Toyota has been hit with a suspended €10,000 fine for comments made by race director Rob Leupen on the World Endurance Championship’s Balance of Performance, in contravention of series regulations.
The fine, equivalent to £8,400/$7,700, is the first time that a penalty has been applied for a breach of a rule that has been in place since the beginning of last season.
It was invoked by the stewards of the meeting at the Interlagos round of the WEC last weekend.
They considered his comments reported on the Dutch and Italian editions of Motorsport.com last week to be “a serious breach of the regulations”.
They argued that they “call into question the impartiality of the FIA” and have “the direct consequence of casting doubt on the integrity of the sporting results of the championship and damaging their credibility”.
Because it was the first time a penalty had been applied under the rule, the stewards decided the fine would be suspended until the end of the year pending no further violation by anyone associated with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
“All competitors are put on notice that future violations may not receive a suspended penalty,” the stewards’ report concluded.
Leupen said that the late Hypercar class BoP change ahead of the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours “wasn’t compliant with the regulations”.
Rob Leupen, Toyota race director
Photo by: Toyota Gazoo Racing
It ran contrary to the guidelines agreed by the manufacturers competing in Hypercars, though the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly administer the WEC, retained the right to change the BoP.
He went on to say that he had no complaints about the BoP in place under the new 2024 procedures at Le Mans this year, but made a call for greater transparency.
“This year it was better, but even in this case, you notice that the process for the BoP is not transparent,” he said.
“You can transparently define the processes on which the BoP is based.
“You could say: ‘Here they are and this is the way we’re going to do it’. And then you could also get feedback.
“We give it after every race, it’s just that we do not receive it in return.
“The traffic is one-way. It doesn’t work. We need to work together to improve the situation.”