The push to stop groups within the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class working two-driver line-ups from subsequent season seems to have failed.
A proposal to that impact put ahead by the WRT BMW squad has not met with favour from the opposite contributors and is more likely to be deserted.
The calls had been led by WRT boss Vincent Vosse in response to Cadillac’s choice to run solely two drivers within the six-hour races this 12 months, however he has conceded that the established order permitting groups and producers to resolve whether or not to run two or three is more likely to be maintained.
It’s understood that there will likely be no change within the sporting guidelines with out the unanimous help of the groups.
“I’d be stunned if there’s a change,” Vosse instructed Motorsport.com. “It appears that evidently many of the producers are towards imposing a brand new rule.”
The issues of mandating three-driver line-ups and the raft of rule modifications it might require explains why the bulk look like towards a shift.
For the time being there are not any drive-time laws in Hypercar and there’s additionally no provision for a crew to appoint a reserve on a race weekend, even on the Le Mans 24 Hours.
#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Collection.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn
Picture by: Andreas Beil
Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid stated: “It will create lots of complexity within the laws.
“We stock a spare driver at some races however not each one. Proper now if certainly one of our drivers received sick we might make it by the weekend [with two].
“If we begin imposing three drivers it should begin inflicting issues, notably with occasion conflicts the place we are able to’t have a spare driver.
“Additionally these are sophisticated automobiles to drive, so that you don’t wish to be placing in drivers who’re under-prepared.
“I don’t wish to throw across the S-word – security – however that is most likely one thing that falls into that class.”
Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie offered the same argument for preserving the laws as they’re, stating that the French producer ran solely two drivers in every of its automobiles at Spa in Could when Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne had been on System E obligation in Berlin.
“The answer we present in Spa was compromise and we wish to maintain the laws the identical,” he defined.
“You probably have three drivers and one thing occurs to at least one you may all the time do the race with simply two. We’re pushing to maintain the foundations as they’re.”
#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Loic Duval
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Pictures
Batti Pregliasco, crew supervisor of the manufacturing unit AF Corse crew, additionally stated that the foundations “must be stored as they’re”.
Additionally on the desk is a second proposal aligned to the one regarding two and three drivers.
This may contain stopping groups and producers from altering drivers over the course of the season, which might have a severe affect on these with drivers additionally competing within the FE world championship.
“You will need to depart the door open,” stated Pregliasco. “We’re proud of our six drivers, however I perceive {that a} producer may wish to usher in a reputation driver for Le Mans. Or maybe a driver may lose efficiency over the season.”
Vosse argued that it must be mandated within the guidelines whether or not a crew runs two or three drivers within the shorter WEC races as a result of utilizing two presents a transparent profit in these occasions.
“Two drivers clearly presents a bonus by way of observe time and crew technique, however we select to run three as a result of that’s what number of drivers you want for the Le Mans 24 Hours, the most important race of the 12 months,” he instructed Motorsport.com in July.
“I would really like it to be clear within the guidelines what number of drivers it’s a must to run, whether or not that’s two or three.”
