BMW Gets Big BoP Break; Ford, Porsche Slowed for Fuji

Photo: BMW

BMW has been given a double Balance of Performance break ahead of next weekend’s Six Hours of Fuji, which will see both the Ford GT and Porsche 911 RSRs slowed for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Confirmed Friday in the latest BoP release from the FIA, the Team MTEK-run BMW M8 GTEs will be 20 kg lighter along with a considerable increase in turbo boost pressures across all RPM levels.

Additionally, the cars have been given a 2-liter increase in fuel capacity.

It comes following a challenging start to the WEC campaign for the German manufacturer, with a pair of fifth place finishes so far being the highlight of its 2018-19 season.

The Fords, meanwhile, have been handed an 18 kg weight increase and slight boost reduction, with Porsche getting 2 kg of additional weight and a 0.3 mm smaller air restrictor for its mid-engined GTE-Pro contender.

Both cars additional lose 1 liter of fuel capacity.

The weight adjustments given to the BMW (+20 kg) and Ford (+18 kg) are at the upper limit of the Auto BoP’s capabilities for a single race.

At least one manufacturer had been pushing for a delay in first auto BoP adjustments of the season, in the wake of manual changes imposed on the Aston Martin Vantage GTEs and Ferrari 488 GTEs prior to Silverstone, which would have given those cars only one race worth’s of data.

However, neither the Aston or Ferraris have received adjustments for Fuji.

The auto BoP system utilizes data from the previous two regular-distance races, with the Fuji BoP theoretically taking into account the results from both Spa and Silverstone.

Porsche, Aston Handed Weight in GTE-Am

Both the 2017-spec Porsche 911 RSR and Aston Martin Vantage GTE, meanwhile, have been handed additional weight in GTE-Am, with the Porsche getting 10 kg and a 5 kg addition for the previous-generation Aston.

The Porsche is now 31 kg heavier in GTE-Am compared to GTE-Pro and has a 0.1 mm smaller air restrictor in the Pro-Am-enforced class as well.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John