WEC: New 'Hypercar' Regulations Confirmed

During Thursday's FIA World Motor Sport Council in the Philippines, the principles of the new regulations that will replace the current LMP1 class in the WEC were signed off.

The World Motorsport Counsel (WMSC) have stated that the new regulation's targets are to cut the manufacturer budgets by three quarters of what it is currently, and that there will be "freedom of design based on a hypercar concept". The manufacturers that were at the table during the formulation of the new regulations included Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren, Toyota and Ford. Expect some epic looking cars in the future then!

The rules have been given the title of GTP (my guess is Grand Touring Prototype), similar to the GTE and GT3 names. This means that the new cars in 2020 will resemble the manufacturers' road-going sports cars and supercars, meaning we could possibly see a race going McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari going head-to-head in the 2020 24hrs of Le Mans. Now that would be a spectacle!

One of the intents of these new regulations is to keep the same level of performance as the current LMP1's, but at a massively reduced cost, caused by a lower level of hybrid technology being allowed, and spec ERS (Energy Recovery System).

No other details have been released as of yet, however more details will be revealed next Friday when Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the WEC promoter, which formulated the regulations with the FIA, holds its traditional press conference ahead of this year's 24 hours of Le Mans race.