IMSA: LMDh Regs “Very Close” to Completion

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

IMSA has confirmed that the LMDh regulations are “very close” to completion, with work ongoing between the U.S. sanctioning body, the ACO and the four approved LMDh/LMP2 constructors in recent weeks via videoconferencing.

Announced at Daytona in January, plans were in place to reveal the draft set of regulations for global prototype convergence last weekend at the ‘Super Sebring’ event, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While having led to delays in the finalization of the regulations, progress has continued to be made in the form of video teleconferences between the involved parties.

According to IMSA’s VP of Competition Simon Hodgson, who spoke during Tuesday’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship stakeholder teleconference, IMSA and the ACO have maintained their target of releasing the draft set of regulations as soon as possible.

“There’s been ongoing work with regard to the LMDh technical regulations,” Hodgson said.

“Both ourselves and the ACO have continued to hold a couple of constructor WebEx meetings. We’ve done two evaluations in weeks with the draft regulations.

“The first meeting [was] with the constructors. We took their feedback and then we amended the regulations and had another review.

“Our next step will be to re-engage with them one more time and then provide the manufacturers with an update.”

Hodgson wouldn’t be drawn on an exact timeframe for the publishing of the regs, amid concerns from ORECA President Hugues de Chaunac, who stressed that the ruleset must be finalized within the next ten days in order to not face further delays.

“First of all, we need to complete them, which we’re very close to doing,” Hodgson said. “Then there’ll be a further update from the ACO into the steering committee and details will be provided at that time.”

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