LMP1 privateers take further EoT hit for Le Mans test
The LMP1 privateers have been handed a power reduction for the Le Mans 24 Hours test day next month in the latest Equivalence of Technology bulletin.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
The non-hybrid independents have been given a reduced fuel-flow rate for the test on June 3 in comparison with the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa this month.
They will be allowed 108kg of petrol per hour rather than the 110kg/hr at which they raced at Spa, while the fuel flow rate for the Toyota TS050 Hybrid remains unchanged at 80kg/hr.
This appears to reflect the fact that the fuel-flow formula rules introduced in 2014 afford hybrid machinery more fuel and greater discharge from their energy retrieval systems per kilometre at the shorter WEC races than at Le Mans.
Rulemakers the FIA and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest are trying balance the cars in order to give Toyota a laptime advantage of half a second around the Circuit de la Sarthe.
The amount of fuel that the privateers can use each lap and over a stint has yet to be announced and will be determined after test day.
This follows a proportional reduction in the fuel per lap figure, measured in megajoules, between the official WEC Prologue test at Paul Ricard in April and the Spa series opener.
The rulemakers insisted that this change was motivated to achieve the required stint length of 17 laps for the privateers rather than to reduce performance. But some privateer drivers reported that they were having to lift to avoid going over the prescribed limit.
The FIA bulletin detailing the EoT for the Le Mans test states that the missing values will be determined to ensure "no fuel lift [is] required".
The refuelling restrictors, which determine the rate at which the fuel goes into the cars in the pits, will also be published after the test day.
The ACO has reserved the right to change the EoT between the test and the race at Le Mans as it attempts to balance the performance of the privateers and the Toyotas, which are running to different rulebooks.
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