has discontinued its campaign of the LMP1-spec ARX-02 and returns to an upgraded version of the ARX-01. The car also made its debut in Europe, in the Le Mans Series, run by Strakka Racing. Both teams will run the ARX-01c at Le Mans , however, Highcroft Racing will continue to use the higher-downforce ARX-01b configuration in

1035-646: The Miller Motosport Park. Strakka's HPD in the Le Mans Series proved to be superior to the opposition in class. In all of the 5 races in the series, the car was at least 2 seconds quicker than their nearest rival. A 7-minute repair would not stop them from winning at Paul Ricard. They also won LMP2 at Silverstone despite accidents and won overall at Hungaroring. The win at Hungary was the first ever in LMS history that an LMP2 car finished ahead of LMP1. However 2 DNFs out of 5 races meant that Strakka missed out on

1080-459: The Paul Ricard test the cars were very slow due to the level of engine development prior to homologation. RML stated that they were literally the slowest car of the whole field, and that "there's not a class out there that can't drive by us on the straight". They did mention that the car was not in low drag configuration so the car was not in an optimally efficient condition. The ACO increased

1125-640: The UK, the car made an instant impression winning the LMP2 class on debut at the Laguna Seca six-hours and then even more impressively two weeks later at Road Atlanta's 1000-mile Petit Le Mans . Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype ( LMP ) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans , FIA World Endurance Championship , IMSA SportsCar Championship , European Le Mans Series , and Asian Le Mans Series . Le Mans Prototypes were created by

1170-453: The championship to the more consistent RML team, who ran a Lola chassis with an HPD engine. Both Strakka and Highcroft competed at Le Mans for 2010, with the latter running a conservative pace for the unproven reliability. Ironically it was the Highcroft that was dodged with water leak issues. Strakka had already experimented with low-downforce aero in LMS and got the better hand. They set a new LMP2 class lap record, led from pole to finish, won

1215-584: The competition level between the petrol and diesel, although this belief was shattered immediately at the Le Mans test, which saw the top petrol runners more than 10 seconds (up to 20 for the Aston Martin AMR-One) adrift from the pacesetter Audi R18. Highcroft did not appear at the Long Beach round and begun to take more serious involvement in the IRL program. On May 16, Highcroft finally announced

1260-538: The costs, FIA introduced a new set of LMP2 regulations, which will be locked in through 2020, aiming for a significant power increase, to the range of 150 horsepower (which is expected to lead to a four-second decrease in lap time at Le Mans). Gibson Technology is the exclusive engine supplier for LMP2, producing a four-litre normally-aspirated V8. Biofuels , specifically petrol with 10% ethanol and biodiesel ( BTL ), are allowed in both LMP1 and LMP2 categories. The fuel tank size and minimum weight for non-hybrid cars

1305-592: The end of their partnership with Honda, citing the earthquake in Japan that eventually caused financial troubles at Honda. The ARX-01e will not appear at Le Mans and will not be raced anymore. Only RML and Strakka were left to campaign the ARX-01d in the Le Mans Series. The ARX-01d, fitted with HPD's new LMP2 stock-block V6 engine, had been run in the Le Mans Series and at Le Mans by defending Le Mans LMP2 winners Strakka Racing and by defending LMS LMP2 champions RML . At

1350-599: The first year, then to build their own chassis for 2008, followed by another new chassis for a move to the top LMP1 class in 2009. At the Detroit auto show, Acura showed their first customer chassis, a brand new Courage LC75. Following the announcement of the three teams involved in the project, Acura announced that for 2007 each team would concentrate on a certain aspect of development for the planned 2008 car. Andretti Green Racing and Highcroft Racing would use Courage LC75 chassis, and work on chassis design and aerodynamic modification. The third team, Fernández Racing , would use

1395-606: The higher LMP1 class throughout the race. During the race the ARX-01a showed the ability to at least keep close to the Audi, yet was unable to truly fight for the lead. However, in the end the Acura ARX-01a of Andretti Green Racing was able to survive the race better than other competitors and managed to take the class victory, as well as second place overall. The second ARX-01a of Highcroft Racing took sixth place overall, while

Acura ARX-01 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1440-662: The new class for the 2021 to 2022 seasons. Starting from the 2023 season of WEC and IMSA SportsCar Championship, Le Mans Hypercars are joined by Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) cars. These two kinds of prototypes will form the top class of endurance racing: Hypercar in WEC and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) in IMSA. Le Mans Prototypes have used various names depending on the series in which they compete. The FIA 's equivalent cars were referred to as Sports Racers (SR) or Sports Racing Prototypes (SRP). The American IMSA GT Championship termed their cars World Sports Cars (WSC), while

