Photo: Drew Gibson/Ford
The Balance of Performance heading into next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans has been released, with weight and power adjustments made to all cars since the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener at Spa.
It comes following the planned rollout of a Le Mans-specific BoP for the event.
While all cars have been given power reductions and weight increases, the Aston Martin Vantage GTE has been hit the least, with only a slight reduction in turbo boost and a 5kg increase in minimum weight since Spa.
BMW’s new M8 GTE, which also struggled in Belgium, has received 13kg of additional weight and a slightly larger power reduction when compared to the Aston.
Both the Aston and BMW are now at 1268kg, compared to the Ford GT’s 1280kg, after receiving a 25kg increase and turbo boost reduction since Spa.
The Ferrari 488 GTE, meanwhile, also faces a similar power reduction to the Ford, although has only been given 11kg of weight.
Porsche’s 911 RSR will head to Le Mans with a 0.6mm smaller air restrictor and a 17kg increase in weight, with the Corvette C7.R set to run at a minimum weight of 1244kg and a 29.5mm (x2) air restrictor.
Fuel capacities have also been adjusted across the board to limit the maximum stint length to 14 laps at Le Mans.
Per the bulletin, “teams cannot do more than 14 laps in any conditions” while also will be limited to 35 second refueling times via its own declared refueling restrictor.
The same stint length enforcement is in place for GTE-Am, although refueling times must be 45 seconds.
Power Reductions Also in GTE-Am
GTE-Am competitors, meanwhile, will also face a class-wide reduction in power for Le Mans.
Both the previous-gen Aston Martin Vantage GTE and mid-engined Porsche 911 RSR have been given 0.6mm reductions in air restrictors, with a slight boost decrease for the Ferrari.
Additionally, the turbocharged Ferrari has received a 4kg weight break after struggling at Spa, with the Porsche given a 4kg increase.
It’s unclear if the BoP changes to GTE-Pro would extend beyond Le Mans and into the third round of the WEC season at Silverstone in August, as the bulletin states the adjustments are applicable “until further notice.”
Changes, however, can be made following the Le Mans Test Day on June 3 and into race week itself, although last year’s Le Mans-specific BoP was declared for the event only.
BMW and Aston Martin have been among the manufacturers pushing for a reset of the auto BoP system.
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