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LE MANS: 2014 LMP1 Regulations Announced
Focus towards energy efficiency, hybrids for new-look LMP1 category...
John Dagys  |  Posted June 14, 2012   Le Mans, (FRA)
The ACO and FIA revealed the 2014 LMP1 technical regulations, which feature significant overhauls in many categories. (Photo: David Stephens)


The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, along with the FIA, announced Thursday the new technical regulations for LMP1 cars, which will go into effect in 2014.

Focusing heavily on efficiency, cost reduction and safety, the new-look category will comprise entirely of closed-top prototypes, with a reduced weight of 830 kg (850 kg for non-hybrids) and 10 cm narrower than the current-spec machines.

There will also be an improvement in cockpit visibility, following a series of high-speed accidents over recent years involving traffic, with the driver now sitting higher in the car and further forward. It has resulted in a 90 mm taller cockpit/greenhouse area.

Another change comes with a simplified nose element that will be adjustable to each specific downforce configuration, instead of having separate bodywork for different aerodynamic configurations.

While wheel tethers will also become mandatory, along with lateral protection panels and a rear crash box, manufacturers will now have two choices of bodywork cut-outs, either above the wheels (as introduced this year) or on the inside fenders (new for 2014). The dorsal fin will remain on the top-tier prototypes.

Perhaps the biggest change, however, comes with the engine rules, as there will be no limit in cubic capacity for the conventional power plants. Air restrictors and turbo pressures have been eliminated and replaced by a fuel meter, which restricts the allocation of gasoline or diesel according to a predetermined level.

The ACO targets up to a 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption with its new system, which sees five different base configurations, largely dependent on the size of the hybrid systems.

For example: privateers, which are limited to 5.5-liter capacity engines, will be allocated 4.95 liters of gasoline (or 3.99 liters of diesel) per a lap of Le Mans. Fuel capacity would be limited to 64.4 liters for gasoline (53.3 liters for diesel), roughly a 11-14 percent decrease over 2012 fuel capacity levels.

In the situation of hybrids, four different sizes of energy recovery systems will be permitted, ranging from 2 to 8 MJ of power. It's a significant increase over the current hybrid regulations, which are limited to 0.5 MJs. In effect, a larger system will be required to be more fuel efficient.

Of note, all factory entries will be required to compete with hybrid systems, which will be homologated on a seasonal basis, eliminating evolutions over the course of a year.

"Thanks to in-depth work and excellent collaboration, today, the ACO and the FIA have announced a unique set of extremely innovative technical regulations for 2014 that are in phase with the times we live in," said Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, FIA Endurance Commission President.

"It should encourage the development of powerful and spectacular cars and also the development of technologies that have real meaning for the everyday motorist. Private teams haven't been forgotten either with simple but competitive alternatives."

The LMP1 technical regulations will be used in the FIA World Endurance Championship and American Le Mans Series beginning in 2014. A one-year grandfathering period for current-spec machinery is being evaluated by the ACO for the first year.

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at

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