Following Ferrari’s GTE Pro victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours in August, the boost pressure of the 488 GTE Evo was lowered significantly in Bahrain last weekend, robbing the car of 25bhp.
This change was made outside of the auto BoP system that has been in place in the WEC for several years, with the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest instead opting for so-called black-ball changes to adjust the performance of Ferraris in both GTE categories.
This meant that the Italian marque was unable to put on a challenge to Porsche in the six-hour Bahrain race last Saturday, with the German manufacturer taking the lead in the GTE Pro standings championship with a 1-2 finish led by the #92 911 RSR-19. The two Ferraris finished third and fourth in the four-car class, with the best of the factory AF Corse entries finishing over half a minute down on the winning Porsche.
Ferrari was quick to hit out at what it deemed was a “questionable” BoP change, with Calado saying that the title has been “handed to Porsche on a plate” in the immediate aftermath of the race.
The FIA and ACO have now moved to make another BoP change for this weekend’s Bahrain 8 Hours event that brings the season to a close, reinstating about half the power that was deducted for the six-hour contest last weekend.
The boost pressure of the Ferrari 488 GTE has been raised by 0.04 bars for the race, with its fuel tank capacity consequently raised by two units to 91 litres. This change applies to all Ferraris in GTE Pro and GTE Am categories.
The Porsche 911 RSR’s BoP remains unchanged for Bahrain 8 Hours.
Ferrari and Porsche are currently neck-to-neck in the championship as the only two remaining GTE Pro manufacturers following the exit of Aston Martin. Porsche currently enjoys a narrow one-point lead in the manufacturers’ standings, with #51 AF Corse duo Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado holding the lead in the drivers’ table over #92 Porsche’s Neel Jani and Kevin Estre by the same margin.
The WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain will be streamed live on Motorsport.tv. Click here for more information.