WHAT IS IT?
The Michelin Le Mans Cup is reserved for cars conforming to the current FIA GT3 homologation regulations as well as the LMP3.
​
Among the GT3 that can compete in the series we can see the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, the Audi R8 LMS, the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, and the new 488 GT3, and the Porsche 911 GT3R, though teams can also enter eligible cars from manufacturers such as Bentley, BMW, Lamborghini, Lexus, Dodge, Corvette, Nissan, McLaren and Mercedes Benz.
EVENT FORMAT
Le Mans Cup race weekends typically run Saturday-Sunday.
Free Practice 1 60 Minutes
Free Practice 2 60 Minutes
Qualifying 30 Minutes (15’ for GT3 + 15' for LMP3)*
Race 120 Minutes - Except for Road To Le Mans: two 55-minutes race
Calender
Key points of the 2019 Regulations
-
A system of “Pitstop Handicap” will be applied to the top 5 GT3 cars.
It will be based on the GT3 team championship and applied for each event according to the championship points at the end of the previous event. The Pitstop Handicap will not be applicable for the first event of the Championship.
The calculation of the Pitstop Handicap for the top 5 will be the following:
(Number of points of the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th placed competitors – Numbers of points of the sixth placed competitor) x 0.5 = additional seconds added to the pit stop time. There will be no pitstop handicap for every competitor classified 6th or lower at the previous event.
The number of additional seconds rounded down to the nearest second shall be added to the reference pitstop time. (Art 10.16)
-
In order to promote new technologies, the Michelin Le Mans Cup Committee may authorise one competitor presenting an innovative car in the innovative category (in the same spirit as the Garage 56 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans), which does not meet the 2019 technical rules subject to the following conditions:
- The car must be the product of an innovative technological project which will be assessed by the Selection Committee.
- The ACO will have to obtain the necessary guarantees regarding safety, performance and reliability of the car, as well as all other requirements it deems necessary.
- The innovative car will take part in the race outside the classifications.
- The Sporting Regulations will be applied (entries, driving times, qualification minima, etc.). The ACO may grant waivers linked to the technical features of the car (eg fuelling procedure). (Art 3.2.4)
-
Only the full season competitors will be able to score points for the Series titles. (Art 11.3.1.d)
-
The competitors will have the authorisation to use an additional set of used tyres. Which means that for the GT3 class, the competitors will have 5 sets of tyres including 2 sets of used tyres. The LMP3 entries will have 4 sets of tyres including 2 sets of used tyres from the previous race. (Art 7.7.1 and 7.7.2)
-
Bronze drivers collective test sessions reserved exclusively for drivers who have been categorised as Bronze by the FIA may be organised by LMEM, if possible and according to the timetable, at each race. The Bronze drivers collective test sessions won’t be mandatory and there will be no limitation on tyres. (Art 9.3).