Le Mans Teams Rely Once Again On Bosch Technology

Injection technology for all vehicle classes

In the past five years, diesel-powered vehicles of the Audi Sport and Peugeot Sport teams have clinched overall victory. In 2012, Bosch is again the development partner of Audi Sport, supplying the customised diesel injection technology for the Le Mans prototypes, among other things.



A number of the vehicles on the starting grid in 2012 will also feature Bosch Motorsport gasoline direct injection. The Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LM-GTE)-class's Ferrari 458 Italia GTC vehicles will use this system, which is based on the latest findings from series production technology, and has been optimised to meet the demands of motor racing. With the MS 5.1 control unit and the HPI 5 high-pressure power stage unit, the gasoline direct injection system includes all the electronic components. Moreover, with the HDEV 5 high-pressure injection valves and the HDP 5 high-pressure fuel pump with integrated demand control valve it also includes the entire hydraulics. The electronically controlled HDEV 5 high-pressure solenoid valve with multihole technology has been customised, and its spray pattern adapted to the racing engine's combustion chamber geometry. Bosch Motorsport is supplying the especially small and light HDP 5 high-pressure fuel pump, whose cam profile has been customised to fit the properties of the engine. Explaining the advantages of the complete gasoline direct injection system, Klaus Böttcher, the Vice President of Bosch Motorsport, says: “As a complete system, the hydraulic and electronic components are perfectly matched and tested for optimum performance.”



Comprehensive portfolio for motor racing

Many teams are using other technology supplied by Bosch Motorsport – not only injection systems. For example, the Ferrari 458 Italia GTC vehicles also feature a customised DDU 8 dash logger from the German supplier. Corvette Racing's GT2 Corvette C6.R vehicles use Bosch Motorsport's MS 5.1 engine control unit, C 60 data logger, and DDU 7 dash logger. All these products were developed especially for motor racing, manufactured in small series, and applied to the race cars using customised software. The telemetry system in the Corvette race cars is also a Bosch Motorsport product. It uses a radio modem to transmit data between the vehicle and the pit.



For the Porsche 911 GT3-RSR vehicles also competing in both LM-GTE classes at Le Mans, Bosch Motorsport supplies the MS 4.0 engine control unit, the engine data logger, the starter, and many sensors. Mostly based on series-produced components, they have been adapted to the gruelling demands of a long-distance race. To achieve this, the motor racing engineers work together closely with the prototype departments in the Bosch plants. With every component they use, the teams benefit from the expertise of a leading automotive supplier. “We supply many teams in the '24 Hours of Le Mans' race. On request, each team is served by a different set of engineers,” Böttcher says, explaining the internal set-up of the Motorsport unit. “The software developed for each manufacturer, as well as the customer-specific product modifications, is reserved exclusively for the special teams,” he says.



Bosch Motorsport is part of Bosch Engineering GmbH, a Bosch subsidiary that specialises in engineering services. It can look back on 111 years of participation in the world of motor racing. As early as 1901, Bosch technology first helped racing drivers to victory.