Wholescale revisions for Le Mans Hypercar Balance of Performance

Toyota, Ferrari, Cadillac and Porsche have all had their minimum weights raised for the centrepiece round of the World Endurance Championship on 10/11 June.

The biggest weight increase is for the Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar, which won the opening three rounds of the 2023 WEC.

It has been hit with a 37kg increase, while the Porsche 963 LMDh has had its minimum weight increased by just three kilogrammes.

A change now suggests there has been a universal agreement among the participating manufacturers in Hypercar to change the BoP for Le Mans, which is celebrating its centenary this year.

They were all signatories to a new system introduced for this season that allowed only for a revision in the balance between LMH and LMDh machinery, a so-called platform change, over the first four rounds up to and including Le Mans.

Changes to the BoP for individual cars built to the two different rulesets in operation in Hypercar was then only possible after Le Mans under the agreed system.

The document that governs the BoP remains secret, which created confusion over when a platform change could come into effect.

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Ferrari

Toyota insisted that it could occur only after the first two races at Sebring and Portimao and ahead of the Spa 6 Hours at the end of April.

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach argued that a post-Spa revision would also be after two races. The new BoP table was released on Wednesday ahead of this Sunday’s official Le Mans Test Day.

Ferrari’s 499P LMH, which has so far been on the podium at each of the first three races, will run 24kg heavier than at Spa and Portimao.

The Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh, the third quickest car this year, has been given an 11kg weight hit.

Peugeot’s 9X8, a four-wheel-drive hybrid LMH like the Toyota and the Ferrari, has an unchanged BoP, as have the Glickenhaus-Pipo 007 and Vanwall-Gibson Vandervell 680 non-hybrid LMHs.

The BoP table for the Sebring season-opener was different to that in force at Portimao and Spa: it reflected the specific nature of the bumpy Florida venue.

Maximum power allowed to all seven types of car is also unchanged for Le Mans.

Toyota, Ferrari and Cadillac have all had the amount of energy they can use over the course of a stint increased to reflect the extra weight they will have to carry. The increase is four megajoules for the GR010, two for 499P and one for the V-Series.R.

No explanation is given by rule makers the FIA and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest on the release of BoP tables by the WEC Committee, so it is unclear if the scope of the deal that appears to have been thrashed out been them and the manufacturers allows for a further change between the Test Day and the race the following weekend.

As with all BoP communications from the WEC Committee, the latest table says it is enforceable until further notice.