Details Emerge on GTE-Pro LeMans BoP Test

Photo: John Rourke/FIA WEC

More details have emerged on the ACO and FIA’s pre-Le Mans Balance of Performance test for GTE-Pro class cars later this month.

ACO Sporting Director Vincent Beaumesnil confirmed to Sportscar365 that the test will be held on the final week of May at Michelin’s high-speed proving grounds near Clermont-Ferrand, France.

One car from each manufacturer (Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette, Aston Martin) will take part, with FIA test driver Jean-Marc Gounon set to handle driving duties over a four-day period.

A similar BoP test system has been in place for GT3 and GT4 cars, also previously utilizing Michelin’s Ladoux test track and ex-F1 and former Le Mans class winner Gounon as the benchmark driver.

The objective, according to Beaumesnil, will not only be to balance the cars in their low-downforce Le Mans aero configuration, but also around the conventional BoP parameters such as weight and air restrictor size as well.

While GTE BoP adjustments were previously only allowed at incremental periods, and to specific requirements, the FIA Endurance Committee can now make changes at their discretion.

“Before we were saying that after two races, the [cars] had to be within 0.5 percent of performance and it was really something bad,” Beaumesnil told Sportscar365 at Spa.

“Now, we’re doing complete analysis and have many guys working after each race. When we consider it’s time to make some decisions, we make the decisions.

“It’s at our discretion and it’s a group of people. We have 15 people working with us and we make the decisions together.”

The BoP test will occur the week before the Le Mans Test Day, giving the Endurance Committee time to finalize the car’s configurations ahead of the single-day test on June 1.

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