Only The Controls We Use Most

You can鈥檛 compare the cockpit of an LMP1 with a road car in any respect. Even a genuine sports car like the Audi R8 LMS offers a lot more comfort than the R15 plus does. It is a thorough-bred race car that is totally designed for speed and efficiency and has a very direct power-assisted steering ratio. Nevertheless, Audi Sport keeps trying to make the work easier for us drivers and to give us the best possible 鈥榗omfort鈥?under the circumstances. For example, some of the details in the R15 plus have been modified compared with last year鈥檚 R15. Some of the switches and buttons are now positioned on a console along the right-hand side of the seat. And the pit speed limiter that serves to prevent us from exceeding the speed in the pit lane is now located behind the steering wheel. Speaking of the steering wheel: the surface texture has been changed too so that the steering wheel鈥檚 grip is now even better than before.

Only the controls we use most, like the gearshift, traction control (ASR) adjustment, brake balance adjustment, the high beam and the radio button, are located on the steering wheel, which is packed with electronics. This helps us keep a good overview of these functions. The two ASR buttons are very important. In the race you always try to adjust the ASR to the conditions of the track and the tires - and these conditions constantly change during the race at Le Mans. We constantly optimize and adjust the brake balance between the front and rear wheels as well. This for example depends on the temperatures which the sensors on the brakes transmit to the pits by a telemetry signal. The high beam button has a special additional function: if we push it for at least two seconds, the lights start flashing. We can use this to alert slower vehicles to us. A display which can be freely programmed sits in a central position on the steering wheel. The mechanics and engineers use different screens than the drivers when starting up and checking the engine, for example.

Also located behind the steering wheel are the two paddle shifters we use for up- or downshifting. This means that even in tight hairpins when we heavily turn in the wheel we can keep both hands on it and shift at the same time. In a modern race car small lamps typically show you when you鈥檝e reached the engine speed at which you need to shift gears. Green, yellow and red LEDs light up one after the other. On red, we shift, which in the R15 is done by means of an electro-pneumatic system. The steering wheel is cut at the bottom to make it easier for us to get in and out of the car. Just looking at pictures, you get no idea of how tight things are inside a cockpit and how difficult it is to pull our legs out from under the steering wheel when it鈥檚 time for a driver change. The seating position in the R15 plus is comparable to that of a Formula 1 car. The nose of the vehicle points upward to ensure optimum airflow underneath the car. This means your feet are in a very high position.

Your heels are just below the level of your heart. This also influences your blood circulation, but you get used to that. As you know, the R15 plus is an open-top vehicle. A small windshield that is optimally adapted to the seating positions of all three drivers keeps our helmets from being overly exposed to the air flow. Of course the aerodynamicists make sure that the windshield isn鈥檛 too high or too wide because that costs top speed on the straights, which is a crucial factor at Le Mans. Overall, the seating position in the R15 is very important. All three drivers have to sit similarly, even if their heights and builds differ. And of course you鈥檝e got to be firmly strapped in to really get a good feel for the car. The starting function of the R15 plus is another interesting feature: when it鈥檚 turned off, the engine runs in regular mode. But when you push the button, the engine will run at a predefined rpm. That helps us move off quickly after a pit stop.

鈥楥ut鈥?is primarily used to reset the electronics. The 鈥榚vent鈥?button serves to flag a certain event, such as shifting event that didn鈥檛 go perfectly, in the data logging system. This makes it possible later on for the technicians to take an especially close look at the data logged at that particular point in time to locate a potential fault. The pedals are just like those in a production vehicle: the gas pedal is on the right, the clutch on the left, and the brake pedal in the middle, but we only use the clutch to start off from rest. Also, like in any road-going Audi, there鈥檚 a footrest on the left which supports me while cornering. In the DTM car I used to primarily brake with my left foot, but in the R15 I usually brake with my right one - particularly in front of the chicanes at Le Mans.

Johnson Controls International weighs future of its battery business

The company's Power Solutions business is one of the industry's biggest battery sources.

Johnson Controls International has imposed a fall deadline on deciding what to do with its Power Solutions business. But at least publicly, it is keeping all options open for one of the industry's biggest battery sources.

JCI is discussing whether to keep the battery business, sell it or spin it off.

"As we previously discussed, we are analyzing multiple options," JCI CEO George Oliver told analysts during the company's July 31 quarterly earnings conference call.

The company has been tight-lipped about its plans since putting Power Solutions under "strategic review" in March.

Management has provided no details about its deliberations.

Oliver told investors that the results of the strategic review would be disclosed no later than the company's fiscal fourth quarter report, due in November for the period ending Sept. 30.

Oliver: "Analyzing multiple options"

Bloomberg reported last month that, according to people familiar with the discussions, as many as four investor groups are interested in bidding on the battery business. Bloomberg said the top two contenders are Apollo Global Management, a New York fund that manages $69 billion in assets representing more than 150 companies, and Brookfield Asset Management, a Toronto investment firm with $285 billion in assets under management, including $43 billion in assets in the renewable power and energy storage sector.

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As a business, JCI's Power Solutions continues to show promise, and Oliver made it clear that retaining the global operation is a viable option, particularly as JCI delves deeper into batteries for vehicle electrification.

He said recent contract awards on vehicle platforms "position us well to gain share. The increasing electrification in vehicles, combined with a regulatory environment still pushing for stronger efficiency standards, are supportive of our core battery technologies."

Power Solutions posted $1.84 billion in sales during the most recently concluded fiscal quarter, up 14 percent from a year ago. Its pretax earnings were up just 2 percent, to $310 million. For JCI overall, net income from continuing operations rose 30 percent to $723 million for the quarter.

Johnson Controls' Power Solutions business, under "strategic review" since March, may be retained, sold or spun off.

Wall Street observers have remained neutral on JCI's considerations.

"All options appear to be on the table including sale, spin or retain," wrote Jeffrey Sprague, managing partner for Vertical Research Partners in Stamford, Conn., in a note to investors. Sprague estimated that if the battery business were sold, the deal would yield net proceeds to JCI of about $10.2 billion.

Joe Ritchie, an analyst for Goldman Sachs Research in New York, said in a report, "We take no view on the potential outcome of any transaction."

Power Solutions is JCI's last major automotive holding.

In October 2016, the company spun off its segment-leading automotive seating business as Adient, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Except for batteries, JCI, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, is primarily focused on building controls for systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, fire suppression and security.

But the battery business represents a major chunk of JCI's sales, accounting for 24 percent of fiscal 2017 sales. Power Solutions produced 154 million lead-acid batteries in fiscal 2017. Of those, 76 percent were for aftermarket sales, and the rest — about 37 million units — supplied automakers, according to company financial data.

Three years ago, the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers ranked JCI as the world's ninth largest supplier of automotive original equipment. This year, JCI ranks No. 89 on the list, with estimated worldwide automotive parts sales of $1.84 billion in fiscal 2017.

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