The term was coined by FIA Endurance Commission president Richard Mille at the WEC season finale in Bahrain last weekend, when the governing body and WEC co-sponsor Automobile Club de l’Ouest outlined their vision for the BoP. This is what I did.
Both organizations explained that they want a simpler BoP and a BoP that places more burden on manufacturers.
“If your competitors are expecting the BoP to bring everyone back because they made the wrong choices or underperformed, that’s not possible,” Miret said. “BoP can’t solve all problems. It’s just a dream.”
ACO Chairman Pierre Fillon added that BoP “should not be an excuse when you can’t win.”
The FIA and ACO statement follows discussions by rulemakers and manufacturers at a working group meeting in Paris in September, where they believe a majority of hypercar participants voted in favor of maintaining the status quo. It is being
However, the FIA and ACO insisted that plans to reduce the scope of the BoP next year remain what Millet and Fillon said was a “work in progress”.
“We want to improve it and change it to make it simpler,” Fillon explained.
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WEC boss Frédéric Lechien provided further insight into what is planned, saying:
“This is very important because this is the concept of meritocracy in sports.”
Lekian stressed the importance of “the best remaining the best.”
Millet said one of the BoP’s raison d’êtres is to prevent a hypercar arms race, and that the rulebooks for both the Le Mans Hypercar and LMDh cars set a performance window that each car must fit into. and pointed out that it is designed to accomplish the same thing. the goal.
“The elements are already in place to avoid a stupid explosion in costs,” he explained.
“We have a format where people can express themselves.
“There are a lot of parameters that change: stints, tire consumption, strategy and drivers.
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#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez
“So there are a lot of parameters that don’t matter to us.”
The FIA and ACO have not revealed any details of their plans for 2024.
However, their comments indicate that while they would like to leave components of the current system intact, such as mitigating the four-wheel drive benefits of front-axle LMH hybrids, they would also like to abandon attempts to fine-tune the balance of all cars. Suggests.
Toyota and Ferrari are thought to be in favor of the changes.
Pascal Vasselon, head of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, criticized the current system at the Fuji WEC round in September as “unsustainable because it removes performance responsibility from manufacturers.”
A new BoP system was introduced in 2023. It is based on evaluating each vehicle’s potential through simulation and analysis of track data.
Only one major change was approved throughout the season, and that was scheduled after the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
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#50 FERRARI AF CORSE Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Niklas Nielsen’s Ferrari 499P Hybrid Hypercar
After the first two races and the two races after Le Mans, there was also room for change in the balance between the LMH and LMDh cars, known as platform BoP.
The FIA and ACO have chosen to make major changes outside the agreed system ahead of Le Mans, without universal support from manufacturers.
He claimed that this was necessary due to the difference in performance between the LMH machines of Toyota, Ferrari, and Peugeot in the opening race.
The FIA and ACO’s calls for continued changes follow Peugeot’s reference to the BoP when it announced a major overhaul of its 9X8 LMH concept in Bahrain.
Jean-Marc Fino, the French manufacturer’s head of motorsport, claimed he was forced to review the LMH design because “after a year we found that the BoP did not meet our expectations.”
It is unclear whether the Mills’ use of the term “pillow of laziness” was directed at Peugeot in any way.