The announcement just about everybody was expecting has come at the ALMS round at Detroit with the news that Acura will move up to the LMP1 class for 2009.
DeFerran Motorsports and Paton Highcroft Racing will each field cars next season in a big boost to the class which is currently dominated by Audi. The two teams will each field an Acura ARX-02a prototype sports cars, currently being developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD), in the most advanced and technically challenging class of the American Le Mans Series.

Racing improves the breed? Zytek are heading to the ALMS with a hybrid

Also announced at Detroit was a hybrid powered entry for Petite Le Mans from Corsa Motorsports.
Corsa Motorsports owner and principal Steve Pruitt unveiled the program on Friday “I am truly excited about this opportunity with Zytek. Not simply because Zytek constructs one of the best Le Mans prototype cars, but because of the technological relevance this car represents as society looks to the world’s need for global energy reform.” he said. “The LMP1 chassis will be fitted with a full hybrid system - one that is untried in the harsh conditions of endurance racing. If it proves successful, it will transcend motorsports by its social and technical relevance.”
The car, the Q10, is based on a Zytek 07S and will be powered through a combination of an ethanol-fueled internal combustion engine and a three-phase induction electric motor.
The ethanol-fueled engine is a newly designed Zytek 90-degree normally aspirated 4.5-liter V8 with four overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder with an output of 625 hp. The electric motor is a direct drive Zytek proprietary design powered by an on-board lithium-ion energy storage system with a KERS (kinetic energy recovery) supplemental regeneration system.
The heart of the system is the energy storage/battery system which enables the collection and conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy permitting use of the electric motor resulting in more efficient power and a lower carbon footprint. The lithium-ion battery used on the car is supplied by Zytek shareholder Continental AG of Germany.
Zytek CEO Bill Gibson said that the development of the car showed the relevance of Le Mans style racing to the general motoring industry. “The whole of idea of the Q10 is to increase our rate of development of hybrid drivetrains for road car use.” he said. The motorsports arena is a perfect environment to develop new ideas and train engineers. The vast majority of Zytek’s road car products have evolved from our involvement in motorsport. Races run under the Le Mans rules are, by far, the most rewarding development medium since they encourage new technologies in a competitive environment.
Rumours persist of a possible hybrid entry by Toyota at Le Mans within 2 years as well as a possible return to LMP1 by Porsche. Either way Le Mans style racing is looking far healthier than plenty of other more hyped race series at the moment.
with ALMS Media.