The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and International Motorsports Association (IMSA) have announced that Xtrac will be the sole gearbox supplier for the new Le Mans Daytona hybrid race category known as ‘LMDh’.   The ACO and IMSA together have unified this innovatory top-tier for both the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the USA and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Endurance Championship (WEC).

“It’s a visionary hybrid transmission built on years of experience gained by operating at the highest level of motorsport,” says Xtrac chief executive Adrian Moore. “Prototype gearboxes will be available from mid-2021 for hybrid system testing”.

The P1359 gearbox developed for the new LMDh class is a 7-speed transverse arrangement with an integrated motor-generator unit (MGU) driving into the gearbox through an optimised gear train.  The integration of the hybrid system is a vital attribute of the LMDh specification.  Xtrac has worked closely with the ACO, IMSA, Bosch and Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) to ensure that the package, function, and overall operation is optimised for cost, weight, performance, and reliability.  Bosch is supplying the MGU and hybrid control system, while WAE is supplying the battery system.

The new LMDh class has been created by the convergence of ACO and IMSA regulations to provide a cost-effective, high-performance car able to race in the WEC series as well as the IMSA sportscar championship in the USA.  This cost capped sportscar will also share a common spine consisting of the complete car less the bodywork, engine, and hybrid system with the next generation LMP2 sportscar.