Dindo Capello: “We need a fairer BOP. Ferrari and Toyota penalized”

Towards Imola

Next April 21st the world endurance championship will stop in Italy, in Imola, for what will be the second round of the 2024 season. The first event, in Qatar, immediately provided fans with interesting answers but also quite a few controversies, given the enormous interest that was generated around a season that started off well nine manufacturers involved.

The criticisms concerned the management of the infamous Balance of Performancewhich according to many was excessively 'punitive' towards Toyota and Ferrari, the most competitive teams of last season.

To analyze all these issues, including the splendid hat-trick scored by Porsche in Lusail, we interviewed the three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Dindo Capellolegend of endurance racing and symbol of Audi.

Dindo Capello's comment

“The inaugural race in Qatar was full of surprises. However, the most striking thing that has been talked about the most is certainly a BOP which is too penalizing for Ferrari and Toyota. If it isn't changed before the Imola race, Ferrari will struggle and Toyota will struggle even more. Due to the characteristics of the Santerno track it will be even worse than in Lusail. Imola is a terrible track from the point of view of brake management and consumption and having a heavier car accentuates these problems exponentially. As an enthusiast and fan of this category I hope the BOP is more fair there“.

“Instead the big positive surprise was the Porsche, although not for me because already last year I said that they would reverse course compared to the previous disappointing results. It was imaginable due to their great history in endurance, which has always been their reference category. Last year they were a disappointment and the few important results were obtained mostly due to the skill of the drivers and capitalizing on their opponents' mistakes. But I have to say that I didn't expect such total supremacy“.

“Without a change in the BOP, will it be a dominated season? I do not believe. We saw a Cadillac that is very competitive: they proved it at Sebring where they were about to win. The real risk for them is having only one car, so at the slightest inconvenience you have thrown away the weekend. Then the other big surprise is represented by Peugeot: with the old car they became competitive again in Qatar and fought for the leading positions until the final mistake, because an episode like this (the 9X8 #93 ran out of petrol in the last laps of the race) it's a mistake on the team's part. However performance-wise they were almost on par with the Porsche. From Imola they will use the new version of the 9X8 and I don't think it will be less fast than the previous one, on the contrary. From this point of view, Peugeot is a guarantee: they are comparable to Audi in terms of absolute results in all motorsport categories. Aside from Formula 1, they always won, wherever they went. They will do it again in the WEC too.”