Rob Leupen, fined for mentioning the BoP

The Balance of Performance (BoP) remains a sensitive subject in the paddock. A subject that the teams and their representatives do not have the right to discuss publicly, particularly to the press, under penalty of exposing themselves to sanctions. This is what happened to Rob Leupen, team director of the Toyota Gazoo Racing.

For comments made on our colleagues at Motorsport.com where they stated that the BoP published a week before the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 “was not in line with the applicable regulations”, that the process in 2024 on the part of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) “is not transparent” and that “in the future, honesty is required”, the Dutchman was fined 10 euros suspended until the end of the current financial year.

The official FIA document specifies, however, that “all competitors are warned that future offenses will not be subject to a suspended sanction. » A way of dissuading those who would too easily blame the BoP for their failures rather than their failures. At Le Mans, Toyota was in contention for victory until a mistake by José Maria Lopez in the final hour. Proof that the BoP wasn't that bad, right? In its approach, the FIA-ACO duo above all wants to close the door to negotiations and permanent pressures in the establishment of the Balance of Performance which is now entrusted to powerful software which reviews millions of data collected over all the sessions. In order to unmask the clever people who would be tempted to hide their game. And in this game, Toyota is not known for being the least playful...

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