FIA ANNOUNCES WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL DECISIONS
Hosted by FIA President Jean Todt and FIA Deputy President for Sport, Graham Stoker, the World Motor Sport Council gathered today in Cologne for its third meeting of 2019 at the Permanent Exhibition of the Michael Schumacher Private Collection at Motorworld.
The following is a summary of the meeting and the main decisions taken:
FIA Formula One World Championship
The calendar for the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship was confirmed as follows:
15 March | Australia | Melbourne |
22 March | Bahrain | Sakhir |
5 April | Vietnam | Hanoi* |
19 April | China | Shanghai |
3 May | Netherlands | Zandvoort* |
10 May | Spain | Barcelona |
24 May | Monaco | Monaco |
7 June | Azerbaijan | Baku |
14 June | Canada | Montreal |
28 June | France | Le Castellet |
5 July | Austria | Spielberg |
19 July | Great Britain | Silverstone |
2 August | Hungary | Budapest |
30 August | Belgium | Spa |
6 September | Italy | Monza |
20 September | Singapore | Singapore |
27 September | Russia | Sochi |
11 October | Japan | Suzuka |
25 October | USA | Austin |
1 November | Mexico | Mexico City |
15 November | Brazil | São Paulo |
29 November | Abu Dhabi | Yas Marina |
* Subject to circuit homologation
A number of changes to the 2020 Sporting Regulations were discussed and will be proposed to the Council for a decision by e-vote.
The Council was presented with a detailed update of the draft 2021 Sporting, Technical and Financial Regulations, providing it with the information required for the e-vote which will be held in order for the regulations to be published by 31 October.
FIA World Endurance Championship
Subsequent to the approval of the LMP 2020 Technical Regulations by the Council on 14 June, the Endurance Commission has decided to merge the two different sets of Prototype and Hypercar Technical Regulations into a single set of regulations with sections specific to each type of car.
The Promoter of the FIA World Endurance Championship has moved the penultimate round of the 2019-2020 season, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, to 25 April 2020 to avoid a clash with other events in the International Sporting Calendar.
Following a one-year extension, the current generation LMP2 cars will remain in competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship until June 2022 and in the International Series until the end of 2022.
The performance level of the LMP2 cars will be slightly reduced to achieve consistency between all categories. To avoid additional costs to the teams, this will be achieved through parameters that have no impact on chassis homologation.
FIA World Rally Championship
The current WRC 2 Pro class will become the WRC 2 class for manufacturer and private teams, while WRC 3 will be for independent Rally 2 competitors. These developments are designed to simplify the structure in accordance with the FIA Rally Pyramid, to encourage professional teams to enter and to provide a clear path for semi-professional and amateur competitors.
In an effort to offer WRC manufacturer teams more flexibility for the nomination of the drivers who are eligible to score points in a given event, the deadline to specify their decision has been extended to 12:00 on the Monday following the previous event.
The time penalty for every stage or super special stage missed due to a restart has changed from seven to ten minutes to achieve consistency across all FIA rally championships.
FIA World Rallycross Championship
In the context of the electrification of the FIA World Rallycross Championship from 2021, following a tender the Council approved the selection of Kreisel as the supplier of the electrifying kit, developing 500 kW (680hp) for Supercars for four seasons, from 2021 to 2024. They will supply a state of the art 52.65kWh battery with an innovative cooling system, two 250kW motors for each axle and two inverters. World Championship teams will be able to retrofit this kit in their current cars or build new cars around it with the support of the supplier.
The kit price will be 300k Euro plus 100k Euro for four years of support, which is lower than the price of current ICE power units over the same period. The first prototype will be presented to the teams in March 2020 and available to order from 17 April 2020.
The Council has approved the selection of QEV Technologies to develop the ‘arrive and drive’ concept of the new FIA Junior eRX Championship, which begins in 2021. QEV will develop a bespoke 4-wheel drive, tubular chassis, electric car with a 32kWh battery developing 250kW.
Up to 20 cars will compete against each other as the first international electric step to Rallycross over six European rounds at a cost of 150k Euro (or 30k Euro per race).
