Full Course Yellow Procedure Under Evaluation

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

Changes could be made to the Full Course Yellow procedure in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the wake of recent race-impacting results due to the current virtual safety car rules.

Teams have been able to gain significant time while pitting under FCY, with a well-timed stop for the No. 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid in last month’s Six Hours of Circuit of The Americas helping take the German squad to its third consecutive WEC victory.

ACO Sporting Director Vincent Beaumesnil revealed the FCY procedure is under evaluation but would not confirm if changes could be be made before the end of the year.

“We’re looking at it, but the way we will do it and when, I cannot say for the moment,” Beaumesnil told Sportscar365.

“The first thing, when you change a rule during the season, you need to have all the competitors agree.”

Beaumesnil said they’ve received feedback from competitors on the current procedure, which was implemented in 2014 and sees cars slowed to 80 km/h without a safety car intervention.

The system is in place for all WEC races, although local yellows, known as Slow Zones, are predominately used at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We introduced the Full Course Yellow because… it gives us a lot of comfort to manage the safety of the marshals, which is essential for us,” Beaumesnil said.

“Then it appeared by the experience and time that there may be some issues by having some guys that can take the benefit by taking a pit stop during the FCY.

“We are always open to look at what happens and see if we can solve it.”

The Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup utilizes a similar FCY procedure, but closes its pit lane during the yellows. The pit lane, however, remains open in the Endurance Cup, which does not have an enforced pit window.

While the closing of pit lane during FCYs would appear to be the logical solution for the WEC, Beaumesnil said there’s no easy fix to prevent gains being made.

“I’m going to be a bit cynical,” he said. “Generally, competitors complain about problems but they never make some proposals. It’s up to us to find a solution.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John