Usually it is the race track that is the birth place of advanced technologies from which road cars benefit big time. But this time it is the other way around. The collision warning system, a safety technology used in high-end road cars these days, will make its racing debut at this year’s Le Mans 24 hour race on board a Corvette C6R.

The technology is made by Bosch, the biggest supplier of auto parts and the inventor of many high-tech systems. Almost every top car on the grid benefits in one way or another from Bosch’ technologies. Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Ferrari 458 Italia, GT2 Corvette C6.R, Porsche 911 RSR and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR as well as SRT Viper GTS-R, they are all supported by the company’s technologies, namely Bosch injection technology. Every Le Mans winner since 2000 in fact has used it.

The new collision warning system they have come up with is designed to minimize the chance of clash between the faster LMP cars and the slower GTE racers due to the speed differential. It has always been a source of danger in endurance racing.

The new system is based on a third-generation Bosch long-range radar sensor (LRR3) fitted to the rear of the vehicle. With an aperture angle of up to 30 degrees, the sensor can detect objects at a distance of 250 meters. It can also track up to 32 objects simultaneously, along with their distance and speed relative to the car. It basically gives the driver a sharp eye behind his head by letting him know if there is a vehicle behind him, how fast they are approaching, and on which side they are overtaking.

This will definitely have a positive affect on the number of collisions, if used by all contenders of the GTE class. Some people may argue that it’ll make the races less exciting by making them safer, but drivers and the teams will certainly like to have it on board.