Expanded operations for AER

As the 2016 racing season comes into full swing, Advanced Engine Research, Ltd.'s program of measured expansion finds the motorsport technology company operating on a higher level than ever before. AER is now fully engaged in supplying engines and technology for a variety of racing series with widely varying technical and economic demands, including the World Endurance Championship, the International Motorsports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championships and Indy Lights Championship presented by Cooper Tires.

"In building our company over the past years we've focused on providing engine solutions that meet every aspect of our customers' needs," said AER's president, Mike Lancaster. "More than ever, motorsport has has now entered an era where supplying top-tier technology alone is insufficient; technology solutions must be delivered at prices that both racing series and individual teams can afford. AER's 2016 client portfolio demonstrates how our company is addressing the specific needs of teams and series with tailored products."

Last weekend marked the start of the Indy Lights season, while tomorrow's 12 Hours of Sebring is the second event on the IMSA calendar. Next Friday and Saturday (25-26 March) is the World Endurance Championships' official pre-season test at Circuit Paul Ricard in Southern France. (The nine-event global series, which includes the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans, opens on 17 April with the running of the 6 Hours of Silverstone in England.)

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
IMSA's prototype class permits one of the highest degrees of technical sophistication in any current racing series, and Mazda and AER compete there with entries powered by six other manufacturers, including BMW, Honda, Ford and Chevrolet.

While both Mazda Prototypes experienced mechanical difficulties during last month's season-opening round of the series at Daytona, one of the cars led the 24-hour race at three different times, and did so based on sheer speed rather than the vagaries of pit strategy.

Jonathan Bomarito, one of the Mazda Prototype team's drivers, praised the performance of the turbocharged, two-liter, four-cylinder MZ-2.0T engine. "The drivability of the engine is incredible. The first thing you notice is how smooth the power is delivered in every gear through the RPM range. There is great low-end torque with zero turbo-lag, which is very impressive. All race tracks are different and the gearing is never perfect for every corner, so having an engine where you can short-shift or stretch a gear longer is very important."

John Doonan, Mazda Motorsports North America's director, notes that "after extensive testing, the MZ-2.0T is not only very fast, but reliable as well. We couldn't be more optimistic about the prospect of this engine and our team."

Indy Lights Championship presented by Cooper Tires
Lancaster noted that the Indy Lights Championship is a spec series with identical chassis and engines for all participants and an emphasis on affordability. AER supplies the Mazda MZR-R, which features advanced technology and affordable, fixed seasonal costs for participants.

As the series this past weekend began its second season with the Dallara IL-15 chassis and Mazda MZR-R engine, Indy Lights CEO Dan Andersen expressed his satisfaction. "Following a successful launch season last year, we had great results in the 2016 season opener at the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. AER continues to provide us with a fantastic powerplant and assured parity between engines, which is so important to our series. We look forward to a strong championship with AER as a series partner."

In Indy Lights trim the MZR-R engine produces approximately 450 horsepower with 50 additional horsepower available via a driver-controlled push-to-pass function. The all-aluminum engine has a dry-crated weight of 230 lbs. The fully stressed engine features a carbon plenum, carbon inlet runners and trumpets and a "drive-by-wire" throttle control. Advanced engine-management electronics have been developed in-house by AER with full active-knock-control, ignition-angle-learning, advanced boost-control and integrated gear-shift.

FIA World Endurance Championship
The WEC is primarily oriented toward major automobile manufacturers who bring huge annual budgets to this global sportscar endurance series. But the series organizers have also created a privateer class to run alongside the manufacturer LMP1 class. For the second consecutive year AER's P60 engine has been selected by all entrants in the LMP1 Privateer class, including last year's championship-winning REBELLION Racing team.
REBELLION Racing's team manager Bart Hayden noted that unlike 2015 when the decision to use the AER P60 was made at the last moment, which meant some compromises in installing the P60 in the team's existing Rebellion R-One chassis, "together with AER we have been working hard on addressing the issues that came up in 2015 and we will make the necessary steps forward. We have a testing programme scheduled already and, unlike last year where we missed the opening rounds of the season, this year we will be ready for the WEC Prologue at Paul Ricard."

The P60 is a V-6 GDI twin-turbo engine designed for the LMP1 Privateer regulations. The P60's all-aluminum construction gives it a fully-dressed dry weight of approximately 115 kg (253 pounds) and it is designed to function as a fully stressed member of the chassis.