Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s technical director, said the decision of WEC rule makers the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to unilaterally make revisions outside the scope of the new BoP rules introduced for 2023 has set an unwelcome precedent.
“We can say that we have been surprised that the regulations have changed without the agreement of all the manufacturers,” Vaselon told Autosport.
“We are worried that this will lead to sandbagging [the hiding of performance in order to gain a favourable BoP].”
The new BoP guidelines thrashed out by the FIA, the ACO and the manufacturers competing in the WEC’s Hypercar class this year allowed for only minimal changes over the first four races of the 2023 campaign, up to and including Le Mans on 10/11 June, as part of a drive to eliminate manipulation of the system.
Only a tweak to the balance between the Le Mans Hypercars and LMDh machinery was possible before the 24 Hours, although different manufacturers offered different interpretations on when that change could be made.
Wider changes to the individual BoPs are due after Le Mans, but in theory they were only possible before that with the unanimous agreement of the seven marques competing in the top class of the WEC.
But the FIA and ACO exercised their right as the ultimate arbiters of the WEC to impose a new BoP last week ahead of Sunday’s Le Mans Test Day.
Source: Autosport