FIA WEC: Gibson confirms engine deal with Rebellion Racing & Oreca

Gibson Technology confirmed today their new contract with Rebellion Racing and manufacturer Oreca to supply LMP1 engines for the 2018/19 World Endurance Championship Super Season. The 2017 WEC LMP2 Champions have confirmed their intention to contest LMP1 in FIA WEC in 2018, running a two car team with an Oreca chassis and Gibson GL458 engine. This is a return to the top category of WEC for Rebellion and will include competing in the grueling Le Mans 24 hours.

The new LMP1 engine supplied by Gibson will be based upon their successful LMP2 engine. Design, development and production of the new GL458 are taking place at Gibson’s state-of-the-art Repton facility, with the first engine being scheduled for delivery to Rebellion next month.

All LMP2 teams in WEC, ELMS, Le Mans 24 Hour and IMSA in the USA are currently powered by Gibson engines, with over 600,000kms covered so far with the GK428 engines. The new LMP1 contract with Rebellion Racing is a natural progression for Gibson’s highly motivated engineers to prove their reliability and success at the top level of endurance racing.

Hugues de Chaunac, CEO, ORECA Group: “ORECA has a great and successful relationship with Gibson Technology on the LMP2 program. So when we had to investigate the different options for an LMP1 engine, it made sense to talk about this project with Gibson and at the end it was an obvious choice. They have shown their abilities in sportscars for many years. We need a strong, reliable and competitive engine for the Rebellion R13 and we are confident we will have it with the Gibson V8. We will have a strong package and we are looking forward to it.”

Calim Bouhadra, Vice President of the REBELLION Group: “We are excited to make our come-back in LMP1 and to do this project with both ORECA and Gibson Technology. We had an excellent package in 2017 with the ORECA 07 chassis and the V8 Gibson engine and we made it successful by winning the FIA WEC title. We are really happy to continue this partnership. It was the natural step for REBELLION Racing and it will be for sure a great challenge. We all share the same motivation.”

John Manchester, Gibson Technology’s Operations Director: “Everyone at Gibson Technology is delighted that our engines have been chosen by yet another top-flight team and sportscar constructor to compete at the highest level of world endurance racing. The new LMP1 engine contract with Rebellion Racing and Oreca is a natural progression for our company and we are extremely pleased to continue with the successful partnership that we formed with them during 2017, which will further enable us to develop our engine technology to compete against some of the top sportscar and engine manufacturers at the pinnacle of world sportscar racing. We are all very much looking forward to the exciting challenge ahead.”

FIA WEC: Mecachrome takes cover off its LMP1 engine

After completing its first high speed test at Leeds East Airport, Mecachrome takes off the cover of the Ginetta G60-LT-P1 and shows its V6 LMP1 engine for the first time. 

Unveiled at the Autosport International Show on 11 January, the Ginetta LMP1 with Mecachrome’s newly developed direct-injection LMP1 engine, took to the Yorkshire runway to partake in several high-speed runs, as they prepare for the 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season.

© Chris Wallbank/Ginetta

Pleased at the performance in these early stages, Mecachrome Motorsport Director, Bruno Engelric, said: “We have a great partnership with Ginetta and overall the installation went really well, especially when you consider before this project we had not worked together and are both discovering the LMP1 class.

“There’s a small adjustment to make regarding the position of multi-connection boxes. On the GP3 and F2 engines, they are under the plenums, but in this case, we have to move them up so that they’re more accessible. We expected this adaptation and this change will be made for testing later next month. We also have to make slight modifications to the alternator position, as right now its location is very tight and won’t work when the car goes over kerbs. We have a solution that is due to arrive towards the end of February, as we anticipated this issue.”

Ewan Baldry, Ginetta Cars Technical Director said: “We have really enjoyed working with Mecachrome Motorsport to date. It is clear that they are a very serious, professional and committed company. The packaging of the engine into the chassis has gone smoothly and initial testing runs have proven to be very encouraging. The Mecachrome Motorsport technical staff have been on hand at each of the test events to date, which has given a great feeling of collaboration. Clearly we have a long way to go, but we are confident and excited about what the future will bring.”

Following the initial shakedown, a thorough test plan is planned for the coming weeks ahead of the FIA WEC prologue at Paul Ricard in April and the season opening race in Spa-Francorchamps. 

FIA WEC - AIM/JUDD offer LMP1 engine for privateer teams in LMP1 as from 2018

British race engine manufacturer Engine Developments Ltd and AIM Co Ltd of Japan today announced a program to offer a new LMP1 engine for privateer teams. The engine will be available to private teams on a lease-only basis for the start of the 2018/2019 Super season. 

Since the introduction of fuel flow limiting regulations in the FIA WEC LMP1 class in 2013 AIM/Judd has tested and developed a number of different engine configurations including naturally aspirated and turbocharged platforms. Performance levels have increased significantly as the regulations have evolved, the result being that what may have been the optimum engine configuration in 2013 is no longer the best package to deliver the performance and reliability required.

At the current performance level of over 700PS and with a minimum car weight of less than 850kg, the new normally aspirated 5.5 litre V10 is designed to deliver extremely competitive lap times. The new V10 engine does not have the problems of throttle response, complexity and reliability associated with turbocharged engines or the weight and size issues associated with similar capacity normally aspirated V8 and V12 engines.

The AIM-JUDD V10 engine will incorporate a number of new developments aimed at maximising performance potential under the fuel flow limiting regulations whilst retaining the excellent reliability record that the previous JUDD and AIM V10 engines achieved in endurance racing. These include a new 72 degree cylinder block which is significantly lighter than any of our previous designs, a new combustion chamber, cooling system and piston design as well as an updated engine management system with electronic throttle and fuel flow management software. The expected technical regulations in LMP1 will guarantee parity of performance between the various engine types being used through a rigorous FIA homologation procedure. We therefore believe the V10 platform should be the natural choice for any LMP1 team that is serious about having a trouble-free run in the 2018 Le Mans 24hrs race. JUDD is delighted to again take on the Le Mans challenge with long-standing partners AIM in this new and exciting program. The new engine will be available to private teams on a lease-only basis for the beginning of the 2018/19 Super Season.

AIM-JUDD is the fourth engine manufacturer who has an engine available for the LMP1 privateer class in the FIA World Endurance Championship next season. They have been active in LMP2 until 2016 after which Gibson was selected as the sole engine supplier for the new LMP2 cars. The 2016 Asian Le Mans Series champions Race Performance raced with a Judd engine in the Oreca 03.  In the privateer LMP1 class, Ginetta is working together with Mechachrome for its LMP1 customer car, but is offering the option to team up with a different manufacturer. BR Engineering/Dallara is believed to have a deal with AER for its engine, and ByKolles will keep on racing with Nismo engines next season. 

Whether we'll see a Judd/AIM engine on the grid in the 2018/2019 season, and if a V10 naturally aspirated engine will be the best available option is unclear. An earlier attempt in 2016 to commercialise a similar engine didn't get them any customers, as privateer teams Rebellion and ByKolles held on to their AER engines. The addition of an extra engine manufacturer might open up the privateer market though, and who doesn't want to hear a screaming V10 going round at Le Mans ? 

Kristof Vermeulen.