Technical regulations

 1.    The equivalences between diesel and petrol engines

In this context, the ACO and the FIA carried out a wide-ranging study to analyse the performances of the cars, and then to decide on the appropriate measures to be taken. A number of tools were used in the context of this survey: readings by timing systems specially installed at Spa-Francorchamps and at Le Mans, some of which the teams entered for the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km (7^th May 2011) and the Le Mans 24 Hours (10-11 June 2011) were unaware of, the information provided by the data loggers installed on the cars this year and all the times recorded on the different circuits.

In addition, the engineers were contacted and asked to provide under guaranteed secrecy all the technical information about their engine.

Finally, all these data and analyses were restudied, interpreted and validated to calculate the new equivalences.

Results

All the refuelling equipment will have the same flow.

No modifications will be made to the petrol engines.

The performance of the diesel engines will be pegged back by around 7% by decreasing the size of the air restrictors and the supercharger pressure. The diameter of the restrictors will be reduced from 47.4 mm to 45.8 mm for engines that have a single restrictor, and from 33.5 mm to 32.4 mm for those engines that have two. In addition, the supercharger pressure of the turbos will be reduced from 3 000 to 2 800 millibars.

The fuel tank capacity of diesel-engined LM P1 cars will be reduced by 5 litres (65 to 60 litres).

2. Safety

Following the accidents in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours the ACO and the FIA have had fresh discussions, and have carried out new tests to improve the safety of the cars, the first priority of the FIA-ACO regulations. The following measures will come into force for the 2012 season.

After the work carried out by the FIA Safety Commission with the manufacturers/constructors the dorsal element on the engine cover, the shark’s fin, will become mandatory on all LM P1, LM P2 and FLM prototypes and openings will be made above the front and rear wheels.
To improve rearward visibility (with the exception of the LM P1s), the size of the rearview mirrors will be increased, and they must be equipped with a night mode as well as an electrical adjustment system that enables the driver in the cockpit to alter the rearview mirrors to meet his needs. The camera system at the rear will be mandatory on LM GTE cars and allowed on all the others.

3. Hybrid engines

The release of energy is allowed on the front wheels but only above 120 km/h. Safety measures concerning the specific brakes for hybrid engines have also been defined.

ACO, ALMS, FIA World Endurance Championship 2012, LMS, The 2012 regulations