P1 V2.0

In the short term, LMP1 rules tweaks aim to keep speeds in check. Longer term, changes to energy recovery systems and even new fuels could be on the cards.

What’s next in the brave new world of LMP1 in the FIA World Endurance Championship? That’s not been fully decided just yet, but more powerful hybrid systems and reduced amounts of traditional fuels will be part of the landscape in the coming season. Further down the road, the door is open to new technologies that have yet to be seen on the racetrack.

The regulations introduced in 2014 that limit the fuel used over each racing lap and put an emphasis on energy retrieval were always set to evolve. That was one of the guiding principles of the new LMP1 rule book, and a key aim was a progressive reduction of conventional fuel usage.

The first step will occur next year, when the amount of fuel allocated to each car will be cut. This is set in stone, although the final figures have yet to be made public. But an energy allocation reduction of 10 megajoules for each lap of the 8.47-mile Le Mans 24 Hours track, with pro rata decreases at the other WEC venues, equates to just over seven percent.

A reduction in fuel usage was always planned for season three of the new rules, and 10MJ was the maximum discussed with the manufacturers. The rule makers – the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest at Le Mans – made up their minds early in the 2015 season that the maximum possible reduction should be made. This was a reaction to the massive performance leap the P1 cars made between 2014 and ’15, although, they claim, not directly to the record-breaking lap times seen around the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans in June.

The ACO is, however, acutely aware of the ever quicker lap times at Le Mans. Neel Jani took pole position for Porsche with a 3m16.887s flyer, while Audi driver Andre Lotterer set the fastest race lap, 3m17.476s. Those marks compare with 3m21.789s and 3m22.567s in 2014.

Porsche and Audi believe that it makes sense to increase hybrid power, with the possible introduction of an additional 10MJ class above the existing sub-divisions of two, four, six and eight when the new chassis rules come into force. Toyota is against an all-in-one change in the rules.

“Technology is the DNA of the WEC and we have to make sure that we develop that value further,” says Audi’s head of LMP1, Chris Reinke. “We should allow a further step to advance the technology further in 2018, but we have to decide if a series of megajoule classes is still the right solution.”

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