Lexus Racing Megathread

[CIF]

I barely watch the WEC anymore due to the farce of the BOP era, like many of you as well.

I will say this; if Toyota decides to continue participating in this farce of a series and wants to be successful, then they need to build a hypercar that is so good that no amount of arbitrary or biased BOP changes can cripple it. A car so good that no amount of other drivers trying to run the car off the road or ram it into terminal failure can cripple it. A car so good that it can absorb multiple mistakes by Toyota's own drivers and still come out on top. No excuses.

 

[carguy420]

I barely watch the WEC anymore due to the farce of the BOP era, like many of you as well.

I will say this; if Toyota decides to continue participating in this farce of a series and wants to be successful, then they need to build a hypercar that is so good that no amount of arbitrary or biased BOP changes can cripple it. A car so good that no amount of other drivers trying to run the car off the road or ram it into terminal failure can cripple it. A car so good that it can absorb multiple mistakes by Toyota's own drivers and still come out on top. No excuses.

Don't bother with the WEC anymore, those euro trash companies (like Ferrari and Porsche) and organizations (like the FIA) can all go throw themselves off a cliff for all I care. I find Super Taikyu's ST-Q class to be a million times more interesting, seeing all these car manufacturers testing and experimenting with various technologies and features on their production based race cars.

 

[ssun30]

Isn't the very definition of BOP that no matter how good the car is, it will be crippled to have similar pace as other cars?

The LMH ruleset is so restrictive that it's almost impossible to build an over performing car (but possible to build an under performing car). They directly limit the amount of energy that can be used per lap and control the torque curve to always produce a 500kW max power. This makes reliability the only distinguishing factor for the powertrain. This is in contrast with series that only limit fuel flow (F1) or air flow (WRC/IndyCar) where you can gain extra power by improving the efficiency and optimize the torque curve for better corner exist. The down force of the aero package is also heavily regulated so it's really a test of the team's ability to dial in the tuning during practice sessions. LMH is a non-spec series but is functionally a spec series.

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

Isn't the very definition of BOP that no matter how good the car is, it will be crippled to have similar pace as other cars?

The LMH ruleset is so restrictive that it's almost impossible to build an over performing car (but possible to build an under performing car). They directly limit the amount of energy that can be used per lap and control the torque curve to always produce a 500kW max power. This makes reliability the only distinguishing factor for the powertrain. This is in contrast with series that only limit fuel flow (F1) or air flow (WRC/IndyCar) where you can gain extra power by improving the efficiency and optimize the torque curve for better corner exist. The down force of the aero package is also heavily regulated so it's really a test of the team's ability to dial in the tuning during practice sessions. LMH is a non-spec series but is functionally a spec series.

This is mostly correct. However it must be said that you can still build a good car that distinguishes itself from the others in spite of BoP, but it shows itself in more underhanded ways.

For example, in 2023, a lot of the other cars (A.K.A. NOT the Toyota) experienced issues with getting the tires up to temp or keeping them in the ideal window. They also dealt with a lot of issues concerning vibration, weight distribution, aerodynamics, or general car setup/handling. This is due to their lack of ability to understand the car they've built and being able to create the ultimate setup. It is also harder to strategize during a race when the car starts exhibiting weird behavior. Toyota never had these issues.

My point is, with Toyota not having these issues, no level of BoP could bring the car down, because it was easy and predictable to work with during the races. Once Porsche, Ferrari, and Cadillac began to figure out their cars better over the past year, the BoP began to hurt Toyota more.

 

[carguy420]

https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/wrc-set-to-drop-hybrid-power-in-2025/10670873/

The hybrid system has caused way too many problems for all 3 teams, and some disconnected from reality people are still asking for EV rally cars lol.

 

[qtb007]

https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/wrc-set-to-drop-hybrid-power-in-2025/10670873/

The hybrid system has caused way too many problems for all 3 teams, and some disconnected from reality people are still asking for EV rally cars lol.

That isn't how I read that. Toyota and Hyundai seem to like the hybrid unit, but the new regulation for repairs of the hybrid system if certain G shock thresholds are met will add significant cost and prevent competition from entering. So they are saying that given the choice of hybrid and the high repair cost (again, due to new regs) or no hybrid, they choose no hybrid.

 

[Sulu]

That isn't how I read that. Toyota and Hyundai seem to like the hybrid unit, but the new regulation for repairs of the hybrid system if certain G shock thresholds are met will add significant cost and prevent competition from entering. So they are saying that given the choice of hybrid and the high repair cost (again, due to new regs) or no hybrid, they choose no hybrid.

From the article:

“It is not a request to remove it for what it is, it is a request to remove it because we can’t actually repair and run them at an economic price for M-Sport,” team principal Richard Millener told Autosport at last month’s Central European Rally.

Speaking at last month’s penultimate round of the championship, Toyota and Hyundai bosses both admitted they would support measures to remove hybrid if it meant it would ensure the current level of participants for the future.

“We will never actively or proactively request to remove the hybrid from WRC,” said Hyundai’s team principal Cyril Abiteboul [i.e. Hyundai does not want it removed].

“Having said that, we also need to be pragmatic and recognise the fact that the WRC community is a small community, and as any small community, we need to look after one another.