Lockie to Race Diesel at Le Mans
V10 Twin Turbo prototype is a first for the 24 hour race
Calum Lockie will contest the Le Mans 24-Hour race this year after securing a drive in the Lola B2K10 entered by Taurus Sports. The diesel-turbo powered prototype is the first such car to be entered at Le Mans and represents a unique technical challenge for the world-famous race.
"I'm achieving two ambitions here ," says Lockie. "The first is to race at Le Mans and the second is to race a sports-prototype ." Having completed the pre-qualifying session on Sunday (25 April), the team has been accepted into the race and Lockie will share the driving with Phil Andrews and one other driver, yet to be confirmed.
The Lola is powered by a 5-litre diesel fuelled twin-turbo V10 engine, and the clear target is to be the first diesel-engined car to finish the race. "It's an exciting and innovative project that will get a lot of coverage ," says Lockie. Although a diesel-engined car was entered in the in 1951, it didn’t reach the finish.
Lockie drove the car for the first time during pre-qualifying and was immediately impressed even though some fuel pump problems interrupted their running. "When you get it going it absolutely takes off! The basic ingredients of the car are all there and the torque is just vast. The full potential of the package is obvious ," he added.
"The team at Taurus Sports has worked endless hours to get the project to this stage ," says Lockie. "It has been a fantastic team effort and I'm confident that the car will deliver in the race. Caterpillar, PI Research and Mountune have all been major partners in making the project work ."
The car will now be entered in the opening race of the Le Mans Endurance Series, the 1000km race at Monza (Italy) on May 9. "I'd love to do the Monza race with the team if I can pull a deal together ," says Lockie.
Link : www.taurussports.co.uk/
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