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Renault likely to return to Le Mans
Renault motorsport manager fuels rumours of Renault's return to endurance sports car racingRumours that Renault is on the cusp of announcing its return to the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race have been given weight after the French company's Track Operations Manager, Remy Taffin, told motoring.com.au that it could compete in Le Mans "within two years".
Taffin was explaining the improved reliability of the 2014 F1 engine to Australian journalists ahead of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, confirming the F1 engine would be good for up to 3000km when he let slip about Renault's Le Mans ambitions.
"When we are doing even more kilometres with an engine, it sounds like we could be competing in the Le Mans race within two years, something like this."
When motoring.com.au questioned Taffin if the next generation RS34 F1 engine due in 2014 would form the basis of its endurance race car engine, he said it could be slotted straight into a Le Mans racer, but suggested changes would need to be made to win the event.
"Strictly speaking you could argue that you could put an F1 engine in the Le Mans cars, they're very close in regulation now. But going to the point that you will win Le Mans with a formula one engine is very far from truth."
The French company's 2015 Le Mans tilt is likely to be made using a derivation of its new 2014 RS34 F1 engine, a 1.6-litre petrol-turbo hybrid engine that complies with 2014 Le Mans Prototype (LMP) engine regulations.
Renault has already confirmed it will return to the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 2013 via sub-brand Alpine this year, running a chassis jointly-developed by Caterham and Alpine and making use of a 375kW Nissan engine in the LMP2 class, which it may use as a test bed ahead of a full-on assault against Audi and Toyota in the premier LMP1 class.
A 2015 return to endurance racing for Renault - possibly under the Alpine brand - would line up neatly with the reborn Alpine production car, expected to arrive in 2016.
There has been speculation that a manufacturer was behind the merging of F1 and LMP1 engine rules, the odds are narrowing that said manufacturer is Renault.
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Written byFeann Torr
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