FIA, ACO announce regulatory changes for Hypercar, LMP2 and hydrogen

Several key regulatory changes for the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship were announced this morning at the ACO’s annual Friday press conference in Le Mans, following ratification by the FIA ​​World Motor Sport Council earlier this week.

The main topic concerned the homologation cycle for cars in the current Hypercar class, which was extended until the end of the 2029 season.

Organizers say this will “ensure stability in the technical regulations as new manufacturers join the competition each year” and help them build on the formula’s success in the long term.

“As a fan of the sport, this is an incredible moment for sports car racing. This is the platinum era,” said IMSA president John Doonan, who also confirmed to RACER that the rule extension also applies to the IMSA GTP, which will accept both LMH and LMDh chassis and will not enforce the two-car rule.

“Today is marked by two things: stability and opportunity. I hope that with today’s announcement, other manufacturers will take a closer look at the top category. We are excited to continue this great moment.”

Two additional development Jokers (performance improvements) will also be allowed in the 2028 and 2029 seasons.

The so-called “two-car” rule for the top class was also confirmed. Starting from the 2025 FIA WEC season, each manufacturer represented in the Hypercar category will be required to enter at least two cars. According to the FIA ​​and ACO, this change was introduced “to improve fairness in the sport and ensure a level playing field.”

Two car entries will be compulsory to score points in the FIA ​​Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship, while additional cars from a given manufacturer will take part in the FIA ​​World Cup for Hypercar teams, which is currently contested by privately entered cars

To accommodate additional entries from manufacturers currently competing with a single car, the maximum grid size has also been increased from 37 cars this season to 40 for races outside of Le Mans.

In addition to the Hypercar regulation changes, the introduction of the next-generation LMP2 ruleset has been pushed back by two years from 2026 to 2028.

This change in category direction comes after an ongoing behind-the-scenes debate between decision-makers, suppliers and teams about the future shape of the class.

The decision to delay came after the ACO asked the current ELMS and Asian Le Mans Series teams for their views on the matter. RACER believes that the overwhelming majority of teams insisted on the delay.

Key question marks remain regarding the next-generation P2 principles, including the appearance and specifications of the chassis and engine.

“The new chassis and engine have not yet been selected, but will be based on two key principles: a reduced engine and reduced weight,” ACO says.

“LMP2 is not part of the FIA ​​WEC this season or next, but remains the leading class in the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series.”

RACER would like to point out that the above statement is made verbatim.

This requires further clarification from policymakers in a number of areas, including a new singular chassis and a new engine from 2028, which will appear to describe a specification other than Gibson’s current 4.2-litre V8, for whose tender until 2030 was agreed in October 2023.

“LMP2 is a key category for ACO,” said Pierre Fillion, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. “This is the most important category we need to protect. We have talked to all teams and have decided to extend the current generation until the end of 2027. “We have had long discussions with all interested parties and will prepare for the next generation.”

The latest noteworthy news was the further delay of the introduction of hydrogen regulations until 2028.

“The Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile and the International Motor Sports Association continue to explore hydrogen technology to achieve zero-carbon motor racing,” read a statement from the organizers.

“The prototype hydrogen class will be introduced in 2028. A joint working group is developing the regulations required to introduce this pioneering and sustainable technology to endurance racing.

“To ensure optimal sporting competitiveness, hydrogen will be stored in liquid form.”

Interestingly, this contradicts the technology MissionH24 is developing for its upcoming H24EVO prototype, which was made public earlier this week. This car is powered by hydrogen in gaseous form.

This is the second delay to the future set of regulations in the last six months, after Fillon briefed the media on the delay from 2026 to 2027 in Bahrain last November.

There, Fillon cited safety obstacles as the reason for his decision.