Last dance
This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place not only behind closed doors and without many competitors from IMSA, but it will also be the last time the LMP1 hybrids will grace the Sarthe circuit. It brings to an end a period that started with the advent of the World Endurance Championship and involved full factory development programmes from Toyota, Audi, Porsche and Nissan.
Next year, the Hypercar regulation set will replace these regulations which have remained similar since 2012. These are hybrid prototypes that will be performance balanced. In 2022, the Hypercars will be joined by LMDh, which has a regulation set based on IMSA’s existing DPi philosophy.
The entry list for the 2020 edition of Le Mans boasts 60 cars, but the majority of the grid is made up of LMP2 and GTE-Am cars, which feature no fewer than 47 cars between them. It is a stark reminder to the regulation writers that they should build the grid from the back, looking after their privateers ahead of manufacturer needs as, when the chips are down, they always rely on those who choose to spend their own money.
A lap time handicap was
