Gibson has won the FIA tender to provide the engines for a five-year period from the beginning of the new rules cycle in 2026.
The powerplant will be a 4.2-litre normally-aspirated V8, the same configuration as the spec GK428 unit it has supplied for the current P2 formula that began in 2017.
The FIA statement confirming Gibson’s continuing role in the P2 prototype category read: “The tendering procedure took several factors into account, such as performance, weight and reliability, running and maintenance costs of the unit, spare parts cost as well as the bidding company’s infrastructure and customer service abilities, its sustainability, plus its environmental and carbon footprint.”
Gibson’s engine will power chassis from the existing four suppliers in P2, ORECA, Dallara, Ligier, and Multimatic, whose licenses to continue into the new regulatory cycle were confirmed as long ago as January 2020.
One of these designs must form the basis of an LMDh hybrid competing in either the World Endurance Championship or the IMSA SportCar Championship.
P2 will disappear from the WEC next year, but will continue in IMSA in North America and the European and Asian Le Mans Series run by WEC joint-organiser and promoter the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.
A minimum of 15 entries from these series will be invited to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours double-points round in June.
The ACO has reiterated its commitment to P2 despite its disappearance from the WEC for next year.
Club president Pierre Fillon has described it as an important component of what he calls “the pyramid of endurance”.
The new P2 rules have been delayed on multiple occasions: a four-year lifecycle was envisaged for the current spec of car before quickly being extended for a minimum of one further season.
A final delay until a 2026 introduction for the new regulations was announced in December 2022.
It will mean that the existing formula will have been in place for nine years when it is finally replaced.
