All day yesterday were the technical and administrative process known as scrutineering or 'tech inspection' in the USA, for all cars and drivers, taking part in the 12 Hours of Sebring, opening round of the 2012 season of FIA World Endurance Championship ​​and the American Le Mans Series. The tests were conducted jointly by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the American Le Mans Series and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the respective technicians sharing the tasks.

The purpose of this process is to test compliance with the regulations of the equipment and procedures. Administrative checks are the first step: checking that the documentation of drivers and competitors are in order. We must ensure that such drivers have the B international license entitling them to take the start in the FIA World Endurance Championship and that competitors documantation is entered correctly. Then the regulation stickers are put on the cars.

This is followed by scrutineering, which has two stages. The first phase is to ensure that the equipment used by drivers meets safety regulations: for example, each helmet must be licensed and comply with standards imposed by the FIA. The second phase concerns the compliance of vehicles with respect to technical regulations.

The first checks are related to safety, checking the operation of fire extinguishers and lights or the strength of the driver's safety harness. Then comes the most publicly known: the testing of vehicle compliance. Cars are carefully examined and measurements are performed with measuring instruments. Manufacturers must provide all the features of the cars on the homologation forms and the car must match them.

Some measurements can be performed while driving the vehicle, an electronic unit that records data is embedded in all cars. Finally, after each practice session or qualifying and after the race, the cars are placed in parc ferme with a ban on teams access to cars before further checks are carried out. The classification is provisional until all checks are completed.

Dave Davies.

Photo : SEBRING (FLORIDA, USA), SEBRING RACEWAY, SEBRING 12 HOURS, WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH 2012, Scrutineering proceeds for #28 LM P2 Gulf Racing Lola B12/80 Coupé