A day with Mark Webber at Lardy Technical Center

'His Infiniti Red Bull Racing RB9 is powered by Renault, but today driver Mark Webber got the opportunity to see a different type of Renault technology.

The Australian, visited Renault's technical centre in Lardy, some 50km to the south of Paris. The site was remodelled in 2010 to house the Pôle d'Innovation Mécanique (PIM or powertrain innovation centre) and new-generation engine test benches.

The updated test facilities, dedicated to combustion engines, are one of the levers in Renault's powertrain strategy and aide the Renault Group to design and build low-carbon vehicles and fuel-efficient engines. Amongst the many tasks the PIM undertake is the development of efficient turbocharged engines that deliver better specific performance; a mirror of one of the key aims of the Renault Sport F1 engine team, who are nearing the final stages of the development of the radical F1 2014 turbocharged Power Unit with dramatically improved fuel economy.

Mark visited some of these test benches, met employees and also witnessed a crash test first hand before driving some of the latest Renault concept cars, including the Twin'Run, launched at the Monaco Grand Prix in May, and the radical Twizy Renault Sport F1'