The start of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship is now only 7 weeks away – and the official pre-season test, The Prologue, takes place in one month at Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France.
In order to offer fair and balanced competition between the different marques in the LMGTE categories, the FIA Endurance Committee has issued the initial Balance of Performance for both GTE Pro and Am competitors.
Along with new regulations for GTE cars this year, two of the four manufacturers have introduced brand-new cars - Ferrari’s 488 GTE and the new Ford GT. Aston Martin Racing and Porsche will race with evolutions of their 2015 cars, with Porsche working towards an all-new car for 2017.
In its updated 2016 specification, the Porsche 911 RSR which took Richard Lietz and Porsche to GT World Championship titles in 2015 sees increases in both weight (+20kg) and air restrictor (+0.7mm). The all-new Ferrari 488 GTE will also weigh in at the 1240kg base weight, while the Ford GT is set to begin official pre-season testing with a 20kg increase (to 1260kg). The Aston Martin Vantage will be 1230kg, 10kg lighter than its base weight, and also has a 0.7mm increase in air restrictor from the specification it ended the season with in Bahrain last year. Boost levels for the turbocharged Ferrari and Ford have also been confirmed.
In LMGTE Am, the regulations state that competitors must use cars which are at least one year old. Balance of Performance changes to the Aston Martin, Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche entries in this class can be made to weight, air restrictor, fuel tank capacity or aerodynamics (rear wing).
The BoP takes immediate effect, including The Prologue at which all competitors must have at least one car.
