Porsche wants balance of power change

Porsche factory drivers Frederic Makowiecki and Marco Holzer have called for a GTE Balance of Performance re-evaluation despite finishing on the class podium in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Having won the French endurance race last year, both Porsches struggled for pace compared to the other three GTE Pro manufacturers Aston Martin, Ferrari and Corvette.

The Manthey-run 911 RSR has carried 25kg [55lbs] of ballast since winning the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Silverstone, while Aston Martin received two weight breaks in the build up to Le Mans that amounted to a 35kg [77lbs] loss.

Ferrari has a revised aerodynamic kit for this year despite an off-season freeze in aero development, while Corvette– which had only raced its new C7.R in the United States prior to last weekend – was given a series of breaks in comparison to last year.

Team boss Olaf Manthey had criticized the situation in the build-up to practice and qualifying and his drivers have since called for a re-evaluation from WEC and Le Mans organizers the Automobile Club de l'ouest.

"Maybe they [the ACO] should understand they must be careful not to penalize or advantage one car," said Makowiecki. "Sometimes if you work well you get penalized and it's not a positive thing. I like the challenge and to battle. If the engineers and driver do a good job they deserve to get a good result."

Holzer said he was happy that he, Makowiecki and third driver Richard Lietz had salvaged a podium and second-place WEC points (the Corvette is ineligible) from the weekend but agreed that something needed to be done for future rounds.

"It was a tough race," he added. "We pressed 120 percent out of the car [to finish third]. For sure you feel every kg of fuel, so I hope we get a little change for the next race." Racer.com

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