Success Handicaps Set to Be Introduced to Hypercar in 2026

The FIA World Endurance Championship is set to introduce success handicaps to the Hypercar category next year as part of a number of changes revealed by the release of the sporting and technical regulations for the 2026 season.

As outlined in Article 6.2.2 of the updated regulations published on Friday, “success handicap may be imposed for Hypercar and LMGT3 cars entered in the championship. It will be in effect at all competitions, except for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

The regulations have been updated to specifically include the Hypercar class, as a success handicap system is already in place for the LMGT3 category.

The regulations also state that “this lap time handicap will be transformed into mass and/or power at ACO/FIA discretion which will be communicated in the BoP table sent by the WEC Committee before each competition.”

The calculation system will be determined by the WEC Committee before the first session of the Prologue, which is set to take place in Qatar on March 22-23.

Another notable tweak to the sporting regulations applies to pit lane areas.

The regulations outline that the acceleration and deceleration lane (also known as the ‘blending lane’) has been defined as reserved exclusively ‘for the transition of cars joining from its dedicated stopping area coming from the fast lane, or the fast lane leaving its stopping area.’

The article states that “it is not allowed to use the pit lane for the purposes of overtaking or to stop elsewhere than in its dedicated stopping area unless directed otherwise by officials.”

This regulation tweak is likely to be a response to events that occurred during this year’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, when Ferrari performed a controversial swap between its two factory Hypercars in the pit lane en route to a 1-2 finish for the Prancing Horse.

Elsewhere in the sporting regulations, the tire allocation for cars in the LMGT3 class has been increased.

Teams will granted six additional tires to use during six-hour and eight-hour races, while the allocation for ten-hour races has been increased by eight tires.

ERS System to Become Mandatory on New LMH Cars From 2026

Updated LMH technical regulations, which were also released on Friday, also feature a key change that is set to outlaw new non-hybrid cars starting next year.

As stated in Article 5.3, “an ERS is optional but shall become mandatory for all newly homologated vehicles from 2026 onwards.”

This new rule is set to prevent LMH manufacturers from developing new non-hybrid cars. Currently, the Aston Martin Valkyrie is the only car in the category without a hybrid system.

Furthermore, a change made to Evo joker rules, which now states that additional jokers “can be granted for a demonstrated significant lack of performance as determined by governing body.”