The World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Nurburgring is the first event to put the new automated BoP calculator into action. For the first race with it in action, Aston Martin have picked up an advantage over the field whilst Ford will suffer slightly around the German track. After winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Aston Martin Racing #97 has closed in on the championship lead #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK have. Any advantage they can get on the Fords will help them chase down the strongly-performing team.
The Aston Martins will run lighter and with more power thanks to the new automated BoP system. Their minimum running weight is 1188kg whilst they have gained an extra 0.1 millimetres in engine air-restrictor diameter, going to 29.7mm.
In comparison, Ford have had an increase in their minimum weight, with a rise of 20kg making their minimum weight 1208kg for the fourth round of the championship.
Ferrari and Porsche have no changes to their BoP for the 6 Hours of Nurburgring, whilst Aston Martin will run 5kg lighter than they have in any of the preceding rounds.
The new BoP system was devised to be objective and transparent. Using data from previous races, the BoP has the ability to change from race-to-race depending on performance data. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest stated that the new system was the fairest way of determining the balance of performance on the GT cars.
The advantage is in Aston’s hands as the fight for the GT Drviers’ and Team Championships continues in round four of WEC. The real question remains as to how much of an advantage the 5kg weight difference will give Aston Martin. “Nobody can complain because it is an automated system now.” Marvin Dienst from the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing team said ahead of the event this weekend.
