Toyota and Ferrari get BoP break for WEC

Ferrari and Toyota have got double Balance of Performance allowances ahead of this weekend’s World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain as they aim to topple points leader Porsche

The Ferrari 499P and the Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercars will head into the Bahrain 8 Hours lighter and with greater power than last time out in the WEC at Fuji last month.

Porsche, which leads the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings, has gained weight under the new Hypercar class BoP issued on Tuesday after Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer prevailed in Japan to go 35 points clear in the championship.

The 963 LMDh has, however, got a power increase for the eighth round of the series on Saturday in which it will seek to convert on its 10-point advantage in the manufacturers’ standings.

Ferrari and Toyota have respectively obtained reductions in minimum weight of two and five kilogram, but their baseline maximum power estimates have been boosted by 10 and 6kW, corresponding to 13 and 8bhp.

The minimum weight for the Ferrari is now 1053kg and 1065kg for the Toyota, while their power maximums under 250km/h (155mph) stand accordingly at 510 and 499kW (683 and 669bhp).

Each manufacturer has lost out on Power Gain, a new component of the BoP introduced during the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC event in June in an attempt to balance the speeds of the cars over 250km/h.

Ferrari now has a negative score of 0.9% following a 2.2% decline while Toyota’s positive figure has been cut by 1.2% to 4.2%.

The Porsche has had minimum weight increased by 7kg to 1056kg and its power upgraded by 2kW to 514kW. Its Power Gain figure is constant at 0.2%.

Vanthoor, Estre and Lotterer require only four points in Bahrain to claim the drivers’ title no matter what their nearest opponents do, even if more points are on offer for the race than during a typical six-hour WEC event.

They would win the title with eighth place even if the second-placed Ferrari crew of Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina take the 38 points for victory and the bonus point for pole position.

Ninth place would be adequate if the Ferrari wins without winning pole.

Toyota drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries are a further two points down in the title fight.

Read Also: Foster Not A Second Choice After Losing Lundgaard

The Japanese carmaker, however, has a deficit of only 10 points in the manufacturers’ classification.

A victory for one or other of its GR010s would earn it the title: even if the Penske factory Porsche finishes second and takes the point for pole, Toyota would win on countback.

Peugeot’s second-generation 9X8 LMH has earned another break under the BoP.

It will run at the highest power of 520kW (697kW) permitted in Hypercar and is only 1kg above the minimum weight of 1030kg.

The Alpine A424 LMDh, which achieved a maiden WEC podium last time out in Fuji, has had its minimum weight increased by 4kg and power dropped by 1kW.

Track activity for the last round of the 2024 WEC on the Bahrain International Circuit begins at 12:15 local time on Thursday with the opening, 90-minute session of free practice.