WEC, BoP of Imola: Ferrari a lot, Porsche a few | FP – Technical Analysis

By Carlo Platella
The WEC returns to the track in Imola for the second round of the World Championship. The Federation has published the Performance Balance for the Italian stage, which respects what was announced at the beginning of the year. it varies from race to race to adapt to the characteristics of individual cables. The second BoP of the season offers many new features, taking into account the uniqueness of the Santerno track, lessons learned from the launch event in Qatar and the debut of the top version of the Peugeot 9X8.

Peugeot influence

The new version of the 9X8 makes its debut at Imola, now equipped with a wing and wider rear wheels. Stellantis brand has changed the concept of its Hypercar, was originally designed with the balance shifted forward to make better use of all-wheel drive, but was gradually reduced by regulations in recent years. Until now, Peugeot has run with all four wheels of the same width, less impressive compared to rivals who instead fitted wider rear tyres.

In order to correct the shortcomings of the 9X8, in Qatar the Balance of Performance assigned to Peugeot the minimum weight and maximum power allowed by the regulations, more than overwhelming and weakening all his opponents. The arrival of the top version leads to a complete rewrite of the BoP, which sees the 9X8 lose 10 kW of power and gain 31 kg in weight. At the same time, all rivals decrease in weight and increase in power, explaining the picture that Peugeot is now the car with the worst power / weight ratio on the grid, which is added to raise the low speed of the car. up to 190 km/h to activate the hybrid. However, the Imola BoP only relies on the homologation data of the wind tunnel of the new 9X8, suggesting a possible modification already in the Business depending on what will appear on the banks of Santerno.

Ferrari is stalking Porsche

Without the need to compensate for Peugeot’s design delays, in Imola the entire starting fleet drops by weightespecially LMHs, have all been reduced by around 30 kg. The biggest success is by Ferrari, which removes 34 kg of ballast and gains 7 kW of power, positioning itself as a car that above all improves its weight / power ratio compared to the Qatar event, when it was the same as that of Toyota. So there is a change in the situation compared to the latest events, given that at the end of last season it was the world champions who boasted a better ratio than 499P.

On the eve of the season, organizers promised that the BoP changes would be better suited to cars that exceeded performance expectations, rather than helping those that failed to deliver on their potential. After Lusail’s exploitation, The Balance of Performance thus attempts to limit Porsche’s supremacy, which continued largely during the winter to the point of catching the FIA ​​and ACO off guard in Qatar. In Imola 963s are reduced by only 15 kg, also getting 3 kW more power. The theoretical advantage of flying laps over the Ferrari is now less than ten, with the Lusail a close second.

In Italy it will be the Cadillac that will enjoy the best weight / power ratio on the grid. The Italian-American LMDh gets the most of all in power, with 18 kW more than Qatar, the result of the fact that the short straight in Imola reduces the need to reduce its best top speed. The most important change, however, affects the starting LMDhs, with the FIA ​​​​and ACO now also having data collected at the launch event. BMW and Alpine will be greatly reduced in Italy, while Lamborghini is growing above all in strength.

Double energy is deferred

A new BoP standard was supposed to start in Italy which would regulate the maximum power of cars over 210 km/h. The novel has already received the approval of various competitors, as it provides an additional tool to eliminate differences in terms of high speed. without affecting the gravity phases. Currently, however, Performance Balance sees none of this for the Santerno race, where the streaks aren’t particularly long.

LMGT3

Even the GT class is exempt from BoP changes. The Ferrari 296 GT3 is the heaviest car of all, taking on board 8 kg of additional ballast. The opposite approach instead of Aston Martin, which removes 12 kg, instead changes the map of the engine more conservative. In addition, the first Ballast Success weight is given to Imola, calculated on the basis of order of arrival in Qatar and championship rank. The Porsche #92 that won in Lusail gained 30 kg, while the Aston Martins #27 of Heart of Racing and #777 of D’Station Racing gained 20 and 10 kg respectively.