1485-679: The restrictor for both cars by 1.2% before the 1000 km of Spa, but both RML and Strakka were still slower than the Nissans. RML did not get to start the race due to a collision with the #9 Peugeot in one of the practice sessions. Level 5 Motorsports announced they will now utilize the HPD ARX-01gs, Honda's cost-capped chassis and engine combination, in the remaining 2011 American Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup rounds. Designed and developed by Wirth Research in Bicester in

1530-456: The same class structure as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning it was the first championship to use the LMP name. At the same time, the ACO greatly altered their LMP classes. The smaller LMP2 class were briefly eliminated, while a new class of closed-cockpit prototypes was allowed in, known as "LMGTP" (Le Mans grand touring prototype). These cars were evolutions of production-based road cars that the ACO considered too advanced and too fast to fall under

1575-494: The same time, the IMSA GT Championship announced the end of their closed cockpit GTP and Lights classes, deciding as well to replace them with a single open-cockpit class of World Sports Cars equivalent to LMP1. This formula continued up to 1996, with many manufacturers embracing the LMP and WSC classes, including Ferrari , Porsche , and Mazda . In 1997, the first European series based around Le Mans Prototypes

1620-475: The second generation, engines were upgraded to the 5.6-litre Nissan VK56 , increasing horsepower to 340 kW (455 hp). For 2025, the engines used in the class are set to be replaced with the twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre Toyota V35A , bringing about a power increase to 350 kW (470 hp). LMPC ( Le Mans Prototype Challenge ) was an earlier entry level class, introduced in 2009, consisting of competitors running identical Oreca FLM09 cars. The class

1665-521: The short-lived United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) used the classic Can-Am (CA) name for their prototypes. Since 2004, most series have switched to referring to these cars as Le Mans Prototypes . The American Le Mans Series , the successor to the IMSA GT Championship and the predecessor of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, officially referred to the cars simply as Prototypes (P1, P2, or PC). An LMP

1710-589: The sportscar championship of the 1970s. However, the USRRC collapsed before the end of 1999, with the series becoming the Rolex Sports Car Series chose to use the FIA's SR1 and SR2 formula instead. 1998 saw a great expansion for the ACO's LMP classes. Following the cancellation of the IMSA GT Championship at the end of 1998, the ACO allowed for the creation of the American Le Mans Series. This series used

1755-535: The top speed of the larger class. Both classes were intended to be able to compete for overall wins. Audi , Chrysler , Cadillac , and Panoz opted to use the LMP900 formula, while MG were the only major manufacturer to attempt the LMP675 class. The LMGTP class also continued, with Bentley being the only manufacturer to build a closed-cockpit prototype after the regulation changes in 2000. In 2017, in order to limit

1800-446: Was subject to adjustment to reduce the difference in performance between hybrid and non-hybrid cars. There were no limits on the number of cylinders for any type of engine. Bodywork was required to cover all mechanical elements of the car, so that they couldn't be visible when the car is viewed directly from the front, side, or top. The LMP1 cars were generally the most powerful, with higher straight-line speeds. The LMP1 category

1845-569: Was dropped in European Le Mans Series in 2014 . As the cost of running an LMPC team was found to be comparable to that for an LMP2 team, the class was dropped after the 2017 season in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Patr%C3%B3n Patrón Tequilas, like all tequilas, are produced in Mexico from the "corazón" (heart or core) of the blue agave plant. Everything including the barrels, corks, and bottles

Acura ARX-01 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1890-451: Was launched, known as the " International Sports Racing Series ". Using classes similar to LMP1/WSC and LMP2, these cars were known as "SR1" and "SR2" by the FIA. 1998 saw the creation of another series of Le Mans Prototypes, with the new United States Road Racing Championship attempting to break away from the IMSA GT Championship. To differ from IMSA'S WSC class, the USRRC named their open-cockpit prototypes " Can-Am " in an attempt to resurrect

1935-478: Was ranked second in the Teams Championship, Andretti Green fourth, Fernandez fifth, and de Ferran sixth. Acura lost the LMP2 constructors championship to Porsche by a single point. In 2009, Fernandez Racing continued to compete with an updated version of the ARX-01, while Acura unveiled an LMP1 class ARX-02 for Highcroft Racing and de Ferran Motorsports. By the end of the season, Fernandez Racing won

1980-429: Was retired at the end of the 2020 season, replaced by a new top class of the endurance racing: Hypercar . From 2017, in order to limit the costs, FIA introduced a new set of regulations, which will be locked in through 2025. The rules allow a significant power increase (150 horsepower) which is expected to lead to a four-second decrease in lap time at Le Mans. Gibson Technology is the exclusive engine supplier, producing

2025-487: Was sold to Bacardi , one of the world's largest privately held spirits company, for $ 5.1 billion. Following the advertising strategy of Grey Goose , Patrón presented its tequila as "premium" and signaled "taste and sophistication" through individually-numbered glass bottles. The target audience is mostly vodka drinkers in nightclubs and trendy bars . Through persistent references by country music and hip hop singers, and by Lil Jon in particular, Patrón has become

#385614