The racing organizations FIA and ACO have decided to adjust the Balance of Performance (BoP for short) of the hypercar class. And that just before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Strange, because the regulations state that the BoP for the first four races (Sebring, Portimão, Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans) of the WEC championship would be the same. The organizations are now coming back to that.
The FIA and ACO say the differences between the cars in the Le Mans Hypercar class were “greater than initially expected”. This writes Motorsport.com. The rule change has been implemented immediately and cannot be contested – and the adjustments to the penalty weight for the 24 Hours of Le Mans are not tender.
How much penalty weight do the brands get for the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
The all-powerful Toyota has won all races in the WEC championship so far. The past five editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans also went to the Japanese brand. For the 100th running of the endurance race, Toyota will gain 36 kilos of extra weight on the minimum weight their LMH car must have. Ferrari is also being dealt with harshly. They must add 24 kilos. Furthermore, Cadillac gets 11 kilos extra and Porsche 3 kilos.
The smiling teams are Peugeot, Glickenhaus and Vanwall. So far they have performed so poorly that they do not have to carry any extra weight. This immediately shows the disadvantage of adjusting the rules. Because what if Peugeot knew that the FIA and ACO would make this decision? Conspiracy theorists might allude to a French get-together…
That Peugeot deliberately did not drive so fast to take victory in the home country, that may be going a bit far. Only a major adjustment to the BoP can perhaps have an effect in the other direction. Peugeot is allowed to continue with the familiar setup while Toyota has to carry a lot of ballast. Who do you bet your money on?
Why is there even Balance of Performance at Le Mans?
What the organizers of the WEC championship want to avoid is a copy of what happens in F1. Now Red Bull Racing holds the throne, but before this Mercedes was much faster than the rest. To give everyone an equal chance, the fastest cars get the penalty weight. This way the lap times are closer together. The question is: does BoP work well enough to keep it even or is Peugeot going for victory number four?
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