Toyota hit most by latest BOP

Toyota appears to be big loser under the Balance of Performance for this weekend’s Austin round of the World Endurance Championship. Its GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercars will go into the US round of the series with less power and more weight after winning last time out at Interlagos in July.

The Japanese machines (below) have lost 9kw or 12bhp in base power and gained 5kg in minimum weight for the Lone Star Le Mans six-hour race on Sunday. But the Toyotas have received an upward adjustment under the power gain feature of the BOP introduced for the Le Mans 24 Hours round in June: above 250km/h (155mph), the Toyota will be allowed 4.6% more power, an increase of 1.8% over Interlagos.

The Toyotas will race at 497kw (666bhp) base power and at 1065kg minimum weight at the Circuit of

The Americas compared with 506kw and 1060kg in Brazil.

WEC championship leader Porsche, which finished second to Toyota in

Brazil, has also lost power and gained weight under the Hypercar class BOP for round six of the 2024 WEC. The factory Porsche Penske Motorsport and the customer Jota and Proton 963 LMDHS will race at 509kw (682bhp), down 3kw (4bhp) on Interlagos, and 1053kg, up 2kg.

Ferrari’s double Le Mans-winning 499P LMH, which could finish no better than fifth in Brazil, has had its minimum weight lowered by 5kg, but lost 3kw in base power under the Austin BOP.

The big winner appears to be Peugeot, whose 9X8 2024 LMH has received a 14kg reduction in minimum weight for Austin. The BMW M Hybrid V8 has received a 7kg weight break.