As of next month’s Hankook 12H MUGELLO, teams are now permitted to compete with an all SEMI-PRO driver line-up in the hope this will help young racers onto the 24H SERIES grid.
GENNEP (25 February, 2021) – Effective immediately, full SEMI-PRO driver line-ups will be accepted for official 24H SERIES powered by Hankook events, starting with the Hankook 12H MUGELLO.
Up until now, teams entering PRO and SEMI-PRO drivers (or those at Silver level in FIA parlance) were also required to field at least one AM or Bronze-graded driver in their line-up, or two if they were competing for GT3-AM or 991-AM class honours. As of the Hankook 12H MUGELLO on 26-27 March though, teams are now able to register a full SEMI-PRO driver line-up, a move it is hoped will encourage young up-and-coming racers to gain more endurance racing experience with CREVENTIC.
Young drivers under the age of 30 are traditionally awarded Silver level categorization by the FIA, and ironically, in order for teams to abide by Balance of Performance regulations, these same SEMI-PRO drivers could often be overlooked when teams finalised their line-ups. Consequently, alongside this new ruling, BoP regulations have also been amended to retain a level playing field at every 24H SERIES event.
In the GT3 category, teams competing with an all SEMI-PRO driver line-up will race in GT3-PRO, while 991 teams with full SEMI-PRO entries will be given professional grade BoP in an effort to keep competition tight. In all other classes, SEMI-PRO line-ups will be required to carry 30kg of extra weight and will lose 5 litres of their pre-approved refuelling allowance from Mugello onwards.
Ole Dörlemann, CREVENTIC sporting coordinator: “The decision to allow all SEMI-PRO driver line-ups to compete in the 24H SERIES is one CREVENTIC has been considering for some time, and following feedback from our competitors and supporters, is one we’re confident will bear fruit quickly. We believe this regulation change gives many of our teams the opportunity to give young drivers a berth at one or more of our endurance events, opening up doors to the next generation of racers in the process. In the spirit of the Knaf Nationale Autosport Federatie, with whom we have a very strong working relationship, we believe this regulation really will ‘put talent first’.”
The Hankook 12H MUGELLO kicks off the European leg of this year’s 24H SERIES on 26-27 March at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. Further details regarding balance of performance, driver line-up regulations and event registration can be found at 24hseries.com or from CREVENTIC directly at [email protected] and +31 485 471 166.
