Image by Michael Levitt/LAT
IMSA confirms final BoP adjustments for Petit Le Mans
The final Balance of Performance adjustments for the 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season have been awarded to Acura in Prototype, Porsche in GT Le Mans, and Acura again in GT Daytona along with Audi.
IMSA’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans finale at Road Atlanta will see the pair of Acura Team Penske entries work with more turbocharger boost at the upper end of the rev range. The 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6s built by Honda Performance Development will help the ORECA-built ARX-05 DPis to achieve slightly higher top speeds thanks to the extra power available from 6200 to the 7650rpm redline. IMSA has also given the Acuras extra fuel (+2L, now 75L total) to compensate for the rise in horsepower.
Mazda’s RT24-P DPis received a modest fuel increase (+1L, now 81L total), and all of the spec WEC LMP2s were given an identical fuel capacity change (+3L, now 75L for all).
In GTLM, Porsche’s 911 RSR model will carry a sizeable amount of ballast (+15kg, now 1265kg) that brings the Porsche GT Team entries to the same minimum weight as the Ferrari 488 GTEs and Ford GTs. The 4.0-liter flat-six-powered Porsches will deliver more power to its drivers through bigger air restrictor openings (+0.7mm, now 32.2mm total) and will have more fuel (+1L, now 97L total) to consume.
BMW was the only other recipient of BoP changes in GTLM. The BMW Team RLL-led M8 GTEs have forfeited a significant amount of fuel capacity for Petit Le Mans (-6L, now 86L total) coming off a win last month at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
In GTD, Acura’s title-contending NSX GT3 chassis will fight for championship honors while laden with more ballast (+10kg, now 1330kg total). The final BoP adjustment for Road Atlanta goes to Audi’s R8 LMS GT3, which surrenders power via smaller air restrictor openings (-1.0mm, now 39.0mm total) and fuel through less fuel capacity (-2L, now 94L total).
Practice for Petit Le Mans begins on Thursday. Click here for the full entry list.
Marshall Pruett
The 2026 season marks Marshall Pruett's 40th year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.
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