WEC, Fuji: Porsche mortgages the world championship, but the BoP is controversial

By Carlo Platella
Porsche breaks Toyota’s hegemony at Fuji, capitalizing on the 963’s excellent potential in Japan. Estre, Vanthoor and Lotterer they will go to Bahrain with the peace of mind of being able to manage the large advantage in the drivers’ standings, with the possibility that the Stuttgart company can also double in the manufacturers’ standings. It is a race, the one in Japan, that also offers a preview of the next championship, when at the current rate of growth Alpine and BMW could be in the game. The premises for a show are all there, provided there is greater coherence in the BoP.

LMDh Domain

Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and André Lotterer are the first to take their second win of the season. The win comes on the same track that marked the turning point for Porsche last season, when for the first time the 963 was able to put pressure on the Toyotas, leading two thirds of the race. This year at Fuji the #6 crew benefits from the fortuitous neutralization triggered by the Lamborghini’s technical problems. It must be acknowledged, however, the credit of the Penske wall to take on more fuel than the Toyota #7 that was currently running on the same strategy, thus ensuring greater strategic flexibility. The world champions themselves are wrecked on their home turf, with the incredible accident involving Kamui Kobayashi dampening their title hopes. Thanks to Ferrari’s difficulties, Porsche thus secures the world title, already celebrating the private trophy won by Jota, who will field the two Cadillacs next year.

Behind Porsche it is nice to note the growth of BMW and Alpine, both on the podium after the already convincing performance in Austin. The positive signals do not come so much from the final result or from the comparison with Toyota and Ferrari, both of which are behind. Above all, the comparison on pace with the winning Porsche instils confidence, closer than it has ever been. It is the physiological evolution of the balance of power, with BMW and Alpine now strong with a deeper knowledge of their respective cars, still in their debut season. The team is also growing Lamborghinifighting for the points zone after having gained access to the Hyperpole, but betrayed by reliability problems. A confidence boost also for Peugeot, which suddenly came back to life at the end, thus taking advantage of the gaps eliminated after the last Safety Car.

Toyota and Ferrari helpless

At Fuji, Porsche’s direct rivals for the title almost never seem to be in a position to fight for victory, except for a few flashes of competitiveness. Inevitable frustration with a poorly understood Balance of Performancewith criticisms that do not only come after the final result. It is difficult to understand the abrupt changes to the BoP made from race to race, in which it is difficult to identify a common guideline. In Japan, the differences in the weight-to-power ratio between the cars have quadrupled compared to the beginning of the year, when balance reigned.

The impact is not appreciable in qualifying, which even at Fuji gives away 7 cars in the space of 3 tenths. It is on the race pace that the limitations emerge, with Ferrari and Toyota held back by a severely penalising weight-to-power ratioThe world champions, whose BoP is by far the most limiting, nevertheless show a superiority of pace in the second half of the race compared to the 499Ps, putting themselves in a position to limit the damage before accidents, Safety Cars and Drive Through prevent them from going beyond 10th place.

The Japanese Hypercars prove to be particularly suited to their home track, thanks also to the abundant aerodynamic load of the GR010 Hybrid, while the impression is that the Prancing Horse is still struggling to find an effective set-up for the Asian track. We now go to Bahrain with Porsche, Toyota and Ferrari still mathematically in contention for the constructors’ title, with the third one hoping and the first two who will be protagonists of an exhilarating close duel. BoP permitting.