As announced by Jean-Claude Plassart , the President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest during last June's press conference before the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, the ACO has taken advantage of the intervening months to refine its study of the equivalence between petrol and diesel-engined cars in motor racing.
It should be pointed out that the 2007 24-Hours race highlighted the overall balance of the regulations currently in force with breath-taking suspense right the finish, and the presence of 3 different manufacturers on the rostrum (Audi, Peugeot and Pescarolo). This has only happened once in the last 30 years (1999, with BMW, Toyota and Audi).
What's more the same regulations have led to an amazing final in the Le Mans Series, as the outcome of the last round of the season on 10th November in Brazil will decide the manufacturers' title.
However, the ACO as the guarantor of this climate of trust and spirit of openness that is crucial for endurance racing has taken the time to consult all the entrants. It appears that now is the right moment to close the gap between the performances of the LM P1 petrol-engines prototypes and those of the diesel-powered cars over a lap, so as to maintain a constant and visible level of suspense throughout the race.
As a result, two technical adjustments will be made for the 2008 season:
- The minimum weight of the LM P1 cars is fixed at 900 kgs,
- The surface of the air restrictors fitted to petrol-engined cars will benefit from a 3% increase.
These adjustments intervene before the announcement in November of the modifications to the regulations affecting the prototype categories (LM P1 and LM P2), which will remain valid for several years.
Credit: aco
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