Ferrari Le Mans winners take BoP hit

The BoP updates for the remainder of the WEC season have been released ahead of this weekend’s 6 Hours of Monza, with Le Mans winners Ferrari receiving more weight and less power after its storming Le Mans victory.

The revised and variable Balance of Performance, set out by the WEC, FIA, and ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest), has been set for the remaining three rounds – including this weekend’s Monza 6 Hour, where the Ferrari 499P makes its debut at its spiritual home infront of the Tifosi.

With Fuji and Bahrain to come after that, the BoP will be a changing allowance to suit the characteristics of each track, but this weekend the Ferrari AF Corse 499P team will enter with an added 5kg of weight, with its power reduced by 16bhp after beating home the Toyota by over one minute at Le Mans.

Ferrari retuned to the Le Mans 24 after a 50 year hiatus, taking an historic vicrory with a significant weight BOP advantage over the dominant Toyota’s

Toyota, who lead the championship in both the drivers and manufacturers tables with Ferrari on the charge, will enter Monza and beyond with an unchanged weight after its big 12kg increase received prior to Le Mans, but it will have a 6.7bhp decrease.

Whilst the figures released today will remain firm from circuit to circuit, further changes can be made during this current season between the BoP of the separate LMH and LMDh ruleset makes after Fuji and prior to Bahrain – ie, Toyota, Ferrari and Peugeot are LMH rulesets, whereas the Cadillac and Porsche are LMDh.

With the symmetry between the LMD and LMDh cars remaining a changeable option, it allows for the WEC, FIA, and ACO to keep tinkering ahead of next year, when Alpine, BMW, Lamborghini, and Isotta Fraschini join the WEC or Le Mans field in 2024 as LMDh machines, with the IMSA based Acura/Honda team still uncommited to race at Le Mans.

The Toyota GR team were not happy with its sudden weight increase prior to Le Mans, but its weight will remain fixed for the rest of the year. Images: LAT

The Cadillac V-Series.R, which ran in third and fourth at Le Mans, will head to Monza and beyond with a weight decrease -14kg, with the power of its hybrid powertrain also reduced, with both the weight and bhp to fluctuate between the remaining three rounds.

The LMDh Porsche 963’s will revive a minor and changeable weight increase on the run home, with its bhp also decreased, whilst the Peugeot 9X8’s that were surprisingly competitive at Le Mans will have more power and a varying weight that won’t dip below its current weight.

The Glickenhaus LMH machine will keep its unaltered pre-Le Mans BoP, whilst the troubled non-hybrid Vanwall Vandervell team will have a power boost.

The WEC Cadillac’s will receive a weight advantage for Monza, Fuji, and Bahrain. Images: LAT

Whilst the increase is a hit to Ferrari, its advantage gained by the big Le Mans Toyota increase will somewhat even out with Toyota staying the same after it beat the Gazoo Racing runner up by 1m21s, but it will run at both Fuji and Bahrain 11 and 12kg heavier.

These specific date windows for the BoP alterations are the ones that were planned from the seasons beginning, whereas the La Mans changes were sprung on the teams which caused a stir at the top, in particular from Toyota.

An FIA statement regarding the new BOP was released:

“Following a close race at Le Mans, with no less than five different manufacturers leading the race at different stages, the pre-Monza BoP adjustment was part of the original plan and is based on the methodology that involves correlation between simulations and on-track data from telemetry. The data gathered over the Le Mans 24 Hours race was broken down and correlated with simulation tools, allowing for a better understanding of the optimal performance potential of each of the cars.”

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