The increase in the minimum speed at which retrieved energy can be deployed through the Toyota GR010 HYBRID’s front axle follows the move of the so-called ‘120 Rule’ from the technical regulations to the Balance of Performance system for this season.
This minimum was previously set at 120km/h for all hybrid Le Mans Hypercars when a car was on slick tyres and 150km/h when on grooved rubber.
The speed is now set for the Toyota, the only hybrid currently competing in the Hypercar class of the WEC, at 190km/h for both wet and dry conditions.
Under the new system the speed can change from track to track and, when further hybrid LMH machinery such as the Peugeot 9X8 arrive in the championship, from car to car.
The change is believed to be part of the rationale behind Toyota’s decision to swap to the second of the two tyre-size options currently allowed in the LMH rules.
From this year the GR010 will run 12.5in fronts and 14in rears rather than 13in wheels all round of the car's maiden season.
An increase in the minimum speed at which hybrid power can be deployed means there will be more stress placed on the rear tyres.
The minimum weight of the GR010 for Sebring has been raised to 1070kg: that is four kilogrammes more than at the Le Mans 24 Hours last August when the Glickenhaus LMH was present; and 30kg more than at the Bahrain double-header when it wasn’t.
The power allowed to the Toyotas has also been reduced on Bahrain levels through the rev range.
The energy per stint figure measured in megajoules, the means used to equate the stint lengths of the different cars, is now 898MJ for the Toyota compared with 962 at Le Mans and 909 in Bahrain.
The Glickenhaus’s power figures remain unchanged from Le Mans, as does the minimum weight of the 007 LMH of 1030kg.
The reduction of the energy allowed by stint is now 910MJ, which compares to 965MJ it ran on each of its three appearances last year.
The ORECA LMP1 design now racing as the Alpine A480 is running at the same 952kg minimum weight as at Le Mans, while the power of its normally-aspirated Gibson V8 has been reduced along with the fuel it can use each stint.
A further reduction to the performance of cars in the LMP2 class has been confirmed.
The power of a P2 car’s one-make Gibson V8 has been reduced by eight kilowatts or approximately 10bhp and takes into account the switch to a new biofuel from WEC supplier TotalEnergies.
This is in addition to the 65bhp reduction the cars received in two hits ahead of the 2021 season.
The aerodynamic configuration of the cars has also been revised: the cars can no longer run front diveplanes on the mandated low-downforce body kit and have to run 50mm shorter diffuser strakes at the rear. A 10mm rear Gurney has been added to the rear wing to compensate.
The fuel capacity of the cars has been reduced from 75 to 65 litres and minimum drive times for silver and bronze-rated drivers modified.
Chevrolet’s Corvette C8.R has been given a smaller-diameter air-restrictor for Sebring compared with its WEC outings at Spa and Le Mans last year. It will run a 42.3mm restrictor compared with a 43.5 at Spa and 42.7 at Le Mans.
The Ferrari 488 GTE Evo and the Porsche 911 RSR have unchanged minimum weights in the Sebring BoP tables, but the Italian car has gained back a further proportion of the power it lost ahead of the first of the two Bahrain races at the end of last year.
It lost approximately 25bhp prior to the six-hour Bahrain event before the reduction was halved ahead of the eight-hour seasonal finale.
