By alley - Sep 6, 2017, 3:17 PM ET

INSIGHT: Navigating the LMP1 rule changes

When the FIA and ACO announced major changes to the FIA WEC calendar last week, it also revealed a renewed direction that the LMP1 division will take until 2020.

Despite speculation as to whether the IMSA DPi formula would find come into play, LMP1 hybrids and non-hybrids will form a single LMP1 division that allows for manufacturer involvement in either camp.

It creates an interesting set of questions about the future of hybrid and non-hybrid competition at that level, starting with whether or not LMP2 will suffer a max exodus of teams wanting to use modified versions of their current machinery in LMP1; whether the other LMP1 constructors – like Ginetta and Dallara – can still therefore sell cars; and, importantly, how it affects the factories, who will have to decide whether the extra budget required to go hybrid racing holds the same value that it has for the past few years.

RACER collected a selection of reactions from a number of key players in and around the FIA WEC paddock who are now in a race against time to consider their position for the upcoming 'Super Season.'

In the LMP1 hybrid ranks, Toyota has yet to decide whether or not to continue its program into next year, despite its original commitment – like Porsche's – to race until 2019. Peugeot meanwhile, is known to be taking a serious look at a return to the class, after it ceased its previous effort at the dawn of the FIA WEC era in 2012.

Toyota clearly favors a short program in 2018, with sources suggesting it intended to compete in no more than three races (Spa, Le Mans and Fuji) before the transitional arrangements were made public.

Consequently, the ACO and WEC's insistence that Toyota would have to contest a full WEC season in 2018/19 in order to be allowed to race at Le Mans clearly came as a surprise to the Toyota camp, which immediately switched from offering some guidance on its future direction to a blunt statement that "a decision and an announcement will be made in October."

And continuing the theme of uncertainty for the months ahead, head of Peugeot Sport Bruno Famin made it clear that the French constructor still hasn't made a firm decision about a potential program despite further developments on cost reductions, which it had always pointed to as a barrier for entry.

"Nothing's changed: We have not taken any decision yet," he told French newspaper Ouest France. "Porsche's decision to stop its endurance prototype program is both a threat and an opportunity for us. We are looking at three competitions: endurance racing, rallycross and rally-raid. Everything is being looked at. I really can't tell you today what we will be doing after the Dakar 2018.

"Endurance racing is Peugeot and [PSA Peugeot Citroen chairman] Carlos Tavares's Plan A. With that said, it would not be impossible for us to manage a development program in endurance racing while racing rallycross and rally-raid cars."

Then there's the current list of potential privateers who are set to make up much of the numbers for the coming years.

SMP Racing, and its BR-Engineering/Dallara/ART Grand Prix program is progressing as planned, with the car set to go testing imminently. RACER believes the current plan is for a two-car, AER-engined full WEC program with customer cars to be made available.

Ginetta's program though, is still an unknown in customer terms, as no full orders for its 2018 chassis placed at time of writing.

There are plenty of players who have been in talks to race with the Yorkshire-brand however, including CEFC Manor TRS Racing. Team principal Graeme Lowdon explained to RACER that the level of uncertainty prior to the WEC's announcement had limited the team's amount of progress and ability to make a decision.

It therefore remains to be seen whether the outfit, headed by former members of its F1 crew, will make the leap from LMP2 into LMP1 as intended.

"I think they [the FIA and ACO] should be given credit for sticking to their brand," Lowdon said. "In my eyes the decisions that have been made are being made for a long-term plan [and] growth, and that's always better than swaying with the breeze or with any individual competitor.

"I think a single, balanced LMP1 class for factories and privateers alike makes sense. Where there's a difficulty [is] in the balance. Hybrid technology is incredibly expensive and requires a lot of investment. It's currently outside the reach of a small private team, but that's not to say that the opportunity for the fans to see cars race wheel-to-wheel shouldn't be rewarded.

"What you don't want to see is a single LMP1 class where there's always a car two seconds quicker than everyone else. That doesn't sit right.

"As soon as you give technical freedom on the engine and commercial freedom to make things happen, [you need] equivalencies to give everyone a chance to race each other.

"You're never going to get an ideal solution, but this looks on the face of it [like] a prospect that commercial partners can understand. Fundamentally, if it's easy for us to explain commercially, then it can happen.

"We're doing a lot of work on it at the moment, but the focus is very much on the commercial model. Part of the jigsaw was put in place when this was announced, because before there was no clarity and no certainty to sell to a commercial partner. Uncertainty is something that's the hardest to sell.

"We've always said that LMP1 is attractive, but only viable if there's a sensible commercial model behind it."

For the other WEC teams currently racing in LMP2, who now see the potential to challenge for overall wins with adapted versions of their current ORECA 07s, it's the same story. Some have ruled out a move categorically, like TDS Racing, which told RACER that it will be pushing to stay in LMP2 rather than embarking upon an LMP1 project.

On the other hand, it's not quite as simple for a team like Jackie Chan DC Racing. Sam Hignett from Jota Sport, who handles the Jackie Chan DC Racing effort, told RACER that getting a program together "is an immediate and real challenge. Not insurmountable, but with marketing budgets generally finalized in October for the following 12-month period, there is not a lot of time to achieve either the budget or the transition for clients and sponsors for the 'Super Season.'"

David Cheng, owner of DC Racing, echoed that sentiment, explaining that the team is "working hard already to be there, but we're not ready yet to say anything about which category a program might emerge in. Much of that will inevitably be decided by where our partners want to be."

There is much interest in the new LMP regulations from Vaillante Rebellion too; the Swiss-flagged team an LMP1 privateer entrant until the end of the 2016 season.

RACER understands that there is interest within the team in evaluating a short-term return to the LMP1 ranks, although the team's recent programs and successes in North American IMSA enduros means that it is not as simple a decision to make as it was previously, when LMP1 cars were eligible in both championships.

Outside of the prototype ranks, RACER also took a litmus test from Aston Martin Racing, which in the past has pursued overall wins at Le Mans in LMP1 prior to being taken over by Prodrive.

However Prodrive's managing director John Gaw counted out any move into the prototype ranks from Aston Martin Racing for the foreseeable future.

"We're fully focused on GT, and we're saying nothing, about a new car or not at this point," Gaw stated. (David Richards has said publicly that there will be a new GTE car for 2018 however, which RACER understands is based on the forthcoming AMG turbo-engined Vantage, and is already out testing.)

"The key for us is getting more exposure for the GTE Pro class," he continued. "There will be five factory teams next year, and the reality is that there needs to be much more attention on those efforts – which let's not forget, will be making a proportionality higher financial contribution than some of the ultimately faster LMP teams do.

"More thought needs to go into what value we get from the championship, because one thing is for sure, the interest levels are growing, but to maintain that, the value has to be readily displayed."