The FIA World Endurance Championship has made balance of performance changes in the GTE Pro class ahead of the 84th 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With the adjustments, the FIA has slowed the Corvette C7.R after it posted the fastest lap around Le Sarthe during last weekend’s Le Mans Test Day. The Chevy will now have a 0.3mm smaller air restrictor.
Corvette Racing wasn’t the only team to have their car nerfed, however. The Porsche 911 RSR, which was second fastest in the pre-race test, was hit with a 5 kg weight increase and a refuelling restrictor increase.
The Ford GT, meanwhile, was given a 5 kg weight reduction. The change compounds with the 20 kg weight reduction the team received prior to the test, Sportscar365 reports. The Aston Martin Vantage GTE was  stuck with a 10 kg weight reduction and a 0.2mm smaller air restrictor. The Aston will also run a different aero kit in race trim.
The FIA made adjustments to fuel restrictions as well. The Aston Martin will be allowed to carry 102 liters of fuel, more than the 93 liters the Corvette is permitted to carry. The Ford GT is allowed 98 liters, the Porsche 95 and the Ferrari 488 GTE 88.
Comments
well hell, just give the win to ever le mans wants it to go to. That just isnt right. Everybody gets a ribbon day. Why dont you just make corvette racing drive with no air in their tires while your at it.
Corvette racing started out just like every other team and followed all the rules they just had the better drivers, pit crews ect but some people just cant stand it that corvette racing is just better than all the other teams.
Keep in mind that, despite all the shenanigans, Corvette has won 8 out of the last 16 years.
Bring it on!
I suspect they all are sand bagging. I know the Pratt and Miller Team is smart enough to know that. I just worry how much Ford Sand Bagged here.
But at least this race is not so much about speed as much as lasting till the end. It takes both.
This also is not directed at Corvette here. This is a case where they are trying to make the cars equal as to keep MFG’s involved. Sports car racing series suffered when there is a lack of competition and the MFG
s pull out. Just read the history of IMSA.
Now that is not an endorsement by me of how they regulate the cars as they still need to do a better job.
The only reason Corvette always get hit is because Pratt and Miller is always the best team. When you are on top you are the one that often suffers the most penalty.
This is no the guys first Rodeo and I suspect they will be just fine in the race as long as they make it to the end. I worry more about getting taken out by another car than anything else.
Take No Prisoners Jake Rules.
Yes i understand why corvette racing gets screwed all the time. I have been following corvette racing since i purchased my first vette, an 08 Z51 sporster. Now i own a 15 Z06 coupe.
I am sure porsche will do their best to knock corvette racing out since they have done it twice already this year with no penalties. I know imsa gave them one but they couldnt take it because they were out of the race too but the crash gave porsche the win which corvette 4 would have won being their 100th win. Imsa should have taken the win away from porsche instead of slapping their team on the wrist since taking out 3 corvette was deliberete. If you look at the replay from the first incident two races prior you can see porsche cut across the line eveeryone else was taking to knock out 3 ccorvette.
If you look at f1 and now. The electric racing cars where everything is the same on all cars you to will see how these races are dieing.
With imsa gtlm race cars that actually sell the same car to consumers where everything on the track is tested and incorporated into street cars i believe bop rules should be changed, thats just me i guess. Oh yea ford snuck in 4 cars that none have been sold to the public yet and have broken imsa rules in doing so even though i still believe corvette racing, jake, are the best and that is proven by corvettes 8 wins at le man out of 16 and corvettes over 50% wins in imsa since corvette racing came back 11 years ago.
It seems corvette racing are the only ones following all the rules but get the most bop pennalties because they are winning so much.
The reason they win is because of doug fehan, millner, garcia and other drivers and their pit crews and their cars being the best with a little luck keeping porsche out of their way. Just look at the races. 2 laps down and they come back to win. The 3 car missing lots of laps fixing porshiaes mistakes and fstill finishing on the lesd lap ect.
It is stupid to put boo pennalties on to begin with but to put them on after a test day is absurd. Test days are part of the overall race be it imsa weathertech or le man. Putting bop pennalties on after test day is like pulling corvette racing in on the last lap of le man race and saying because you are faster and winning the race you have to, add any bop change you want here, imsa, le man does it. MN VB well i got carried away but just like the rest of the world today politically correct wins out over real life. Just because corvette racing wins alot of races and the other teams complain about it, they get a ribbon too. Lets not be totally fair like in the old days where the best person wins and eveeryone else practices and tries harder next time. To many crybabies and loosers and wannabees today. Its no wonder the world is dieing.
I do appreciate your comments though especially from another corvette racing, jake, take no prisoner fan.
This is the dumbest racing I have ever been witness to. These are all major manufactures, Let them fight it out, that is how progress is made.
The series where they let them do as they pleased like F1 and Spint cars a few years back was cool but it got to the point the cost sky rocketed and less and less people could compete and less and less teams showed up.
Technology has driven racing to the point you can not let them do as they please as it gets stupid expensive and in turn they try to balance it out but even then that is far from easy.
Can AM was great and then Chevy came in and dominated till Penske came with the 917-30 and had a car that was unbeatable and so expensive few could buy one. The series ban the car and by then the MFG’s had walked away.
Trans Am the same thing happened.
Can Am again they failed several times.
IMSA went through the same thing in the 80’s and early 90’s till the MFG walked away due to cost and so little exposure. The series died.
The key to a successful series is giving the MFG max return on the dollar spent. They also need to give the MFG’s as level of a playing field as possible and when everyone is driving something different it is like trying to balance on a high wire with a pogo stick with a roller skate wheel on the bottom.
It is a tough thing to do as often everyone gets mad if you do not do anything and when you do they are unhappy with that too.
I love the Vette and love to see them kill any on comers but I also understand if the Vette stinks up the show with all wins then the fans get resestless and the MFG get unhappy and then everyone but Corvette fans are left. We saw the Vette do this to Showroom stock racing and even in the old series where the Pratt and Miller cars were almost the only two cars in class as everyone left.
GM while not happy with the changes also need the others to be there or you end up with an IROC race with only two cars.
As for street cars being like these cars. Well that is only true to a small bit. The Pratt and Miller cars as with the other cars in the GTLM PRO class are not what I would call nearly stock. They may be based on many stock applications but so much of the cars are modified and far from stock. There is a lot of real serious engineering here and a lot of technology that while some may have been shared to a degree much is not street technology.
These are serious technology race cars nothing you will buy at the dealer.
GM is here only for one race and will go home to the regular series. Keep in mind Le Mans is not IMSA. This rule is not in effect in the states.
sure is. Let them race the way it used to be.
Everyone one carry same amount of fuel too….guess some will need to find effiencies while making horsepower…
These races should …”Run what you Brung” and may the best man win !!!
Why not hook a 5000lb horse trailer to the Vette while you’re at it?