FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions

The following is a summary of the decisions taken during the meeting

FIA Formula One World Championship

The 2019 season calendar was approved as follows:

17 March	Australia	Melbourne
31 March	Bahrain	Sakhir
14 April	China	Shanghai
28 April	Azerbaijan	Baku
12 May	Spain	Barcelona
26 May	Monaco	Monaco
9 June	Canada	Montreal
23 June	France	Le Castellet
30 June	Austria	Spielberg
14 July	Great Britain	Silverstone
28 July	Germany	Hockenheim
4 August	Hungary	Budapest
1 September	Belgium	Spa
8 September	Italy	Monza
22 September	Singapore	Singapore
29 September	Russia	Sochi
13 October	Japan	Suzuka
27 October	Mexico	Mexico City
3 November	USA	Austin*
17 November	Brazil	São Paulo
1 December	Abu Dhabi	Yas Marina

* Subject to ASN approval

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]The Council approved changes to the 2019 Sporting Regulations including:

– Changes to the Safety Car regulations to ensure there is a consistent point at which drivers may overtake when the Safety Car returns to the pits. This will now be the same in all three types of restart
– The teams will now be responsible for initial scrutineering of their cars.
– The official end-of-race signal will now be a checkered light panel, although the checkered flag will still be shown

For 2020, the team personnel curfew – the amount of time for which all team personnel must be away from the track – will increase from eight to nine hours.

Formula 1 Strategy Group and Commission proposals concerning the 2019 Technical Regulations were agreed, including:

– Changes to the mirror regulations and also associated rear wing changes (height) for rear view visibility and safety (Articles 3.6 and 14.3)
– The on-board camera regulations will be modified to improve the TV spectacle (Article 21)
– Rear endplate lights are to be added for safety (Article 14.5)
– Minor modifications to the halo fairing (Article 15.2.6) are to be made for safety reasons during a potential driver extraction

Full details will be made available on FIA.com

A report on the security procedures to be put in place for the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix was presented to the Council, following meetings between the FIA, Formula 1 and the local authorities.

FIA Formula E Championship

An updated version of the 2018/19 season calendar was approved as follows:

15 December 2018	Saudi Arabia	Ad Diriyah*
12 January 2019	Morocco	Marrakesh
26 January 2019	Chile	Santiago de Chile*
16 February 2019	Mexico	Mexico City
10 March 2019	China	Hong Kong
23 March 2019	China	Sanya*
13 April 2019	Italy	Rome
27 April 2019	France	Paris
11 May 2019	Monaco	Monaco
25 May 2019	Germany	Berlin
22 June 2019	Switzerland	Bern*
13 July 2019	USA	New York
14 July 2019	USA	New York

* Subject to circuit homologation

FIA World Rally Championship

The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:

27 January	Rally Monte Carlo
17 February	Rally Sweden
10 March	Rally Mexico
31 March	Rally France
28 April	Rally Argentina
12 May	Rally Chile
2 June	Rally Portugal
16 June	Rally Italy
4 August	Rally Finland
25 August *	Rally Germany
15 September	Rally Turkey
6 October *	Rally Great Britain
27 October *	Rally Spain
17 November *	Rally Australia

In order to give consistent identity to drivers and assist with promotion, Priority 1 drivers will be free to choose their permanent car number from 2019, except number 1, which will always be reserved for the reigning World Rally Champion.* Date subject to confirmation

As part of an overall cost reduction plan aimed at removing or reducing the cost of elements that do not add to the spectacle of the Championship, the number of test days will be reduced from 55 to 42 for WRC Manufacturer teams. The total distance of special stages has been reduced from a maximum of 500 to a maximum of 350 kilometers.

From 2019, the support championships will be restructured to help increase the number of entrants in Manufacturer Championships, to boost the number of factory supported drivers and cars, and further encourage private competitors to the WRC 2 and Junior WRC Championships. Building on the success of the R5 car, a new WRC 2 Pro Championship for Drivers, Co-Drivers and Manufacturers will be created as a platform for registered R5 manufacturers.

The same specification R5 car will continue to be used in the FIA WRC 2 Championship. This championship will be solely for private entrants, with the intention being to attract more drivers from national and regional championships.

