Starting with the 2025 season, the three position lights will be phased out and converted to a system that has been standard in IMSA for a decade.
The FIA announced this after the latest meeting of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC). The new multi-colored displays on both sides of the vehicle are intended to “enhance the fan experience” and display a variety of information.
What information that is will not be revealed yet. By default, the position of the vehicle is displayed. In the IMSA, for example, pit stop times are displayed directly on the display.
The “Leader Lights” were introduced at the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans. Some vehicles, such as the Aston Martin DBR9, had been equipped with a corresponding device since 2005. At the time, the system was groundbreaking but quickly became technically obsolete because it could only display the first three places in the class.
Fans have long been calling for a switch to a more modern system. Nevertheless, the ACO held on to the position lights for a long time, but now the change is coming. In contrast to GT3 racing, where the panels are mounted in the windshield, they will be mounted on the side in the WEC, similar to the IMSA panels.
LED panels have been used successfully in the USA for more than a decade and have proven their worth in endurance racing. They were introduced in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2014 and have proven their worth.
Minimum driving time for WEC points to be reduced
The IndyCar series, which had also used such panels in the meantime, has now abolished them because they indicated push-to-pass operation and thus allowed opponents to react to its use at lightning speed. Here, a step back has been taken in the direction of a lack of transparency in order to improve the racing action.
Otherwise, the extensions of the homologation periods for hypercars (until the end of 2029) and LMP2 vehicles (until the end of 2027) were approved. The same applies to the new regulation that each manufacturer must enter at least two vehicles in each WEC race.
Another rule change: the minimum driving time for a driver to score points in a WEC race will be reduced from 60 to 45 minutes from 2025. This is interesting in light of the fact that there had been an initiative to make three-car pairings mandatory.
Although this proposal was not met with approval by most manufacturers, this change can be interpreted as a concession to three-man teams to give them more flexibility. Of course, minimum driving times for the less experienced drivers still apply in the LMGT3 class.