FIA Karting Championships
The Council confirmed the 2020 FIA Karting championship calendars as follows:
FIA Karting World Championship – OK | ||
29 October-1 November | Brazil | Birigui |
FIA Karting World Championship – Junior | ||
29 October-1 November | Brazil | Birigui |
FIA Karting World Championship – KZ | ||
10-13 September | France | Le Mans |
FIA Karting European Championship – OK | ||
16-19 April | Spain | Zuera |
14-17 May | Italy | Sarno |
28-31 May | Germany | Wackersdorf |
9-12 July | Sweden | Kristianstad |
FIA Karting European Championship – Junior | ||
16-19 April | Spain | Zuera |
14-17 May | Italy | Sarno |
28-31 May | Germany | Wackersdorf |
9-12 July | Sweden | Kristianstad |
FIA Karting European Championship – KZ | ||
30 April-3 May | Italy | Lonato |
18-21 June | Belgium | Genk |
FIA Karting European Championship – KZ2 | ||
30 April-3 May | Italy | Lonato |
18-21 June | Belgium | Genk |
FIA Karting International Super Cup – KZ2 | ||
10-13 September | France | Le Mans |
FIA Karting Academy Trophy | ||
30 April-3 May | Italy | Lonato |
18-21 June | Belgium | Genk |
10-13 September | France | Le Mans |
FIA Karting European Championship – Superkart | ||
23-25 October | France | Le Mans - Bugatti |
FIA Formula E Championship
The revised 14-round 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship calendar is approved as follows:
22 November 2019 | Saudi Arabia | Diriyah |
23 November 2019 | Saudi Arabia | Diriyah |
18 January 2020 | Chile | Santiago de Chile* |
15 February 2020 | Mexico | Mexico City* |
29 February 2020 | Morocco | Marrakesh |
21 March 2020 | China | Sanya |
4 April 2020 | Italy | Rome |
18 April 2020 | France | Paris |
3 May 2020 | South Korea | Seoul* |
6 June 2020 | Indonesia | Jakarta* |
21 June 2020 | Germany | Berlin |
11 July 2020 | USA | New York City |
25 July 2020 | United Kingdom | London* |
26 July 2020 | United Kingdom | London* |
* Subject to circuit homologation
FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies
The 2020 calendar for FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies has been confirmed as follows:
22-27 February | Qatar Cross Country Rally |
20-26 March | Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge |
24-29 May | Rally Kazakhstan |
2-16 July | Silk Way Rally* |
8-13 October | Rallye du Maroc* |
*Subject to ASN confirmation
A new points system will be introduced in 2020 to ensure that competitors who have retired can restart and remain in contention on subsequent legs. In addition to the points currently awarded for first to 10th in the overall and category classifications, for each championship and cup points will also be awarded to the fastest three crews on each leg on a scale of 3, 2 and 1 point respectively.
The homologation regulations for safety cages in T3S (SSV Series) vehicles will be modified to allow more freedom on the cage design, subject to compulsory static load testing on the chassis with the safety cage unit. This should help competitors to adapt cars and avoid a complete redesign of the series chassis.
The number of days and distances for Cross Country events have been modified. A Marathon Rally must not exceed 15 days and have a minimum distance of 2500kms of selective sections. Cross Country Rallies must not run over more than seven days with five days of competition and a minimum of 1200kms of selective sections, while Bajas will now have a total distance for selective sections of at least 350kms. None of the events must have selective sections exceeding 600 kilometres.
FIA Regional Rally Championships
The Championships points structure will be extended from 1st to 15th place (currently to 10th place) from 1 January 2020 to maintain a highly competitive championship until the end of the season. This will be according to the following scale:
1st | 30 points |
2nd | 24 points |
3rd | 21 points |
4th | 19 points |
5th | 17 points |
6th | 15 points |
7th | 13 points |
8th | 11 points |
9th | 9 points |
10th | 7 points |
11th | 5 points |
12th | 4 points |
13th | 3 points |
14th | 2 points |
15th | 1 point |
Additionally, bonus points may be awarded on the following scale on the two longest legs of an event.
1st | 5 points |
2nd | 4 points |
3rd | 3 points |
4th | 2 points |
5th | 1 point |
The titles awarded in the European Rally Trophy will be simplified from 1 January 2020. The ERT and ERT2 categories will be grouped together to form a single class for 4WD and R-GT cars, while the current ERT3 (2WD cars) becomes ERT2.
