By Carlo Platella
The World Endurance Championship returns to the track after the pyrotechnic 24 Hours of Le Mans and does so with the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. For the WEC it is a return to the Brazilian track, on which, however, Hypercars have never racedleaving the organizers with no previous data to base their calculations on. The Balance of Performance for the marathon in Brazil is thus based on previous seasonal events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, won again by Ferrari, which suffers a significant penalty.
The BoP for São Paulo
In view of Brazil, the minimum weight of the 499Ps increases by 17 kg compared to Le Mans, while 10 kg have been purchased by Toyota. The Italian and Japanese Hypercars thus both stand at 1060 kg, a historic first for the two rivalsin a championship that had always seen the Maranello Reds run lighter. Ferrari also loses 5 kW of maximum power, marking a worsening of the weight-to-power ratio of 0.054 kg/kW against the 0.012 kg/kW acquired by Toyota. The Porsche 963 instead registers 9 kg more on the minimum weight and 1 kW less power, seeing a worsening of the weight-to-power ratio of 0.014 kg/kW.
As for the other participants, the Cadillac Dallara is the car that benefits most from the new Balance of Performance. The General Motors prototype gains 10 kW of maximum power, while at the same time weighing 3 kg, for an improvement of 0.033 kg/kW in the weight-to-power ratio. Lamborghini for its part will race in Sao Paulo with the same parameters as Le Mans, slightly adjusted for Peugeot, whose weight-to-power ratio remains intact. Finally, there are important changes to the power gain, the correction to the power that can be delivered above 250 km/h, with Ferrari for example going from -1.7% in Le Mans to +1.8% in Sao Paulo, partially compensating for the other changes. However, considering the short straights of the Brazilian track, the effect of the power gain will likely be minimal.
The analysis
Officially, the Balance of Performance for Le Mans did not take into account the data collected in previous races, relying solely on wind tunnel measurements. In Brazil, however, the BoP once again takes into account the results of the most recent events, including Imola, Spa and Le Mans, where Ferrari appeared on average as the most competitive car. The corrections to the Balance of Performance are therefore partially understandable, but one cannot help but consider how the Sao Paulo track is profoundly different from the previous ones.
Since its birth, the 499P has established itself as a car with excellent aerodynamic efficiency and competitiveness on the straight, but also with a bit less downforce than Toyota. Also for this reason the BoP has always prepared a Ferrari that is lighter and less powerful than its Japanese counterpart, while in Sao Paulo for the first time the two Hypercars will be of equal weightbut still with a slight power advantage for Toyota. All on a twisty and twisty track, which on paper should suit the characteristics of the GR010 Hybrid.
For the Rossa however the corrections to the BoP are thelower than those earned after the victory at Le Mans in 2023. In Bahrain, for example, the 499Ps paid 0.021 kg/kW more on the weight-to-power ratio compared to Toyota, now going to +0.012 kg/kW, while the disadvantage compared to Porsche compared to the end of last season goes from +0.078 to +0.054 kg/kW. This shows the effect of the power gain, the new parameter that allows performance to be smoothed out more accurately. The individual manufacturers have also made progress in extracting the potential of their respective cars, which is why the balance of power in Brazil will not necessarily be the same as at the end of 2023.
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