Readjustments in LMS

On Friday, the organizers of the Le Mans Series have published the regulations of the discipline for the next season, with some changes to the agenda.

Cars admitted
In LMGT1, both new FIA 2010 configured cars and 2009 cars equipped with a performance kit will be admitted.

Car and driver categories
The LMP1 category is particularly made for factory cars and professional crews.
The LMP2 category was created to maintain reasonable budget levels and guarantee access to competition for gentlemen drivers.

To remain consistent with this state of mind, the crews (made up of 2 or 3 drivers) must include at least one gentleman driver.
In this context, and to make this commitment to LMP2 even more attractive for these gentlemen drivers, the minimum driving times have been modified: they go from 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes of minimum driving time per driver, and therefore from 4 hours to 3 hours 30 minutes maximum.

In LMP1, LMGT1 and LMGT2, the maximum driving time for a driver remains 4 hours, and the minimum time 45 minutes.

The four categories of drivers will be as follows:
- Platinum (or A): professional pilots generally recognized as renowned pilots on the international scene, aged under 55 and meeting specific criteria for holding a license and/or track record are classified in this category;
- Or (or B): semi-professional drivers from international series or who have distinguished themselves in national championships and who meet the criteria of age, track record and/or holding a license are classified in this category.
- Silver (or C): this is a category bringing together amateur pilots aged under 30 (and not belonging to the first two categories), or pilots meeting the criteria for the Platinum category aged 60 and more. Other ranking criteria are also taken into account.
- Bronze (or D): this category brings together amateur drivers. Any pilot having had their first international license after the age of 30 and having no experience or having participated episodically in car.
In LMP2, a crew of 2 or 3 drivers must be composed of at least one Silver or Bronze driver.

Distribution of points
In order to be ever more consistent with the spirit of theEndurance, the points scale has been expanded and now all ranked competitors will score points. Here is the new points allocation:

1. Team ranking
Points will be awarded to the team based on the classification of the cars. The teams ranking scale is distributed as follows: 15, 13, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and one point for pole position.
The first twelve teams score points as shown above. In cases where a team is ranked thirteenth or higher, it will also score 1 point. Several cars from the same team can compete independently.

In the LM P1, LM GT1 and LM GT2 categories, a car in which a driver has driven more than 4 hours in total will not be classified (its drivers will not score points). On the other hand, the car will be classified once at least 2 drivers have driven at least 45 minutes during the race.
In the LM P2 category, a car in which a driver has driven more than 3 hours 30 minutes in total will not be classified (its drivers will not score points). On the other hand, the car will be classified as soon as at least 2 drivers have driven at least 1 hour 15 minutes during the race.

For any event whose distance is more than 50% greater than 1000 km, the points will be doubled except for the additional point awarded to pole position. The winner of each category will therefore score 30 points. Points will be awarded according to the following scale: 30, 26, 22, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 plus one point for pole position.

The first twelve teams score points as shown in the table above. In cases where a team is ranked thirteenth or higher, it will also score 2 points.

2. Driver ranking
– With regard to the LM P1, LM GT1 and LM GT2 categories, for a driver to score points, the following conditions must be cumulatively met:
– that his car is classified,
– that he drove during the race for at least 45 minutes and no more than 4 hours in total.
– Regarding the LM P2 categories, for a driver to score points, the following conditions must be cumulatively met:
– that his car is classified,
– that he drove during the race for at least 1 hour 15 minutes and no more than 3 hours 30 minutes in total.
– Points are awarded to drivers by category (in one or more cars and in one or more teams). A driver changing category during the season will not be able to accumulate the points obtained in each category. The driver classification scale is distributed as follows: 15, 13, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and one point for pole position

The drivers of the first twelve teams in each category score the points shown in the table above. In cases where a team is classified thirteenth or higher, the drivers will also score 1 point.
For any event whose distance is more than 50% greater than 1000 km, the points will be doubled except for the additional point awarded to pole position. The winning drivers in each category will therefore score 30 points. Points will be awarded according to the following scale: 30, 26, 22, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 plus one point for pole position.

The drivers of the first twelve teams in each category score points as shown in the table above. In the event that a team is classified thirteenth or beyond, the drivers will also score 2 points.

3. Manufacturer ranking
By “manufacturer(s)” it is intended to mean, within the meaning of these regulations, the association formed by the manufacturer of the chassis and that of the engine, that is to say by the natural or legal person(s) holding the rights of intellectual property on the chassis and on the engine, the names of which appear on the Homologation Form validated by the ACO.
If there are two different manufacturers, the name of the chassis manufacturer must always precede that of the engine manufacturer.
The ACO Approval Forms currently valid will, if necessary, be modified accordingly.
For the manufacturers' classification, only the first two cars from the same Manufacturer classified, at the end of each event, in the same category will score points. The points distribution scale is the same as in the previous categories.

Stickers and race numbers
The background color of the LMGT2 category race numbers will be Orange.
The four colors are therefore:
LMP1 Pantone Red 485,
LMP2 Pantone Blue 653,
LMGT1 Pantone Green 355,
LMGT2 Orange pantone 021C,
In order to facilitate visibility for spectators and television viewers, in particular for races taking place at night or partly at night, the cars must be equipped with white electroluminescent supports, the colored background will be cut to the shape of the numbers so as to so that they are lit at night.