In order to continue supporting the progression of young talent in the sport, the format of the Junior WRC Championship will remain unchanged. The WRC 3 Championship will cease from 2019 although competitors in two-wheel drive cars are still eligible to enter events.

The Championships will therefore be as follows:

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers
FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers
FIA WRC 2 Championship for Drivers and Co-drivers
FIA Junior WRC Championship for Drivers, Co-drivers and Nations

FIA World Endurance Championship

The 2019-2020 season calendar was approved as follows:

1 September 2019	4 Hours of Silverstone	Great Britain
6 October 2019	6 Hours of Fuji	Japan
10 November 2019	4 Hours of Shanghai	China
14 December 2019	8 Hours of Bahrain	Bahrain
1 February 2020	6 Hours of São Paulo	Brazil
TBC March 2020	1000 Miles of Sebring (8 hours)	USA*
2 May 2020	6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps	Belgium
13-14 June 2020	24 Hours of Le Mans	France

* Subject to final confirmation

Minor changes to the Sporting Regulations for the 2019-2020 season were approved, including clarifications regarding issues relating to pit lane procedure.

Details of the technical regulations based upon the ‘Hypercar’ concept for 2020-2021 season were approved. An estimation of the required budgets was presented, with a view to allowing both manufacturers and private entries to be competitive within the defined financial framework.

Single-Seater Commission

The Council approved the appointment of Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) as the promoter of the new single-seater European Regional Championship for 2019 conforming to the technical specification of FIA Formula 3 Regional.

Off-Road Commission

The Council approved the decision to move the introduction of electric cars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship from 2020 to 2021, providing optimal time for at least three manufacturers to develop their plans and on condition that at least three commit to enter by March 2019. In light of the revised timeline, postponement of the planned new tender for the exclusive supply of tires was approved, along with the decision to extend the existing contract by one additional season.

FIA GT Nations Cup

The Sporting Regulations for the inaugural event were approved by the Council and will be made available on FIA.com

Single suppliers were approved as follows:

Fuel – Panta Distribuzione S.p.A
Tires – Pirelli

FIA GT World Cup

Single suppliers were approved as follows:

Fuel – Panta Distribuzione S.p.A
Tires – Pirelli

FIA European Truck Racing Championship

Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations S.A. was approved as the single supplier for tires in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship.

FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies

From 2019, Bajas and Cross Country Rallies will be separated into two different competitions to help encourage more competitors to participate and improve accessibility for young drivers. The FIA World Cup for Cross Country Bajas will run alongside the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.

Drifting

Updated Sporting Regulations for the FIA Intercontinental Drifting Cup, which are in line with the most common approach to the scoring process for drifting, were approved. This will result in an increased influence of human judgment, enabling a better understanding of how scores are determined.

The composition of the first Drifting Commission will be announced at the Annual General Assembly in December 2018.

Safety Commission

The Council approved the proposal for the winner of FIA F3 World Cup to be granted five Super License points.

Global Institute

The motor sport safety research and development and training activities previously conducted by the Global Institute will now be directly run by the FIA.

E-Motorsport

The Council approved the creation of an E-Motorsport Working Group, Chaired by Deputy President for Sport Graham Stoker, including participants from the Formula 1 Commercial Rights Holder and ASNs in Spain, France, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the USA.

Women in Motorsport Commission

In association with the Drivers’ Commission, a two-day women drivers assessment program was hosted at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain in August. As the FIA continues its commitment to increasing the number of women competing in its championships, fifteen drivers who are currently competing in a variety of different categories were invited to participate.

The assessment was designed to achieve a clear overview of the potential of women drivers from different disciplines of international motor sport. With concrete and accurate data, it reconfirmed that there is a pool of female drivers at a high level who are well prepared to progress to major championships and compete alongside their male counterparts.

The Commission will continue its work to create opportunities in the FIA championships, and to facilitate access to the top categories of the sport.

International Series

The following were approved as International Series:

– Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East
– MRF Challenge
– Asian Le Mans Series
– W Series

Next meeting

The next World Motor Sport Council will meet on 5 December in Saint Petersburg, Russia.