How Historic Sportscar Endurance Racing Benefits From Modern Fuel Flow Meters
The brief
Accurate fuel consumption for historic racing strategy
Ecurie Hinxton Team Owner, Peter Hiscocks, wanted to give his 1964 Series 1 Lotus Elan 26R a strategic edge at the prestigious Spa 3 Hours and Spa 6 Hours – two cornerstone events in the historic endurance racing calendar.
In historic racing, most teams rely on rough manual calculations, basic gauges, or average consumption estimates, which are often inaccurate. With no other competitors using a modern fuel flow meter, the opportunity for competitive gain was significant. Accurate fuel consumption can determine the difference between carrying only the fuel required to save weight and improve lap times, and knowing how much fuel remains to determine if mid-race refuels are necessary. The Ecurie Hinxton team’s goal was to win through race strategy and fewer fuel stops, particularly as refuelling mid-race in historic racing is slow and restrictive when drivers must queue at shared pumps and refuel the car themselves.
The challenge
Giving the driver real-time fuel intelligence
The team needed live fuel consumption data to measure remaining fuel accurately during the race and build a strategy around it. With the Elan’s small tank and the long race duration, every litre counted. With no permitted communication to the driver, the cockpit display needed to provide all the essential data for the driver to reduce or eliminate mid-race refuelling stops and to adjust pace for fuel savings when necessary.
The result
FlowSonic® GT with Fuel Consumption Totalizer
The team installed the FlowSonic GT® fuel flow meter paired with a cockpit-mounted accumulative totaliser display that reads instantaneous flow, fuel temperature and accumulative flow. Through the display the driver could see real-time consumption and make informed decisions without pit-to-car communications.
In the Spa 3 Hour race the fuel flow meter enabled the team to determine accurately the fuel consumption of the car under different conditions, including full race speed, full course yellow, and under safety car. Crucially it enabled the driver to implement fuel saving measures when there was a long period without a safety car; important when racing an Elan as the fuel capacity is very tight during the 3 hour race. Armed with accurate mid race data, the team optimised their pit strategy and driver changes, contributing to an exceptional performance: first in class and third overall.
