Ferrari, Toyota Get Double Hit in Spa BoP

Photo: Javier Jimenez/DPPI

Ferrari and Toyota will both go into this weekend’s third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa with less power and more weight following the latest round of Balance of Performance adjustments.

The BoP published on Tuesday features significant changes to minimum weight and maximum power levels for all bar one of the eight Hypercar manufacturers, including several double-digit increases and decreases compared to last month’s Imola round.

Ferrari, which has won the opening two rounds of the season at Qatar and Imola, has been handed a 12 kg weight increase, with the 499P now weighing in at 1057 kg, while also seeing a drop in base power of 19kW (25.5 hp) to 489kW (656 hp).

Meanwhile, the Toyota GR010 Hybrid has been given an even larger drop in power under the 250km/h mark to 480kW (644 hp), a decrease of 20kW (26.8 hp) compared to Imola, along with a minor 4 kg increase in weight to 1069 kg.

However, both the Ferrari and Toyota have been given extra power above the so-called Power Gain threshold, with the 499P now enjoying a positive increase of 3.7 percent (18.1kW) and the GR010 Hybrid up to 8.3 percent (39.8kW).

Under the revised 2025 methodology, the BoP values for Spa are based upon data — the ten fastest laps, plus 60 percent of all race laps — from the three most recent regular WEC rounds, spanning last year’s Bahrain finale as well as Qatar and Imola.

Besides Ferrari and Toyota, the other major loser in the Spa BoP is BMW, which finished second at Imola, as the M Hybrid V8 has had its power under 250km/h drop by 10kW (13.4 hp) to 503kW (675 hp), plus a 7 kg weight increase to 1049 kg.

On the other hand, the Peugeot 9X8 remains at the minimum weight of 1030 kg, as well as the maximum power of 520kW (697 hp).

Likewise, both the Alpine A424 and the Aston Martin Valkyrie are at the 520kW maximum, the latter after a jump of 15kW (20.1 hp) with the A424 only going up by a single kilogram to 1043 kg and the Valkyrie dropping to 1035 kg, making it the second-lightest car in the class after the Peugeot.

Cadillac’s V-Series.R is the third-lightest at 1042 kg, up one kilogram from Imola, but with its maximum power cut to 501kW (672 hp), a decrease of 9kW (12.1 hp).

Following the latest changes, the only Hypercar manufacturers without a positive Power Gain value are the Alpine, Aston Martin and Peugeot, with the Alpine seeing the largest drop of 4.4 percent (22.9kW) above the 250km/h threshold.

All Cars Except Mustang Lose Power in LMGT3 BoP

In the LMGT3 class, the BoP features power decreases for every car in the category with the exception of the Ford Mustang GT3, which remains unchanged.

The largest decreases have been handed to the Porsche 911 GT3 R, which won last time out at Imola, and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, both down five percent, while the BMW M4 GT3 and McLaren 720S GT3 Evo have been reduced by four percent below the Power Gain threshold of 200km/h.

BMW and McLaren have been handed the largest weight increases of 11kg and 8kg respectively, bringing the M4 up to 1346 kg and the 720S to 1365 kg — the latter being the second-heaviest car behind the Corvette, which has dropped 2kg to 1370 kg.

On the other end of the scale, the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo has been given a 10kg to reduction to 1345 kg, while the Ferrari 296 GT3 now tips the scales at 1342 kg following a reduction of 7 kg since last month’s Imola round.

The Mustang remains the lightest car in class at 1332 kg, three kilograms lighter than the Porsche, which has been reduced by a single kilogram.

When success weight is taken into account, the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette is heaviest at 1406 kg, followed by the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren at 1383 kg and the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 at 1372 kg.

The Lexus is the only car with an unchanged base weight of 1354 kg, but has had its maximum rear wing angle cut from 11 degrees to nine.