Insight: How the 2030 Prototype Regulations Are Coming Together
John Dagys investigates latest updates as manufacturers continue discussions on common set of technical regulations for 2030 debut...
The date was Jan. 24, 2020 when executives from the ACO and IMSA confirmed on the creation of the LMDh platform, in a packed drivers’ meeting room at Daytona International Speedway.
The historic agreement, which saw both ACO President Pierre Fillon and IMSA Chairman Jim France sign an agreement that outlined the “guiding principles” for LMDh, a formula initially known as ‘DPi 2.0’ before the ACO, and to a regulatory extent, the FIA became involved, it marked a monumental time for global sports car racing.
The same platform of top-class prototypes became eligible to compete in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and World Endurance Championship beginning with the 2023 seasons. Although there was still some low hanging fruit in that the FIA and ACO’s own set of prototype technical regulations, LMH, would also be eligible and performance balanced with LMDh.
Toyota became the first major manufacturer to roll out with a LMH car, in 2021, alongside the privateer Glickenhaus effort, and one year later Peugeot as a full works effort, but there was a problem already brewing. Both the GR010 Hybrid and 9X8, and in 2023, Ferrari’s 499P, were all effectively four-wheel drive prototypes, with its bespoke hybrid systems mounted on the front axle and able to be deployed at defined speed thresholds.
It quickly became the biggest stumbling block in properly balancing the two different types of prototypes, with the LMDh cars, while still carrying a hybrid system, although a spec unit, had far less powerful motors and a smaller battery, but most critically mounted to the rear axle of the cars based around what was envisioned to be next-gen LMP2-style chassis spines.
Toyota, running virtually unopposed, racked up its fourth and fifth overall victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021-22 prior to the arrival of the Prancing Horse, with which then went on to take a hat-trick of wins in the French endurance classic.
While last year’s edition was arguably the hardest-fought, with Team Penske’s No. 6 Porsche 963, built to LMDh regulations, finished just 14.084 seconds behind the winning Ferrari, it still served as another wake-up call to manufacturers and sanctioning bodies, the latter, however, never to publicly admit it, that it will unlikely to fully achieve parity between the two drastically different technical platforms.
Talks between OEMs on the potential of a single set of technical regulations for the top class, whether you call it Hypercar in the WEC or GTP in the WeatherTech Championship, were already well underway before Ferrari’s third Le Mans win.
However, it was at last June’s annual ACO press conference where the talks got more serious. While the FIA and ACO announced an “extension” of the Hypercar class through at least the 2032 season, IMSA and the ACO confirmed a continued “strategic alliance” through the same time period.
Behind the scenes, preliminary work was already underway in manufacturer working group meetings on what a common set of technical regulations — essentially merging LMH and LMDh together — could look like, with the target of having a single set of regs for 2030 in both the WEC and WeatherTech Championship.
More than nine months later, where are we at? The initial goal from the governing bodies was to present a unified set of regulations at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, based on what’s believed to be the current stage of discussions, it appears that progress is being made slower than what some had initially had hoped for.