By Carlo Platella
The Balance of Performance continues to be present in the new WEC season, despite some manufacturers hoping for free competition, taking advantage of a technical regulation that already limits power, weight and aerodynamic performance. For 2024 though FIA and ACO change register, after having acknowledged the limitations of last season's system. The new approach has already guided the BoP of the inaugural round in Qatar, with further innovations expected in the next round in Imola.
From virtual to reality
The most complex task in defining a Balance of Performance lies in estimating the performance of each car. In 2023 the organizers did heavy reliance on technical and approval data of each car, used to conduct virtual simulations. The problem, however, was the lack of correlation between the aerodynamic parameters of the wind tunnel and those of the real world, generating imbalances between estimates and reality regarding aerodynamic performance.
For 2024, the FIA and ACO will not yet carry out any aerodynamic measurements on the track, as hoped by some participants, but they will greater reliance on performance feedback from competitions, to then be correlated to simulations in a virtual environment. This is an approach whose accuracy improves with the abundance of previous data available, which is why in the case of new runways and without previous events, as in the case of Lusail, Imola, San Paolo and Austin, the risk of an estimate inaccurate increases. Added to this is the continuous evolution of an environment where manufacturers develop their respective cars, both in terms of updates and set-ups, especially in the leap from one season to another.
Emphasis on race
The goal of the organizers is to estimate the maximum potential of each model not in qualifying, but in race conditions. For this reason the technical delegates will analyze a certain percentage of fastest laps for each car, without however communicating the exact number of times that will be collected. To make a difference, therefore, teams will not have to focus on lowering their best laps, but rather on increasing pace consistency and expressing the same times repetitively.
It is not known the percentage of laps under analysis, the width of which depends on how much tire degradation management is part of the balancing mechanism. However, the FIA and ACO ensure that the average quantity of petrol loaded falls within the factors under analysis. In fact, although the BoP does not distinguish between chemical or electrical energy, the greater hybrid power of the Hypercars compared to the LMDhs allows them to take on less fuel, with a slight weight saving in race configuration.
Performance window
Another theme is the analysis of the performance of the same cars fielded by different teams. The 2024 starting grid, for example, sees 5 Porsches on the track, in addition to the 3 Ferrari 499Ps. ACO competitions director Thierry Bouvet explains how organizers will look at both the fastest and average car's performance. “Let's say you have five cars. We take the best car from each house and then we average those five”the words of Bouvet reported by Sportscar365.
However, the expected performance may vary under the influence of various aspects, be it set-up settings, temperatures or track conditions. FIA and ACO therefore define the potential of each car in the form of performance window, expressed in terms of lap times with a certain margin of uncertainty. Bouvet explains: “We define the performance window, hoping that some cars fall into it. Then there could be slower cars or even more high-performance ones.”
No help
In the event that a model performs above the expected window, the organizers reserve the right to adjust the BoP parameters for subsequent events. Conversely, if a car performs below its estimated potential, fixes will be much slower to implement. In fact, the intention of the FIA and ACO is to balance the maximum performance of the cars without helping anyone to express their potential.
Furthermore, by intervening less promptly in the event of subpar performance, the organizers hope to discourage manufacturers from hiding to obtain a more favorable BoP. This allows the WEC to return to a Balance of Performance defined from race to race, taking into account the characteristics of each track, while Le Mans will be treated as an event in its own right. Finally, as regards the balance of Hypercar and LMDh, the references will be the performance of the fastest cars on each platform.
A new parameter
What is illustrated is the new strategy that will guide the definition of the Balance of Performance in 2024, which will intervene on parameters very similar to those of last season. A small change concerns the maximum ballast for Hypercars, capacity up to 70 kg, equivalent to a minimum weight of 1100 kg. In Qatar Toyota came close, with 59 kg of ballast and 1089 kg of total weight.
The most important innovation concerns the management of aerodynamic disparities between cars. Until now, the most efficient cars in a straight line, including the Ferrari 499P, have had less power than their competitors on the same platform (Hypercar or LMDh), to limit their top speeds. However, the reduction in power also has repercussions on the acceleration phases, where aerodynamics matters less, with the result of a traction penalty.
Conversely, less aerodynamically efficient cars (see Toyota) have often had greater weight, which is necessary to compensate for their higher power, but detrimental to the tyres. Depending on the type of track, lower power or excess weight were penalizing for one or the other “class” of cars. The “Power Gain” will therefore make its debut from Imola, a correction to the maximum power which will only apply above 200 km/h, compensating for aerodynamic imbalances without affecting cornering and acceleration performance. The innovation was tested in the prologue in Qatar, receiving approval from the manufacturers. The hope is that it is a small step towards a more accurate Balance of Performance, clearing the environment of controversy.
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