2020-2021 Technical Regulation Guidelines

The ACO and FIA laid out their roadmap for the 2020-2021 regulations, and as expected have mandated hybrid systems for privateers as well as manufacturers.

The headlines of these 2020-2021 regulations are that the budgets will be reduced to a quarter of what was spent by hybrid manufacturers this year, that the cockpit will be bigger, and safer with a revised upright seating position, that the weight limit will be 980kg (with weight distribution capped as it is in Formula 1) and that the engine design will be free.

The target power from the engine will be 520kW and from the hybrid system a further 200kW, amounting to 720kW in total, and lap times will be targeted around Le Mans at 3m20s, with the help of moveable aerodynamic devices.

However the devil is in the detail; the hybrid system can be developed by a manufacturer and must be made available for lease to a privateer, although what constitutes the hybrid system was not defined. Does it include software, and trackside support staff, for example?

The engines will have their minimum size, weight and centre of gravity defined, which will effectively dictate what architecture would be optimal. And, key to all of it is the plan to reduce the budgets for a manufacturer, while increasing the cost to a privateer by a factor of three.

The aero concept was pretty much fixed last year, and was revealed by the FIA’s Gilles Simon in Racecar Engineering (V28N1). Drag and downforce levels will be set by the FIA, and manufacturers will be able to design their cars around them.

Technical Working Groups will be set up and working overtime in order to deliver the final set of 2020-2021 regulations by the World Council in December. The first meeting is July 2, and will be attended by interested parties, including IMSA.

The American organisation pledged to work with the FIA in finalising the regulations, but has not set a time line for when it will make its decision whether or not to follow them. ‘This is a work in progress,’ read a statement from IMSA. ‘And, while a lot of progress has been made there is still much to be done. We look forward to continuing to work closely in the coming months, collaborating with the ACO and FIA and our existing prototype manufacturers, to confirm a viable cost structure for competing in the Prototype class. We remain committed to our strategic partnership with the ACO and for the future growth and success of professional sports car racing worldwide.’

Engines

Currently LMP1 engine performance is only limited by a fuel flow limit (80kg/h for LMP1 hybrids and 108kg/h for LMP1 non hybrids) and this tactic of restricting the amount of fuel flow into the engine will be continued for 2020.

One of the most effective ways of extracting the maximum energy from each droplet of fuel is to use direct injection engines with lean air fuel ratios. ‘To optimise performance with a fuel flow restriction you need to guarantee that each droplet of fuel is burned with the maximum amount of air and this is best achieved with Direct Injection,’ explains Bruno Engelric, managing director of Mecachrome when interviewed prior to Le Mans. Therefore, we are likely to see direct injection featured in this new crop of engines.

However, the presentation reveals several new restrictions despite the claim of ‘free engine architecture’. Although the capacity and aspiration system is free, a fixed maximum power target of 520kW along with ‘controlled efficiency [BSFC]’ and a minimum weight, size and centre of gravity height will be implemented. This points the optimum solution towards turbocharged V6’s, what is currently raced by the Toyota and five of the LMP1 non hybrid teams. ‘For the fuel consumption and driveability requirements of LMP1, the path we’ve taken is to use two small turbochargers working off the two banks of the engine. Both turbos are low in the car which is good for packaging and the centre of gravity,’ highlights Andrew Saunders, Engineering Manager at AER.

Chassis

The introduction of the ERS on the front axle will have huge implications for the chassis manufacturers. To accommodate this hybrid system, the tub will most likely have to be redeveloped, so those manufacturers currently in LMP1 non hybrids may have to bring new chassis’ to meet the 2020-2021 regulations.

Add to this the geometrical parameters that are being suggested which include having two seats, larger cockpits and wider windscreens.

Aerodynamics

These new 2020-2021 regulations are, as ever, trying to generate the ‘greatest sport road cars in the world’ as suggested by the ‘Hypercars’ name. Unfortunately, this means that ‘Aerodynamics cannot take precedence over aesthetics’. How this will be managed is unclear. Who, how and when will make the decision about whether the aerodynamics are aesthetic or not? F1’s complex front wings are engineering masterpieces to maximise performance, but only some find them unappealing.

Another challenge for the teams will be complying with the ‘one homologated body’ rule. Currently, teams homologate both a high and low downforce configuration, to allow them to run with low drag at circuits such as Le Mans, and high downforce at circuits like Silverstone. By only having one homologated bodywork, the engineers will have to reach a compromise between drag and downforce, in which case the car will not be optimised for either circuit type, so will that mean lower performance overall? Or will the allowable mobile aero devices be able to compensate for that compromise, by continually adjusting to the different drag and downforce requirements of each corner/track?

However, if the downforce and drag levels are fixed, as these new regs propose, how can the performance of these moveable aerodynamic devices be controlled? The whole point of such devices is to vary the downforce and drag to optimise performance during a lap and so this is a contradiction. Or will teams homologate a car with maximum downforce, and then include as many DRS-style devices to reduce the drag when necessary?

Overall, the ACO and FIA is clearly trying to keep LMP1 or these new ‘Hypercars’ as an interesting platform for manufacturers to develop road relevant technologies. However, to ensure the financial sustainability of teams, they have also attempted to control costs. This is the biggest contradiction in modern motorsport and one that is extremely difficult to find a compromise for. Not one regulation for 2020 has been put down on paper, so everything is yet to be defined. However, these guidelines have posed more questions than answers and only in December when the World Council meets will we get a clearer understanding of the details behind these proposals, and therefore which teams and manufacturers we are likely to see on the grid in 2020.

Oh and by the way, they’re going Hydrogen in 2024….