Diesel cuts 'not enough' for Le Mans

Petrol-powered prototypes look unlikely to be able to race on equal terms with the turbodiesel Audis and Peugeots in next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, despite another attempt to create a level playing field.

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest revealed further cuts to the power of the diesels at the same time as a power increase for petrol LMP1s in August. New ACO sporting manager Vincent Beaumesnil described it as “a good equivalence” based on “pure analysis of data”.

But leading petrol teams claimed the changes haven’t gone far enough, arguing they are between a third and a half of what was necessary. Henri Pescarolo estimated the best petrol cars would still lag about 2.5 seconds a lap behind the diesels at Le Mans next June.