WMSC Meeting notes: Formula E, WRC calendars, LMP1 power cuts and more - MotorSportsTalk

The World Motor Sport Council meeting on Wednesday had a number of other topics on the agenda as well, including more calendar changes and other regulatory items.

The full details of the meeting are linked here, via the FIA official website. Meanwhile some other items of note are below:

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First, up, Formula E has also had a calendar shift for the 2015-2016 campaign.

The updated calendar from the provisional calendar is below, with changes in bold.

The TBC round has been moved forward a week, and is reported to be Mexico City, per a Motorsport.com report. The London season finale now comes a week before the British Grand Prix on July 2 and 3, with the race at Silverstone set to be a week later.

24 October	Beijing	China
7 November	Putrajaya	Malaysia
19 December	Punta del Este	Uruguay
6 February	Buenos Aires	Argentina
12 March	TBC	TBC
2 April	Long Beach	USA
23 or 24 April	Paris	France
21 May	Berlin	Germany
4 June	Moscow	Russia
2 & 3 July	London	United Kingdom

2015/2016 FIA Formula E Championship calendar

Round	Date	Country	ePrix
1	17 October 2015	China	Beijing
2	7 November 2015	Malaysia	Putrajaya
3	19 December 2015	Uruguay**	Punta del Este**
4	6 February 2016	Argentina**	Buenos Aires**
5	19 March 2016	TBD	TBD
6	2 April 2016	USA	Long Beach
7	23 April 2016	France	Paris
8	21 May 2016	Germany	Berlin
9	4 June 2016	Russia	Moscow
10 & 11	TBD	United Kingdom	London

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More power? Instead, the FIA has decided less of it is needed for the marquee LMP1 prototypes that make the FIA World Endurance Championship such an incredible series.

Here’s the line from the meeting:

“The WMSC approved the Endurance Commission’s proposal to limit the releasable power for energy recovery systems in LMP1 cars on safety grounds, to avoid the possibility of deployment of an instantaneous total power (engine + hybrid) of over 1000hp.”

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Remember when Formula 2 was added to the FIA Superlicense points system? Turns out the FIA is trying to get the series back and going.

Again, from the meeting:

“Significant progress has been made in negotiations with the promoter of GP2 regarding the establishment of the final step in the FIA’s single-seater ladder; the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

“Discussions remain ongoing with the intention of finalising an agreement.”

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Events, but not dates have been set for the FIA World Rally Championship next season. They are as follows:

The WMSC approved the composition of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship calendar, with 14 events (dates to be confirmed). They are, in alphabetical order:

–        Argentina
–        Australia
–        China*
–        Finland
–        France**
–        Germany
–        Great Britain
–        Italy
–        Mexico
–        Monte Carlo**
–        Poland
–        Portugal
–        Spain
–        Sweden

*Subject to fulfilment of the FIA criteria following Candidate Event in August 2015.
**Subject to formalisation of agreed terms and conditions between WRC Promoter, FIA and the Event before 30 November, 2015.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107^th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.