BMW, Mercedes rivals handed BoP weight reduction

Sheldon van der Linde put the #32 Team WRT M4 on pole position, with three Mercedes-AMGs filling the next four positions on the starting grid.

BoP documentation issued after the Top 10 Shootout shows weight reductions for the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II (15kg), the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 (10kg), and both the new and old Porsche 911 GT3 R (10kg for each).

The BoP ballast for the M4 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 are unchanged relative to the update issued just prior to qualifying, earlier today.

Earlier in the day, the M4 had been given a 10kg weight reduction while the Porsche had 10kg of weight added.

SRO also enforced changes to fuel capacities, with cars effectively restricted to 32-lap stints.

Remark 1,14 of the latest and previous BoP update states, “Total Fuel Capacity is for 32 laps max in normal race conditions based on collected fuel consumption data from FP4s and discussions with manufacturers.

“Cars doing more laps will be reported to the Stewards.”

Speedcafe understands that cars which exceed 32-lap stints will be penalised, unless they can demonstrate extreme fuel saving.

The move will go some way to homogenising strategy for the once-around-the-clock race, which kicks off tomorrow at 05:45 local time/AEDT/UTC +11.