An additional practice session has been added for LMP1 competitors in next weekend’s Six Hours of Shanghai, officials from the FIA World Endurance Championship have confirmed.
The 1 hour and 45-minute session, set to run from 8-9:45 a.m. local time on Friday Nov. 16, will be utilized exclusively for LMP1 teams to carry out tire testing and development on behalf of Michelin.
Michelin currently supplies tires to all eight cars in the top prototype class.
The French manufacturer typically utilizes private testing for tire development, although the new public session could be part of the WEC’s new cost-savings measures introduced.
A further limitation on testing is planned for the 2020-21 season with the introduction of the ‘Hypercar’ regulations.
The remainder of the weekend schedule in Shanghai remains unchanged, with a pair of 90-minute Free Practice sessions on Friday, a final 60-minute session on Saturday followed by qualifying and the race on Sunday.
A total of 35 cars are entered, with the two TRSM Racing Ginetta G60 LT-P1 AERs absent for the third consecutive race.