The Balance of Performance is being adjusted for four DTM cars ahead of the second race day at Oschersleben: Who is affected and what the changes entail
Second Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustment in Oschersleben: Ahead of the second day of racing, changes to engine power will be made for Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, and Ford. Nicki Thiim, who lost the DTM lead after a disastrous Saturday and a 12th-place finish and sarcastically criticized the classification, can look forward to more boost pressure on Sunday.
Boost pressure will be increased by 0.03 bar across nearly the entire RPM range; only in the very high RPM range will there be no improvement. Already after Saturday’s qualifying, the Vantage GT3 Evo had received between 0.02 and 0.03 bar more boost pressure compared to the initial specification. An additional advantage: Unlike in Saturday’s race, Thiim will not have to carry success ballast.
For the BMW as well, boost pressure may be increased once more following the initial adjustment, during which 0.05 bar was added almost across the board. This time, the increase is 0.03 bar up to the mid-range of 6,000 rpm, while the curve flattens out thereafter and no further increase is permitted in the high-rpm range.
The BMW Team Schubert finished seventh at Saturday’s home race in Oschersleben with Kelvin van der Linde, while Marco Wittmann retired due to a tire failure.
Following Emil Frey’s Request: More Power on the Second Race Day
The Ferrari Team Emil Frey, which had already requested a better classification prior to Oschersleben but had not been accommodated until now, can also look forward to more boost pressure on Sunday: The 296 GT3 Evo will receive an additional 0.03 bar across nearly the entire RPM range. In the mid-range at 6,500 rpm, it’s even 0.04 bar; in the very high range, the boost pressure remains unchanged.
It will be interesting to see whether, with the new settings, Matteo Cairoli—who had even led the DTM overall standings after the Lausitzring and is now in fifth place—will be able to achieve more than an eleventh-place finish.
Ford Mustang GT3 Evo Also Receives Better Classification
And for the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo, with which Arjun Maini fought his way to sixth place on Saturday despite the track being unfavorable for the car, a larger restrictor may be installed.
While the restrictor previously had a diameter of 38 millimeters, it will be 39 millimeters starting with Sunday’s qualifying session. The HRT race car with the V8 engine was already the fastest in terms of top speed on Saturday. It would come as no surprise if that remains the case on Sunday as well.
The second qualifying session starts on Sunday at 9:25 a.m. — tires could play a role in the race, as only three sets of tires may be used for both race days this time, and two mandatory pit stops are scheduled. However, rain cannot be ruled out on the second race day either.
