There are 56 days left to the start of the tenth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship and in preparation for 2022 the news of the sporting regulations have been announced.
As always, both the International Federation and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest are attentive to cost reductions, therefore in this regard it was decided to impose a limit of 20 employees per car in the Hypercar Class, which can rise to 22 in the case of which this is homologated with the ERS.
For the category, tests limited to 10 days for each registered car (in the second year of homologation) and 20 for each driver were confirmed, each of which will have a maximum of 4 days available to run in private tests.
Even in these track activities the slick tires will be numbered. Clearly, the reference inevitably goes to Toyota and Glickenhaus, whose new LMHs debuted in 2021.
As for the Rookie Tests that take place at the end of the season, each brand that has built an LMH must be present with at least one vehicle, as well as each of those that have managed to win at least one race in its ranks during the year. .
All of these will be obliged to complete at least 30 laps during these official tests.
# 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez – Start, 6 hours of Monza
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Coming instead to the aspects of the races, there is the novelty of the use of a 100% renewable petrol produced and supplied by TotalEnergies.
The ‘Excellium Racing 100′ is created on a bioethanol base made from wine residues from the French agricultural industry, and by ETBE produced in TotalEnergies’ Feyzin refinery from raw materials also from other companies.
According to the organizers of the WEC, there will be a saving of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of at least 65% compared to traditional fossil fuels.
There are also changes to the driving time that two or three competitors per car must observe over the course of a race.
To be rewarded with points you must have driven for at least 60 ‘, otherwise you will also run into penalties; all this applies to each Class, while depending on the licenses there are further aspects.
In the 6 Hours races, those equipped with the Silver or Bronze one to take part in the LMP2, have a minimum driving time set at 75 ‘, which rises to 105’ if they are part of the LMGTE Am category.
For 8-hour races, the times increase to 120 ‘for the LMP2 competitors and to 140’ for the LMGTE Am.
# 22 United Autosports USA Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2: Philip Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque, Fabio Scherer
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
In case of accidents or potential dangers there will no longer be the ‘Slow Zones’, which in the past forced everyone to slow down and proceed at an imposed speed.
This rule does not apply to the 24h of Le Mans, where it remains in force to allow safety operations, also considering the nature and characteristics of the Circuit de la Sarthe.
During the pit stops, the mechanics will be allowed to place the car in the correct position of the pitch by means of the wheeled carriages by inserting them under them, while in the driver change phase one of the team members can be chosen to provide assistance to those who get on or gets out of the car.
Finally, there were also interventions on penalties: if one of these is communicated to the team, appearing on the screens of the official timing system when there are 5 laps left, it will still have to be discounted.
Should the driver fail to do so, they will receive 30 “(equal to a Drive Through) and 35” (equal to a Stop & Go) added to their final time.
#WEC #Slow #Zones #driving #times #change