By Carlo Platella
With the publication of the Balance of Performance, the 24 Hours of Daytona begins to come into its own. Big differences in the premier class, with the various GTP manufacturers separated by weight and power up to 40 kg and 10 kW, despite the same technical regulation. In the GTD class, however, the new approach to BoP makes its debut, based on the data collected in the agreed simulations carried out during the December tests.
GTP
Daytona represents the final four-manufacturer BoP for IMSA, as the 12 Hours of Sebring will see the debut of Lamborghini. While waiting for the Italian manufacturer, the Balance of Performance for the 24 hours sees Acura as the heaviest car and therefore more powerful. 1072 kg are assigned to the ARX-06, 42 in excess of the regulatory minimum weight. The power is the maximum contemplated, 520 kW, after the Japanese company had already established itself as the fastest on banking in the 2023 edition.
The two cars with Dallara chassis, i.e BMW and Cadillac, are instead the lightest of the lot, with 1030 and 1031 kg respectively. The General Motors car, however, suffers from slightly less power, 510 kW compared to the 514 assigned to the Bavarian company, evidence of a Cadillac with good aerodynamic efficiency, a quality that also emerged in the WEC. Just like in the World Cup, a Porsche it is assigned a ballast of 20 kg and a maximum power very close to the regulatory limit, enjoying 519 kW.
GT
The two GTD and GTD Pro classes boast a large participation as always, with several luxury debuts such as the new Ford Mustang GT3 and Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Equally new is the approach to the Balance of Performance, the tables of which are based on data collected during the December tests. On that occasion, all the manufacturers nominated a driver and a car with which to carry out three runs with 5 qualifying laps each and a complete race stint of 28 laps. The work programs were agreed in advance and the data collected was shared with all participants. Theoretically, the organizers were thus able to estimate the maximum potential of each car, but the race direction reserves the right to disqualify a manufacturer from the race if the performances prove to be superior and inconsistent with those shown so far,
The heaviest of the GT lot is Mercedes, with 1390 kg, compared to the 1305 kg of Porsche, which is the lightest. To the two Italians instead Ferrari and Lamborghini a minimum weight of 1355 and 1350 kg is assigned respectively. On the engine front, Lexus enjoys the richest air-fuel mixture, with a lambda of 0.86, the opposite of the 1.1 assigned to BMW. Ferrari and Lamborghini are once again close, with a lambda of 0.90 and 0.91 respectively.
Another parameter of great interest is the minimum incidence of the rear wing, with a non-negligible impact on aerodynamic resistance and therefore on top banking speeds. BMW is the car that will be able to run the most unloaded, with 2.4° of minimum incidence, followed by 2.5° for Mercedes. Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin will not be able to go below 2.8°, but nothing compared to Porsche's 6.5° and Ford's 6.8°. All cars will also have to comply with a minimum static ground clearance of 50 mm and a refueling time of 40 s. The one published, however, is only a draft of the BoP, with the final version expected after the feedback that will arrive from the Rorar Before the 24 tests.
#Hours #Daytona #Balance #Performance #published
