The GTA has announced a revision of the SUPER GT Success Ballast for the GT300 class that will take effect this season, beginning at the season-opening Okayama GT 300km Race on 13 April.
The nominal GT300 Success Ballast limit has been restored to 100 kilogrammes per car (2kg per championship point scored) but, just like in GT500, only a maximum 50kg of physical ballast weight can be put onboard.
Instead, when the nominal Success Ballast exceeds 50kg, the car will receive a smaller refuelling restrictor (Success refuelling restrictor) that will be placed under the automatic shut-off valve of the refuelling device. The performance adjustment that would have been made through additional Success Weight will now be done through longer refuelling times during pit stops.
The diameter of the applicable restrictor, based on the Success Ballast imposed, will be determined based on the diameter of the fuel flow restrictor specified by the Balance of Performance for each car. These specific dimensions will be announced in a bulletin issued by SUPER GT before the race meeting.
Last year in an attempt to control the speeds of cars in both GT500 and GT300 classes, GT300 cars received additional ‘Special BoP Weight’ to slow the cars down. As a compromise, Success Weight in the class was originally dropped from 100kg to 80kg.
After several GT300 teams raised valid concerns about the effect that this added weight would have on safety, SUPER GT reduced the maximum Success Weight again – from 80kg to 50kg – beginning at the fourth round of the championship.
The remaining five races were won by only two cars: K2 R&D LEON Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO won back-to-back races at Fuji and Sportsland Sugo, while the #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 won three in a row at Autopolis, Motegi, and Suzuka to end the season and ultimately win the championship.
GT300’s revised points table, which pays 25 points to the race winner and one bonus point for the polesitter, means that this measure could be put into action as soon as the Fuji GT 3 Hour Race: GW Special on 4 May.
Feature image © Toyota
