Success Ballast Introduced to GTE-Am for 2019-20

The FIA World Endurance Championship will introduce success ballast to the GTE-Am category next season.

All 2019-20 rounds except the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be subject to the new arrangement, which was confirmed in the latest FIA World Motor Sport Council bulletin on Wednesday.

It follows the introduction of success ballast to the GTE class of the European Le Mans Series for next year.

WEC success ballast appears to follow a similar principle to the ELMS system, with additional weight calculated by a mixture of previous race results and championship positions.

The World Motor Sport Council’s December update also confirmed that tire changes will no longer be allowed to take place at the same time as refueling, reversing a rule put in place for the 2018-19 ‘Super Season’.

Another change regards the 2019-20 points system, which will be updated to reflect the switch to a schedule of varying race lengths.

Four-hour WEC races will be held at Silverstone and Shanghai for the first time next season, along with a new eight-hour race in Bahrain.