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Ferrari and Toyota Gear Up for Qatar WEC Season Opener
As the Qatar World Endurance Championship (WEC) season opens later this month, teams Ferrari and Toyota enter the competition with notable weight reductions in their respective vehicles compared to the previous year, where both struggled to compete effectively.
The Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar is set to race with a minimum weight of 1037kg, decreased from 1075kg in the previous season. Similarly, the Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH will be racing at 1065kg, reduced from 1089kg at the Losail International Circuit in 2024.
For Ferrari, this latest weight threshold is not just a relative improvement; it marks a 16kg reduction since the WEC finale in Bahrain last November. In contrast, Toyota’s weight has remained consistent over the span of these races.
In terms of power, Ferrari has experienced a drop of 2kW in maximum output for speeds under 250km/h, now reaching 501kW (671bhp), while Toyota has seen a slightly larger decrease of 7kW, bringing its power to 503kW (674bhp).
Last year’s performance saw Ferrari achieving its best finish of fourth in Qatar with its customer entry piloted by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Robert Shwartzman. Toyota, meanwhile, secured fifth place with drivers Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries.
The Balance of Performance (BoP) values for this season’s race were released on Thursday, just before the official WEC prologue test scheduled for Friday and Saturday, preceding the Qatar 1812Km 10-hour race on February 28.
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Porsche’s 963 LMDh, which previously dominated the Qatar track, faces a change in fortunes with the latest BoP adjustments, now racing 16kg heavier than last year, yet only 8kg more than its weight in Bahrain.
However, the German marque’s power has seen a minor increase, with its rated figure at 508kW (681bhp), reflecting a gain of 3kW since the last Qatar outing but a decrease of 6kW from Bahrain.
New entrants to the WEC Hypercar class last season, BMW and Alpine, are also benefitting from weight reductions. The BMW M Hybrid V8 will race at 1037kg, reduced by 23kg, while the Alpine A424 LMDh is down 27kg at 1043kg.
Both manufacturers will be operating with slightly less power compared to the season finale, each shedding 9kW and now featuring outputs of 505kW (677bhp) for BMW, and 508kW for Alpine.
The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest aim to assist newcomers in the championship by implementing conservative BoP adjustments throughout the season to help them be competitive.
In a noteworthy addition, the Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH will make its racing debut in Qatar, coming in with a minimum weight of 1042kg and power rated at 504kW (675bhp).
Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH Silverstone testing
Photo by: Aston Martin Racing
Peugeot’s 9X8 for 2024 remains at its peak power of 520kW (697bhp) and is just above the minimum weight of 1030kg. The Cadillac V-Series-R LMDh will race at the minimum weight and is set to operate at 503kW, an increase of 4kW from last year’s figures, benefiting from a 3.2% power increase above 250km/h thanks to the new BoP regulations initiated at the Le Mans 24 Hours last June.
Toyota will receive a power boost of 3.4%, while Alpine and Peugeot are slated for reductions of 3% and 5.8%, respectively. The two-day prologue will commence on Friday at 13:00 local time in Qatar, kicking off the highly anticipated season in the WEC.
Source
www.autosport.com