When the Peugeot Sport team lines up for their return to Le Mans, they will do so with an international team of partners who are providing cutting edge technology for the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP team with their 2 diesel powered race cars. A critical component of the all new diesel powertrain is the advanced diesel particulate filters (DPF) specially designed and developed by Dow Automotive to meet the requirements of Peugeot Sport.

The Peugeot team has begun the season with back-to-back victories in the European Le Mans Endurance series with wins at Monza, Italy, and Valencia, Spain. These 1000km tests were superb warm-ups to the 24 Hour classic. For the Le Mans race, each car will be co-driven by a trio of road racing pros:

#7 Marc Gene (Spain) / Nicolas Minassian (France) / Jacques Villeneuve (Canada)
#8 Pedro Lamy (Portugal) / Stéphane Sarrazin (France) / Sébastien Bourdais (France)

All have extensive experience in high performance sports cars and open wheel racers. In addition to their international reputations, Bourdais and Villeneuve are also well known to American fans owing to their successes in Indianapolis/Champ Car racing.

“We are delighted to join Peugeot Sport in their return to Le Mans. Over the years, Peugeot has been a great partner for a variety of Dow Automotive products on passenger cars. Now our team is working closely with Peugeot Sport as a technology development partner for these high performance vehicles,” said Peter Sykes, president of Dow Automotive. “Our work with DPF technology is backed by solid research and development. Combining our efforts with a partner like Peugeot Sport in such an intense development arena will give us valuable feedback that will help advance this differentiated technology.”

Dow Automotive’s DPF technology is a primary element of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 5.5 litre, V12 racing engine, which will face the world’s toughest endurance race series. Dow Automotive DPFs are specifically designed to be lightweight and compact, contributing to lower overall vehicle mass. They produce very low back pressure that enables maximum engine power, torque performance and fuel efficiency while dramatically reducing particulate emissions. These benefits are magnified under race conditions, when the DPFs perform at extremely high operating temperatures, mass flows and ramp rates.

The technology behind the filters was developed in Dow Automotive’s research laboratories from a desire to enable customers to meet increasingly stringent global diesel emission regulations for both light- and heavy-duty diesel engines.

Claude Guillois, director of engine development at Peugeot Sport states that “the filters performed well at both Monza and Valencia and we are looking forward to similar results at Le Mans.” He added “since the diesel technology in endurance racing is still rather new, we did investigate several interesting solutions. But once the team from Dow Automotive presented their technology to us – a DPF system which combined low back pressure with a very light and compact design – the choice of Dow Automotive’s solution became clear.”

Advancing DPF technology is one of two major Dow Automotive development programs in top-level motor sports. In the other initiative, Dow Automotive has been selected as the sole provider of energy absorbing foam by NASCAR. The company’s IMPAXX™ energy absorbing foam is now mandated for use in every new Car of Tomorrow chassis that is being introduced into Nextel Cup racing this year.

About Dow Automotive

Dow Automotive is a leading global provider of technology-driven solutions that meet consumer demands for vehicles that are safer, stronger, quieter, lighter, cleaner, more comfortable and stylish. The organization provides plastics, adhesives, glass bonding systems, sealants, emissions control technology, films, fluids and structural enhancement and acoustical management solutions to OEM, tier and aftermarket customers around the world. For additional information about Dow Automotive products, services, and application development centers, visit www.dowautomotive.com.

About Peugeot Sport

Peugeot has almost a century of motorsports heritage and success.  In 1913, in only the third ever Indy 500, a Peugeot driven by Jules Goux won the race. Early Peugeot race cars were notable for pioneering applications of advanced technologies like four valves per cylinder and double overhead cams. Over the years, Peugeot has raced in Formula One, World Championship Rallies, Touring Cars, Pikes Peak, Dakar and Le Mans. Peugeot won Le Mans in both 1992 and 1993. For more information, visit www.peugeot-sport.com

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