| Powering Dyson Racing’s Lola Coupes, Mazda’s MZR-R engine won the 2011 American Le Mans Series Engine Manufacturer’s Championship, adding to Advanced Engine Research’s title tally of four ALMS championships and four LMS championships.
For 2012, the Mazda MZR-R engine came in second in the ALMS Manufacturer Championship, eight points out of first with first place ALMS points to its credit in the two toughest endurance races of the year, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1,000 mile Petit Le Mans.
Building on their successful partnership with Mazda, AER built an all-new version of the MZR-R race-winning engine for the 2010 season. Further refined and strengthened over the past three years, the team introduced an updated version with gasoline direct injection at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seaca in May of this year. The GDI version delivers more horsepower, more torque, better drivability with better fuel economy. The 2.0 liter, four-cylinder in-line turbocharged engine was designed from a clean sheet of paper, and is designed to make in excess of 500 HP -- on a per cylinder basis, more than an F1 engine. It is all aluminum construction and mounted as a semi-stressed member of the chassis with A-frames.
Combining very low mass with a small physical footprint, the engine is the smallest, lightest and most compact in LMP racing today and there are no external belt drives or ancillaries. The camshafts, water pump and oil pump are internally driven by gears. The engine has barrel throttles for optimum engine response with the latest Life Racing electronics for optimum engine control and high efficiency.
The Mazda MZR-R engine is the smallest P1 engine in the ALMS paddock, and came in second in the championship last year over the eight cylinder HPD and won the 2011 championship over the twelve-cylinder Aston Martin. It also added the honor of winning the 2011 Michelin Green-X Challenge to its resume. 2011 was the 20th anniversary of Mazda’s victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They remain the only Japanese manufacturer to have won that endurance classic and their “never stop challenging” spirit continues its winning ways as strong as ever.
|
