Toyota Gazoo Racing has been handed a weight penalty for the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue test session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The pair of TS050 Hybrids will be running an additional 14 kilograms compared to the last regular round of the WEC season, which was the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May. The Toyotas will now be running with 918 kilograms, which is the new minimum weight set in the Equivalence of Technology (EoT) table. In comparison, the two LMP1 hybrids have been running with 904 kilograms since the 6 Hours of Fuji last October.
This was after Toyota had accepted a further 26 kilograms increase after the two cars had dominated proceedings in the first three rounds of the 2018/19 Super Season. The weight penalty was altered (10 kilograms) at Le Mans because it was calculated to be enough to remove the notional 0.25 percent advantage for the hybrids in the original 2018/19 EoT.
Weight and fuel limits for the privateer LMP1 cars remain unchanged from Spa last May. Normally aspirated cars are limited to 824 kilograms, while turbocharged LMP1 contenders are limited to 833 kilograms. Fuel flow for both hybrids and non-hybrids remain unchanged at 80kg and 115kg per hour respectively. It is notable that Toyota's new restrictions might not necessarily carry over into the season-opening 4 Hours of Silverstone in September as rulemakers remain free to change EoT whenever they see fit.
In addition to changes for Toyota, Porsche will be running an additional 15 kilograms heavier in the test compared to Spa last May. This is because the new 911 RSR-19 has been given the 'starting BoP', which gets handed to new cars. It has also been given 0.5mm smaller diameter air restrictors in the GTE Pro Balance of Performance table.