FIA European Autocross Championship
The calendar for the 2020 FIA European Autocross Championship is approved as follows:
16-17 May | Germany | Seelow |
30-31 May | Latvia | Musa |
6-7 June | Lithuania | Vilkyciai |
27-28 June | Germany | Matschenberg |
4-5 July | Czech Republic | Nová Paka |
18-19 July | France | Saint-Georges-de-Montaigu |
22-23 August | Czech Republic | Prerov |
12-13 September | France | Saint-Igny-de-Vers |
19-20 September | Italy | Maggiora |
Following the recent tenders for Autocross, Cooper/Avon is confirmed as the tyre supplier for the FIA European Autocross Championship.
Goldspeed will supply tyres in the new FIA European Cross Car Championship.
ETS is approved as fuel supplier to both of these Championships.
FIA European Hill Climb Championship
The calendar for the 2020 FIA European Hill Climb Championship is confirmed as follows:
17-19 April | France | Col St-Pierre |
24-26 April | Austria | Rechberg |
8-10 May | Portugal | Rampa Int. da Falperra |
15-17 May | Spain | Subida Internacional al Fito |
5-7 June | Czech Republic | Ecce Homo Sternberk (1) |
12-14 June | Germany | Glasbachrennen |
26-28 June | Italy | Coppa Paolino Teodori (1) |
17-19 July | Slovakia | Dobšinský kopec (1) |
24-26 July | Poland | Limanowa (1) |
14-16 August | Switzerland | St. Ursanne – Les Rangiers |
28-30 August | Slovenia | GHD Petrol Ilirska Bistrica |
18-20 September | Croatia | Buzetski dani |
(1) Subject to obtaining guarantees from the organisers via their ASN regarding the organisational and/or safety improvements.
FIA Electric and New Energy Championship
The two current trophies in the E-Rally Regularity Cup (Regularity and Consumption) will be combined to form a single trophy to provide clarity for all stakeholders and media.
FIA Circuits Commission
The Council approved the new FIA Standard 3504-2019 for light panels, as a supplement to traditional flag signals at circuits. The standard has been developed in close collaboration with FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) to ensure common safety performance criteria for both cars and motorcycles.
FIA Drivers’ Commission
The Council approved the inclusion of a permanent GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) seat at Drivers’ Commission meetings as part of the FIA’s ongoing commitment to ensuring the voices of drivers and co-drivers are heard on a range of important sporting and safety matters, as well as accident investigation.
FIA Rally Commission
The new homologation regulations agreed in principle by the World Motor Sport Council on 4 March have been introduced for the R-GT group. R-GT Technical Passports for competitors will not be renewed from 2020. Instead, new R-GT cars will be homologated by their manufacturer according to specific FIA Homologation Regulations and an FIA Homologation Form.
FIA GT Commission
The 2022 GT3 Technical and Homologation Regulations are currently being finalised, the objectives of which are to freeze the performance of the cars at the current level and provide the constructors with a clear schedule for the homologation procedure. The aim is to submit these to the Council on 4 December for final approval.
FIA Drifting Commission
A Judges Training Project is being developed to achieve a common set of judging procedures. The Commission will work with ASNs to delivered training exclusively by FIA judges to ensure consistency. Three pilot projects are planned for 2020 with the initiative set to be expanded for the following year.
The FIA Drifting Commission and FIA Technical Department are developing a common set of technical regulations for pro class cars with the aim of having them approved by the Council in early 2020, and incorporated into the major championships alongside existing standards the same year. Major championships will gradually transition to FIA Specification vehicles only over the following few years.
FIA Truck Racing Commission
Further research on the management of smoke emissions in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship will be conducted, focusing on the development of a solution using smoke detecting sensors for introduction in 2020. Teams will be responsible for managing smoke, obliging them to seek more adequate technical solutions regarding smoke emissions, such as the use of cleaner fuels.
FIA Drag Racing Commission
The Council approved the 2020 FIA Drag Racing Technical Regulations and Race Procedures.
The 2020 FIA European Drag Racing Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:
22-25 May | UK | Santa Pod |
4-7 June | Sweden | Tierp |
13-16 August | Sweden | Tierp |
28-31 August | Germany | Hockenheim |
10-13 September | UK | Santa Pod |
Calendars
The FIA takes this opportunity to highlight that all calendars are subject to ASN confirmation.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the World Motor Sport Council will be held on 4 December 2019 in Paris on the occasion of the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize Giving.