The car is being developed in close cooperation with Porsche.
The plan is to be ready for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, 2023, running the LMDh class.
Thirteen-time Le Mans winner Audi says it has “largely completed” the concept work on its 2023 Le Mans race car and says it is being developed with the automaker with the most Le Mans wins, Porsche. Audi’s most-recent Le Mans win was in 2014 and the automaker got out of endurance racing at the end of the 2016 season.
Audi and Porsche have committed to the LMDh class. Starting in 2023 LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) is going to be the top class of both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship. The joint class was announced in January, 2020, and the rules are identical for both series. Automakers can develop their own engines but a spec hybrid system is required.
Dr. Sebastian Kirmse (left), involved in the composite material’s research, and Tobias Hoffmeister (right), president and CEO of MHP Americas Inc. Photo Credit: MHP
Professor Kuang-Ting Hsiao s group at the University of South Alabama (Atlanta) have recently developed ZT-CFRP, an innovative plastic composite enriched with nanoparticles and reinforced with carbon fibers which was originally supported by NASA. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the university has set up a research partnership in order to fully exploit the potential offered by the advanced composite material and to ensure that ZT-CFRP can be brought to a wider market swiftly.
Porsche Commits to LMDh Prototype Program for IMSA and WEC in 2023
LMDh platform to be based on LMP2 chassis and will be able to compete in both WEC and IMSA competition Porsche Motorsports
The LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) class is slated to debut at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in 2023.
Porsche plans to race its LMDd entry in both the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and World Endurance Championship.
Porsche is the first manufacturer to commit to the LMDh platform.
Porsche prototypes are returning to American road and street courses in 2023.
The manufacturer announced on Tuesday a plan to develop a Le Mans Daytona hybrid prototype to race in the top classes of both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship beginning in 2023.