Audi's tough gearbox plays Le Mans part

24 June 2002: The transmission of the Audi LMP900 sports car which won the recent Le Mans and gave the team a hat-trick as winners over the last three years is being credited with playing a large part in the success.

In total, the purpose-built Ricardo race transmissions made around 60,000 full throttle clutchless gearshifts, each one having to cope with the prodigious power and torque of the fastest cars in the field. Peak loads in a race transmission are reached each time a sequential shift is made.

The excellent reliability record from the Ricardo transmission has helped Audi not only to secure its third triumph at Le Mans, but also a continuous series of victories in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) where it is equally dominant.

The gearbox was designed by Tim Gee, chief engineer of Ricardo motorsport transmissions, using advanced software. Apart from some minor developments, the Ricardo transmission remains identical to last year’s race-winning design. The transmissions and casings are engineered, manufactured and hand assembled by Ricardo at the company’s Midlands Technical Centre in Leamington Spa in the UK.

©2002irishcar.com

June 2002