From next season, cars in the thrilling FIA EHCC Category 2 will be classified into one of four groups according to their performance
The 2025 season of the FIA European Hill Climb Championship is set to be a significant one in the history of the longest-running FIA competitions. For the first time all cars will be categorised according to a Performance Factor (Pf). The system, currently used in Category 1, is being tested in Category 2 of the FIA EHCC during 2024 to ensure that the parameters of the performance calculations are suitable before they come into force from the start of next season.
The introduction of a common Pf system is the result of a combination of developments made by the FIA in recent years to update the hill climb category across its sporting, technical and safety aspects. This is ensuring the long-term prosperity of one of the core disciplines that bridges grassroots and professional motor sport.
For the first time in 2023, the World Motor Sport Council approved the creation of technical regulations specifically dedicated to hill climb cars, laying the foundations for more consistent and rigorous governance of competitions taking place around the world, including the high profile FIA EHCC.
The development and deployment of the Pf system follows collaborative discussions between the FIA and its National Sporting Authorities (ASNs.). In recent years ASN’s, reported increased safety concerns in light of the increasing capabilities of modern competition vehicles.
The Pf system sets common targets across the huge variety of cars entered into hill climbs around the world, allowing organisers to dynamically manage their events and ensure that the competitors are kept safe according to the performance of their cars and the specific characteristics of the specific hill climb course. Pf being deployed in Category 1 in 2021 and by a number of ASNs ahead of its implementation in the FIA EHCC, and it has proved to be highly effective.
Cars will be categorised in groups from P1 to P4 according to their performance level, and the FIA Technical Department will continue to monitor the performance of cars in the EHCC over time and ensure that the parameters are in line with any future changes to the cars competing in hill climbs.
To make this system as accessible and open as possible for competitors and organising ASNs, the FIA has created a dedicated online platform that allows them to directly input a car’s specifications and generate the Pf. This tool has been in place for Category 1 cars since 2021, and following the 2024 trial for Category 2 cars will be fully implemented in 2025.
The regulations also set out a clear safety road map that will, over the course of three seasons beginning in 2025, unify and evolve the requirements of all cars to ensure that they have a uniform level of safety that takes into consideration the performance capabilities of modern cars.
The Safety Road Map will be introduced incrementally and during the transitional period, cars that have been certified under the previous safety standards will be allowed to compete using a restricted engine Pf.
Overall, the widespread introduction of the Pf system is set to provide a proven model for ASNs organising hill climb events to improve safety, preserve close competition and allow for future technical evolutions in this hugely-popular category of motor sport.
