IMSA neuters Acuras and Ferraris ahead of Rolex 24

IMSA gives Daytona DPis an advantage

Acura has been the heaviest hit with Balance of Performance adjustments, in both the DPi and GT Daytona classes, ahead of next weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Confirmed in a technical bulletin sent to teams on Thursday, the Acuras are among the many cars adjusted following data received and reviewed by IMSA at the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

The Acura DPi will face a roughly 6.7-horsepower reduction, through mid to high range RPMs, compared to its configuration at the pre-season test.

The Cadillac DPi.V-R, meanwhile, has been given a 10 kg weight break, with no performance-related changes to the Mazda RT24-P, which paced four of the seven timed sessions and claimed pole position for pit box and garage spaces at the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

Fuel capacity adjustments have been adjusted for all three DPis, meanwhile, with the Acura getting a 1-liter increase and 2-liter increases for both the Cadillac and Mazda.

If you went fast in the Roar Before the 24 to get a better pit stall, you screwed yourself on performance for the race

The LMP2 class sees aero-related allocations given to the Riley Mk. 30 Gibson, which is now permitted to run without its rear wicker flap and front dive planes, in an effort to increase the car’s top speed.

The changes are understood to have come at IMSA’s discretion for Daytona-only.

GT Le Mans sees power and/or weight adjustments to three of the four cars, led by the new-for-2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which gets a 0.3 mm large air restrictor. The power increase roughly translates to a 4.15 horsepower gain.

Ferrari’s 488 GTE, which was fastest at the Roar, loses approximately 5.3 horsepower across all RPM levels, while the Porsche 911 RSR-19 gets a 10 kg addition in minimum weight.

No changes have been made to the BMW M8 GTE, which is serving as the performance baseline this year.

As was the case in DPi, fuel capacities have been adjusted to the entire class, with the Corvette getting 5 liters of additional fuel, a 1-liter reduction for the Ferrari and a 7-liter boost for the Porsche.

Adjustments have been made to six of the nine GT3-spec cars in GT Daytona, with the Acura NSX GT3 Evo the heaviest hit with a 7.5-horsepower reduction and 25 kg increase in minimum weight.

Both the BMW M6 GT3 (-13.4 horsepower) and Ferrari 488 GT3 2020 (-4 horsepower) have received power cuts, while the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo is now mandated to run with a 4 mm minimum rear wing angle.

The only car to benefit from BoP changes is the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, which gets a 10 kg weight break.

Fuel capacity adjustments have also been handed out to the Acura (-2 liters), BMW (-3 liters), Ferrari (-1 liter) and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 (-3 liters). Sportscar365