Zytek to enter petrol-electric car

Zytek boss Bill Gibson has joined forces with the American Corsa Motorsports team, who run a Ferrari 430 in the ALMS, through Briton Johnny Mowlem, who has raced for both teams recently.

The debut of the hybrid-engined prototype could be as early as Petit Le Mans in October, which would be exactly ten years after the debut of the first hybrid racing car, the Panoz Q9 - which Zytek helped to develop,

The car features a KERS system, similar in principal to that being introduced to Formula One next season. The Zytek will use lithium-ion batteries, mounted next to the driver in the monocoque for safety. They will be charged by and drive a motor generator unit between the engine and gearbox, and is expected to produce an extra 40bhp.

Zytek boss Bill Gibson wants to enter the car in the last two ALMS events this year, before a two-car campaign in 2009, including the Le Mans 24 Hours.

"We want to be the first to race a hybrid at Le Mans," he said. "We want to pull it off before one of the big manufacturers does."

A new name is likely to be taken on by Steve Pruitt's Corsa Motorsport team for the project.

Mowlem, who contested the last two rounds of the 2006 ALMS season with Zytek and has been racing Corsa's Ferrari in the GT2 class this season, is looking forward to a full-time LMP1.

"The majority of my racing and certainly my successes so far have been in the GT field," he said. "Although I certainly don't see myself turning away from GT racing, the deal I now have moving forward for 2009 is an exciting new challenge for me.

"It's not just because of it being LMP1, but also because of all the cutting edge technology that I will be a part of helping to develop with the new KERS system."