The LM GTE teams expected a new BoP to be announced ahead of the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche looking to have such a strong advantage on the field, and just this happened yesterday evening. The new BoP looks to bring the field closer together, with the focus being on taking away Porsche’s advantage rather than bringing the other cars up to the German manufacturer.
Any Porsche running teams in the the GTE classes, Pro and Am, see an additional 10 kg of weight added to their cars ahead of this afternoon’s race. But Porsche were not the only team to have been given a weight penalty. Ford Chip Ganassi also see an additional 8 kg added to their car as the ACO look to make racing in the Pro class tighter.
BMW, Corvette and Aston Martin all gained an advantage on the new BoP tables. Corvette Racing have had 5 kg of weight taken off their C7.R, whilst BMW Team MTEK and Aston Martin Racing see their cars 10 kg lighter.
Aston Martin also received an additional power boost for their new Vantage, which should see them gain around 12 bhp.
Ferrari remained relatively unchanged, with a small fuel allocation increase of 1 kg being the only change they see. With the maximum tyre stints capped in GTE, there is not expected to be any massive advantage for Ferrari-runners with this additional fuel.
With the calibre of drivers so high in the Pro class, the new BoP should add to the excitement and competitiveness of the field. It does look to be the class that will steal the show, with LMP1 being dominated by Toyota Gazoo Racing, so is definitely one to keep a close eye on.
