Consider Ligier LMP 3 and 4 in P1 Class
#35000 from Bob Monette · Not recommended · Minutes (2023-12 Fastrack)
Thank you for your letter. The Club Racing Board does not recommend this change. LMP cars were originally classified in the
Prototype X (PX) class, which was intended to provide a place for members to race unmodified prototype cars that had
previously run with GT-type cars in professional racing series such as IMSA, Grand-Am, etc. It was understood from the
beginning that PX cars such as LMPs would be grouped with big-bore GT, Sedan, and Touring cars (GT1/GT2/AS/T1), because the
cars had too much mass and too much straight-line speed to be safely grouped with F/SR classes such as P1, P2, FA, FC, FE2, and
FX. Ultimately, because both PX and GTX were non-points, non-championship classes in which a Balance of Performance (BoP)
formula was not used, there was no need for two non-points, non-championship, non-BoP classes in the same run group.
Reclassification of the PX cars into the GTX class did not change the LMP cars' original run group. In addition, GTX cars such as
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the LMP do not fit within the class philosophy and specifications of the P1 class, which runs under a BoP formula to promote
closely-matched performance between cars, unlike the GTX class. The P1 rules accordingly prohibit V-8 and V-6 engines like
those used by LMP cars, which would be well outside the BoP standard for P1. Further, LMP cars such as the Ligier are 800-1200
pounds heavier than P1 cars and other F/SR cars with which they would be grouped on track, meaning that some cars would be
less than half the Ligier's weight. This is undesirable from a safety standpoint. The referenced height differences of 5.0 to 7.5
inches between cars in the GTX class's run group are not uncommon in other race groupings in the SCCA, and drivers are
accustomed to adjusting to this by being more observant when running together.