Ford and Ferrari Hit With Performance Penalties At LeMans
- Thread starter usmcfred
- Start date
Empty Pockets
ex-GT Owner
"Performance penalties"?
Yeeeeeup...we just cannot allow any single car's design/engineering to produce 'superior' performance (achieved within the rules) when compared to its competitors' cars. We must ensure the playing field is level for all. :willy
R.I.P. race engineering/innovation/progress/tech advancement. :bored
'Going to my room now... :leaving:
Yeeeeeup...we just cannot allow any single car's design/engineering to produce 'superior' performance (achieved within the rules) when compared to its competitors' cars. We must ensure the playing field is level for all. :willy
R.I.P. race engineering/innovation/progress/tech advancement. :bored
'Going to my room now... :leaving:
davefordgt
GT Owner
- Feb 10, 2006
- 302
The ACO and the FIA has made several changes to the contentious Balance of Performance in the LMGTE Pro class for this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
After a meeting attended by the ACO, the FIA and members of the manufacturers in LMGTE Pro – Ford, Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette and Aston Martin - several adjustments have been made to the various competitors.
Most significantly the Ferrari 488 GTE has had 25kgs added to its base weight meaning that it will run at 1268kgs for the race this weekend - this equating to a 10kg increase in the latest raft of changes.
The Ford GT has had a 5kg increase to its base weight and will thus run at 1248kgs, which is an additional 10kg compared to what it ran in qualifying.
Ford had previously been given a total of a 25kg weight break between Spa and the Le Mans week.
Other changes
As well as adjusting the weight of the cars, the governing bodies have also tweaked the engine restrictor diameter, with Aston Martin and Corvette getting reductions of 0.4mm and 0.3mm respectively.
The boost levels have also been adjusted, with Ford having its boost ratio decreased. Finally, the fuel volume has been modified, Porsche getting an increase of 8 litres, Ferrari - 4 litres and Corvette - 7 litres.
The last minute changes come after controversy surrounded the discrepancy in pace between the turbo- and the atmo-powered cars after qualifying one on Wednesday evening.
Ford and Ferrari were significantly quicker than their direct opposition but the pace was rationalised by Multimatic’s Larry Holt yesterday, when he strongly denied accusations of manipulating the pace of the Fords.
No in-race penalties, which are available to the ACO/FIA, were announced for any misleading of the rules makers during the pre-race process of evaluating the pace of the various LMGTE Pro cars.
After a meeting attended by the ACO, the FIA and members of the manufacturers in LMGTE Pro – Ford, Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette and Aston Martin - several adjustments have been made to the various competitors.
Most significantly the Ferrari 488 GTE has had 25kgs added to its base weight meaning that it will run at 1268kgs for the race this weekend - this equating to a 10kg increase in the latest raft of changes.
The Ford GT has had a 5kg increase to its base weight and will thus run at 1248kgs, which is an additional 10kg compared to what it ran in qualifying.
Ford had previously been given a total of a 25kg weight break between Spa and the Le Mans week.
Other changes
As well as adjusting the weight of the cars, the governing bodies have also tweaked the engine restrictor diameter, with Aston Martin and Corvette getting reductions of 0.4mm and 0.3mm respectively.
The boost levels have also been adjusted, with Ford having its boost ratio decreased. Finally, the fuel volume has been modified, Porsche getting an increase of 8 litres, Ferrari - 4 litres and Corvette - 7 litres.
The last minute changes come after controversy surrounded the discrepancy in pace between the turbo- and the atmo-powered cars after qualifying one on Wednesday evening.
Ford and Ferrari were significantly quicker than their direct opposition but the pace was rationalised by Multimatic’s Larry Holt yesterday, when he strongly denied accusations of manipulating the pace of the Fords.
No in-race penalties, which are available to the ACO/FIA, were announced for any misleading of the rules makers during the pre-race process of evaluating the pace of the various LMGTE Pro cars.
Silverbullitt
GT Owner
Now I know why Ford left racing. Start your own sanctioning body. NASCAR has done this for years, look at their attendance and viewership. Maybe we can get a participation trophy.
steved57
GT Owner
Kind of sickening isnt it. I understand (kind of) to balance budgets but the rest of it is bs. Why would a manufacturer spend huge sums to improve power, aero, composites, sustainability etc..... then arrive to race and be told you must add weight/decrease power
BlackICE
GT Owner
BOP is BS.
