SHELL V-POWER FUELS AN EPIC BATTLE AT LE MANS - AUDI WINS - PORSCHE OUT

The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours race saw a titanic battle for overall victory and class honours fuelled by Shell V-Power race fuels.

The ultimate prize was taken by the Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoit Tréluyer from its sister car of Lucas di Grassi, Marc Gené and Tom Kristensen in second place, both using Shell V-Power Diesel, while the final podium position was claimed by the Toyota TS040 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi using Shell V-Power gasoline.

Behind the battle for overall victory, the LMP1 Lightweight class was claimed by Rebellion Racing with its all-new R-One chassis powered by a Toyota engine finishing fourth overall. A thrilling LMP2 class battle was claimed by the Jota Sport-entered Zytek-Nissan of Simon Dolan, Harry Tincknell and Oliver Turvey. In the production-based classes, Ferrari took victory in GTE Pro with the AF Corse entry of Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella while Aston Martin triumphed in GTE Am with the car of Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeir-Hansson and Nicki Thiim.

As the Official Fuel Partner to the FIA World Endurance Championship, Shell supplies its range of Shell V-Power gasoline and diesel products to all teams taking part in the Le Mans 24 Hours. For 2014 the latest championship regulations set a target of 30% reduction in fuel consumption among the top tier of LMP1 sports-prototype from the previous generation models, requiring Shell to produce an entirely new range of fuels co-engineered with the competing manufacturers in order to meet targets for power and economy.

With pole position for the race being taken by the Toyota TS040 Hybrid of Kazuki Nakajima with a time 0.5 seconds faster than the 2013 benchmark, the performance of the new generation cars was clearly illustrated despite the challenging fuel consumption target. The winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro covered a total of 379 laps or 5165.391 kilometres in 24 hours, becoming the 42nd car to take victory at Le Mans with the support of Shell products.

Richard Karlstetter, Racing Fuels Technology Manager at Shell, said “We are delighted with the performance of the new generation Shell V-Power Diesel and Shell V-Power gasoline race fuels in what is the ultimate test of its kind, the Le Mans 24 Hours. The fuel technology co-engineered between Shell and the competing manufacturers is a prototype for the next generation of road car engines and as such we are engaged in a learning process as well as a sporting challenge. The race was incredibly exciting with no one team holding the advantage until the very closing stages, and we congratulate Audi and all the winners in their respective classes.”

Dr. Wolfgang Warnecke, Chief Scientist Mobility at Shell, added “The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours was an extraordinary event with all three manufacturers who were competing for the overall victory taking the lead of the race for a considerable distance. The three very different powertrain solutions of Porsche’s small capacity turbocharged gasoline engine, Toyota’s larger non-turbo gasoline engine and Audi’s victorious turbodiesel, each with their respective hybrid systems, represent an incredible level of diversity. It is through developing these different solutions to the challenge of greater efficiency that future generations of road cars will benefit in the next five to ten years.”

Shell’s Official Fuel Partner status within the FIA World Endurance Championship sits alongside its Technical Partnerships with Scuderia Ferrari in the FIA Formula One™ World Championship, Ducati Corse in MotoGP™ and the World Superbike Championship, Hyundai Motorsport in the FIA World Rally Championship and Team Penske in NASCAR and Indycar.

This portfolio allows Shell the opportunity to develop its cutting-edge technology in partnership with some of the world’s leading motor manufacturers in order to develop more efficient energy solutions for future road use.

TS
17.06.2014
LeMans - Amsterdam - Cairo