Code 60 changes and revised driver stint times part of sporting and technical regulations for Michelin 24H SERIES in 2025
CREVENTIC has revised its sporting and technical regulations for the 2025 Michelin 24H SERIES, with each designed to make on-track action closer and, ultimately, the championship chase tighter than ever before.
Alongside a subtly revised category structure, improved safety protocols will be introduced to pitroad and the refueling station. CREVENTIC’s trademark Code 60 procedures will be preceded by a countdown for the first time. And ‘gentlemen’ drivers will enjoy more track-time than years gone by.
Tyre warmers for all
In a move that brings the curtain down (for now, at least) on the 24H SERIES’ separate GT and TCE divisions, the use of tyre warmers will be permitted across all categories in 2025. Previously, when overall division championships were in operation, only the faster and more aerodynamically-responsive GT cars were allowed the use of tyre warmers during official sessions. It is hoped that this decision will provide the series’ ‘gentlemen’ drivers, in lieu of the need to build heat into each compound, with more time to focus on personal development on-track.
The ban on tyre changes during official 24H SERIES qualifying sessions meanwhile continues into 2025, albeit with an alteration. Teams are now required to use not only the same set of tyres for the entirety of qualifying, but also, and to avoid confusion, will no longer be allowed to remove wheels from the car and put them back in their heaters.
Teams will only be allowed to remove or replace wheels and tyres during qualifying if either have been damaged beyond reasonable repair, and only once they have been given express permission to do so by the event’s scrutineers.
Qualifying for each 24H SERIES event remains unaltered for 2025. As in 2024, three drivers from each team (or, in the event of a two-car line-up, both drivers with one taking part in two sessions) will contest one of the three 15-minute qualifying sessions apiece. Their combined best average time will then determine their car’s place on the grid.
Tightened refueling limits during Code 60s
In a bid to further spice up the strategic chess games, regulations governing Code 60 caution periods – a hallmark of the 24H SERIES – have been amended for 2025. Whereas the purple flags, thrown to ‘neutralize’ the race in the event of an on-track incident, were previously initiated immediately, in 2025, race control will now provide teams with a countdown to the start of a Code 60 caution period. At the end of the countdown, all cars on-track must be travelling at no more than 60kph.
It is hoped this will help avoid confusion as to when a full-course neutralization has officially begun. By reducing the risk of multiple cars travelling at differing speeds at the same time, competitor safety should also be improved.
A rule mandating that teams can only refuel their car during a Code 60 caution period – introduced earlier this year ahead of the 12H MUGELLO – will carry over into 2025. As a result, team strategists will now have to carefully consider when to commit their cars to their one and only fuel stop, potentially throwing the playing field wide open.
In the unlikely event that a Code 60 caution period runs longer than one hour, teams are permitted to refuel their cars more than once. All team personnel in the refueling area must be wearing flame retardant clothing, including overalls, balaclava, and gloves in accordance with FIA guideline 8856-2000.
None of the above will change the factors determining potential Code 60 caution periods, which will continue to be called and withdrawn at race control’s discretion.
In a further bid to improve safety, drivers must now dim high-beam headlights while on pitroad, in the garage and in the refueling area. This is intended to prevent pit personnel being dazzled, and thus avoid any serious incidents in an active pitlane.
Each team’s designated ‘AM’ driver must contest Q1 or risk a post-session grid penalty.
‘24-hour’ double points to be awarded once again in 2025
As in 2024, teams and drivers contesting at least four of the five European rounds on next year’s 24H SERIES calendar will be eligible to compete for category championship honours next season. The Ladies Cup will be awarded once again in 2025.
The ‘drop score’ method allows teams, in the event of a scheduling clash or unforeseen mechanical drama, to miss an event without negatively impacting their position in the standings. Teams entering all five events will be obliged to drop their lowest scoring race from their overall points total, similarly strengthening their title challenge.
The points structure remains unchanged for 2025. Class winners at each event will earn 40 points. 2nd place meanwhile will receive 36 points, and 3rd place will secure 32. From 4th place thereafter, points drop in sequence by two (28, 24, 20, etc) all the way to 15th.
Double points will once again be awarded at the season-closing Michelin 24H BARCELONA. Each category leader after 12 hours will earn 20 points, while 2nd and 3rd in-class at half-distance will secure 18 and 16 points respectively. From 4th through to 6th place, point scores drop sequentially by two (14, 12 and 10) and by one point from 7th place thereafter (9, 8, 7, etc) down to 15th place.
Consequently, a competitor leading after 12 hours that also goes on to win their class could potentially amass 60 points at the 2025 Michelin 24H BARCELONA.
Unlike in 2024, drivers registered across two entries for a 24H SERIES event are no longer required to declare a car in which they will score points. A decision designed to keep the battle for drivers’ championship honours close across the whole season.
