For both the ACO and the FIA the aims have always been, and still are, clearly defined: The Equivalence of Technology (EoT), introduced for the 2018-2019 Super Season in LM P1, must ensure an appealing top category and achieve the best possible balance between the performance potential of cars using both hybrid and non-hybrid technologies. This year, these two types of technologies are in direct competition with a single works team, Toyota, running a hybrid prototype (LM P1H) against non-hybrid cars (LM P1NH) entered by private teams. The aim of the EoT is to enable these private teams entering recent non-hybrid cars to approach the performance levels of the Toyota hybrid prototypes developed by the Japanese manufacturer since 2016.
The 86th Le Mans 24 Hours, the second round of the season, provided the FIA and the ACO with a lot of new feedback and they have decided to review the EoT before the 6 Hours of Silverstone on 19th August.
“As a result of the studies carried out this winter we gave private teams a fuel flow to help them achieve performance levels close to those of the hybrid cars. We then took advantage of concrete information collected during the prologue, the first round at Spa and the Le Mans test day. As the entrants know, not everything can be foreseen at Le Mans,” explains Thierry Bouvet, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s technical delegate. “An example: Between the test day and qualifying at Le Mans the fastest time in the LM P2 category improved by 2.4 seconds compared to 0.2 seconds for the non-hybrid LM P1s. Several factors can explain this such as different track conditions or because the teams didn’t want to compromise reliability. Finally, multiple contextual parameters could also have affected certain EoT estimations.
“This is why we’re taking the following decisions: the performance gap of 0.25% is being reduced to 0% (the 0.5-seconds difference per lap at Le Mans between hybrids and non hybrids is no longer relevant). The fuel flow for privateer LM P1s goes up from 108 kg/h to 115 kg/h compared to 80 kg/h for the hybrids. Furthermore, the fuel flow of the refuelling system used by private teams has been increased. And last but not least, cars powered by normally-aspirated engine will benefit from a 15-kg weight reduction.”
These alterations have been decided in the light of the large amount of information collected at the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours: they are the fruit of a lot of work and careful consideration between the ACO, the FIA and the entrants.
They will be applied from the 6 Hours of Silverstone (19th August) onwards.