Why not skip the charade and run identical spec cars and just have the companies put on their unique logos with wraps and to further level the field have all of the drivers put into a pool and have them chosen at random just before the start. You wouldn't want any team to have an advantage with by having a better driver. Do the same with the pit crew too.
After all in today's world we should strive for equal outcomes. It seems to be the goal of this race among many others things! :ack
Why not skip the charade and run identical spec cars and just have the companies put on their unique logos with wraps and to further level the field have all of the drivers put into a pool and have them chosen at random just before the start. You wouldn't want any team to have an advantage with by having a better driver. Do the same with the pit crew too.
After all in today's world we should strive for equal outcomes. It seems to be the goal of this race among many others things! :ack
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Mike Mosing
GT Owner
To produce an unreal production car that will be hard to get...wait...hard to get sounds like more BOP...:lol:lol:lol
MTV8
GT Owner
Kind of agree with the BOP comments, as it gives a sense that this is not real racing.
Then again, consider the complaints about F1 where the AMG performance advantage has resulted in no competition from other teams.
Then again, consider the complaints about F1 where the AMG performance advantage has resulted in no competition from other teams.
AJB
GT
Just like America... everyone is a winner just for participating. Don't want to hurt anyones feelings or discriminate.
andy (ajb)
andy (ajb)
twobjshelbys
GT Owner
Didn't anyone get it but me? The Corvettes are so slow that they can only make them a little faster so everyone else go slower. What a crock. I really do think even with all his shenanigans Enzo is rolling in his grave.
steved57
GT Owner
But then isn't that what racing is about - the need for the others to step up their performance through r&d etc...
Xcentric
GT Owner
Socialist racing.
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." George Orwell, Animal Farm.
They should make them put a GT transmission into one car of every other team to equalize the failures.
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." George Orwell, Animal Farm.
They should make them put a GT transmission into one car of every other team to equalize the failures.
Some interesting comments about the race:
http://www.automobilemag.com/news/p...AC61A66DD7D6A19B31E6DC7785DA4B5E10EB7D98D0DE5
http://www.automobilemag.com/news/p...AC61A66DD7D6A19B31E6DC7785DA4B5E10EB7D98D0DE5
GEE-TEE
GT Owner
Thanks for sharing djs. All I know is my son and I had looked forward to this dream come true and thanks to Ford and Chip's hard word; our dreams came true last Sunday!!! I have been looking for videos of the event and hoping to see our forum cars and buddies but no luck yet. But this one on you tube is good and you will enjoy. https://youtu.be/5RZG29iNt0I Go Ford...
Cobrar
GT Owner
The author makes some good points in there, but the GT class wasn't on target IMO. Stick to a well written rule book and enforce it rather than attempt to equalize performance between various competitors. The pool of technical knowledge out there in auto racing is vastly deeper (and expanding daily) than ACO/FIA capability ~ playing constant catch-up/learning and then subsequently trying to equalize based on measured and observed performance isn't viable.
The author did get one section on target for the GT group:
"Moving on to happier topics, Ford winning the GTE-Pro class is a massive achievement. Several years ago, Ford’s leadership decided to return to Le Mans in 2016. It speaks volumes of the company’s ability to set a long-term plan, put all of the components in place, and execute to near perfection. It is a blueprint for other car companies on how to race at Le Mans. Likewise, congratulations must also be given to the entire Chip Ganassi race team and Multimatic for building this program from the ground up, dealing with enormous corporate expectations, and delivering the goods."
BlackICE
GT Owner
I don't understand how ACO/FIA can "fairly" adjust the BOP. Unless they control the firmware on the engine management system for one, sandbagging is quite easy even with real-time telemetry. Just program in fake parameters into the ECU so that it reports WOT when it really doesn't allow it, along with fake MAF and other readings to look consistent, or de-tune the engine not giving full boost or ignition timing, yet the telemetry reports otherwise. After the team gets a favorable BOP adjustment the tune get changed.
IMO don't make rules that cannot monitored accurately and be enforced without exceptions.
MTV8
GT Owner
BlackICE
GT Owner
Awsum GT
GT Owner '18
Curious... Did they have BoP in 1966-1969 at Le Mans? Also, were there 4 classes of cars in the race back then like today?
Empty Pockets
ex-GT Owner
Without even GOOGLING IT, I'm confident in saying NO!!! Back then, the best CAR/PIT CREW won (discounting wrecks/racing 'luck').
'Should be the SAME today...but, we all know B.o.P. makes that 'questionable' at best...
'Going to my room now... :leaving:
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