‘AM’ driver stint times revised; right to review in effect
‘AM’ / Bronze-licensed drivers competing in GT3-PRO and/or 992-PRO will be expected to complete at least one-sixth of the car’s total race distance in 2025 instead of the one-twelfth requirement introduced this past season. Consequently, a GT3-PRO / 992-PRO team’s AM driver must now compete for at least two hours during a 12-hour event and four hours at a 24-hour 24H SERIES race to avoid earning their team a post-race penalty.
To alleviate potential team discord, CREVENTIC is introducing a right of review system to the 24H SERIES in accordance with international FIA regulations. Any team that wishes to formally challenge a penalty imposed during a 24H SERIES event can send their written protest and €1000 deposit to the KNAC Nationale Autosport Federatie sporting authority in The Netherlands for review post-event.
Any and all drivers registering to compete at a 24H SERIES event must be at least 16 years of age, and must hold an international competitor license.
Intervention break, race starts and race restarts
Two of the five 24H SERIES European races in 2025 – Mugello and Spa-Francorchamps – will be run with CREVENTIC’s now traditional ‘overnight intervention,’ meaning racing will be paused during the night after ‘part one’ and restarted the following morning for ‘part two.’ Cars will be kept under parc fermé conditions overnight.
During the intervention, teams are encouraged to cover their cars and switch off their on-board fire extinguishers. Ahead of the restart for ‘part two,’ teams can complete routine maintenance, including rudimentary cleaning (windows, front and rear lights, wheel arches, radiators and bumpers), increasing and decreasing tyre pressures (with small hand tools only), torque tighten wheel nuts, and replace the drinks bottle. Teams are allowed to remove the memory card and batteries from their onboard cameras, and disconnect the data log memory card (if this is possible without opening the bonnet) and accompanying roof antennae.
For 2025, teams will no longer be permitted to analyze their datalogger via laptop ahead of the restart for ‘part two’ of the race.
While cars are expected to take the following morning’s restart on the same wheels and tyres with which they finished ‘part one’ of the race, teams will be permitted to switch to wet compound rubber should weather conditions change significantly enough that race control declares a wet race for ‘part two.’
If conditions are sufficiently difficult that the restart takes place behind the safety car, the restart will be deemed to have officially begun as soon as the safety car leaves the pits, and the race clock will begin again. Each lap thereafter, be it behind the safety car and/or when the race goes green, will count towards each car’s total.
TCR to merge with TCX
As in 2024, team entries will be assigned to one of 11 different categories ahead of a 24H SERIES event, based on each car’s homologation and the experience of their respective driver line-ups. GT3 entries for example will compete as ‘GT3’ (effectively ‘GT3-PRO’), GT3-PRO/AM or GT3-AM, while Porsche 911 GT3 Cups (992) will race as either ‘992’ (effectively ‘992-PRO’) or ‘992-AM.’
In a move to bolster competition in both classes, the TCR category has been disbanded for 2025. TCR-homologated cars will instead compete in the ‘TCX’ ranks with suitably adjusted balance of performance.
To make category differentiation easier to understand, a specific set of race numbers will be assigned per-class.‘GT3’ entrants for example will be allocated a race number between 1 and 99. ‘GT4’ teams meanwhile will be allotted a number between 400 and 499, and race numbers between 900 and 999 will be exclusively used by 992 competitors. Similar systems are in effect for GTX (700 to 799), TC and TCX (100 to 199), and, if required, the ‘developmental’ SP4 category (300 to 399).
While used unofficially since 2019, this race number system is now an official guideline in the 24H SERIES sporting regulations for the first time.
Revised technical regulations : Headlights and in-car lighting systems form the bulk of the 24H SERIES’ revised Technical Regulations for 2025.
The exterior lights of each car must now be able to function independently, even when the car’s engine is switched off. Furthermore, to ensure all competitors can fully illuminate the track ahead during night-time running, race control will mandate when, and at what juncture, headlight repairs must be made for the safety of all entrants on-track.
Teams will be permitted to leave repairs to one headlight, one rear light, and/or one brake light for example until their next scheduled pit stop. Similarly, loose or missing race numbers can be fixed or replaced when the car next comes to pitroad.
Should neither headlight, brake light nor rear light be operating however, competitors are required to pit their car immediately for repairs.
Teams’ use of auto body tape to repair cosmetic damage has also been revised. Tape may be used to cover the gaps in the front bumper and bonnet, cooling openings, and any and all slots in the rear side windows (the latter must only be repaired with transparent tape). To avoid negatively affecting a car’s handling however, aerodynamic devices must not be covered during repairs.
Select technical guidelines have also been introduced specifically for the 992 class. All 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cups entered for a 24H SERIES event, regardless of ‘992-PRO’ or ‘992-AM’ categorization, must be fitted with a Porsche-supplied Cosworth Data Memory data-logger (teams are required to supply two compatible memory devices themselves). All 992 entrants must also be fitted with a standard, Porsche ballast base plate in accordance with the regulations for Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
Looking ahead to 2026, all examples of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) entering an official 24H SERIES race must be fitted with a Manthey fuel filler neck for filler gun use. Modified brake cooling will also no longer be permitted for 992 entrants in 2026.
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