Photo : Nicolas COUSSEAU - ACO/Nikon

Next year, the rules of the LM P2 class will change significantly, with reduction in costs the engines will have to be more closely related to a production units and have a lifespan of 30 hours minimum. Honda Performance Development has successfully completed the track debut of a new V6.

HPD chose its partners Highcroft Racing to test the twin-turbo 2.8 V6. The new unit was installed in the chassis of the ARX-01c equipped with a body modified for the occasion. "There are a number of new openings on the sidepods for the intercoolers, and there are some new blisters on the engine cover because of the placement of the throttle cable and some sensors, but it all looks rather seamless” explained Highcroft team owner Duncan Dayton, who also said that he was surprised by the smooth running of the two test days held at Carolina Motorsports Park (South Carolina): “You always expect some sort of dramas when you test a new car or engine, but that simply wasn’t the case. We did 435 miles across the two days at Kershaw and the engine ran flawlessly. The first objective was really only to run a few careful miles to make sure the cooling and oiling systems worked as planned, but we were able to do a lot more than that once we checked everything over. All together, we are really pleased.”

The development team still encountered two small problems, but Duncan Dayton said they did not question the design of the engine: “We had one engine sensor that needed to be replaced, and then on Thursday we had a wastegate actuator arm break, but the boys fixed that right away and we resumed testing. You don’t mind little things like that at this stage of the game.”

Simon Pagenaud, ALMS championship title, was in charge of these early tests. "It’s very different, obviously. The ACO is trying to slow the LMP2 cars down at the moment, and as a racing driver, I’m never in favor of having less horsepower”, said the Frenchman. "But the new HPD engine ran great. It was a great first test and it was very convincing in how simple everything worked. I just drove and drove which is a good sign. The chassis has a lot of downforce, and with less power, it’s all about carrying speed. It’s also lighter than it used to be. It has a lot of torque and was very nice to drive. Over the course of a race, I think it will be better than the non-turbo engine because it has so much less vibration. There is still some tuning HPD wants to do with the mapping on the electronics, but for me, it felt like we could go race this engine immediately. I know [HPD] will make improvements after this first test, but overall, I would say it is very close.”

Julien Hergault / from speedtv.com

Photo : PETIT LE MANS, ROAD ATLANTA  2nd oct 2010. Honda Performance Development and Highcroft will probably defend their ALMS title with a new 2.8V6 bi-turbo.