WEC: LMP1 hybrid rule changes delayed

The hybrid regulations for the World Endurance Championship LMP1 class will be frozen until the end of the 2019 season. The move delays changes planned for 2018 in the scope of the hybrid rules that would have allowed for an additional or third energy-retrieval system at the same time as introducing a new 10 megajoule hybrid sub-class above the existing 8MJ top division.

The decision, which follows Audi's withdrawal from the WEC announced last month, resulted from a meeting of the championship's technical strategy committee that incorporates representatives from rule makers the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and the FIA, and remaining manufacturers Porsche and Toyota.

A statement from the FIA hinted at a need to save costs, saying that the move "complemented other decisions made on the subject." It then listed cost-cutting measures already introduced for the LMP1 class, including limits on testing, the number of engines used each season and hours spent in the wind tunnel.

The move still needs to be ratified by the next meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council at the start of December. It remains unclear at this stage whether the chassis regulations, which are also due to change in 2018, will be affected.

Originally on Autosport.com