IMSA to keep BoP tables public despite WEC move

Q: Why is IMSA keeping its BoP tables public?

IMSA aims to maintain transparency and prevent misinterpretations, unlike WEC, which has opted to hide its BoP information.

Q: What prompted WEC to hide its BoP information?

WEC officials decided to keep BoP data private to avoid misinterpretations and speculation, which has faced criticism from competitors like Ferrari.

Q: How does IMSA's approach to BoP differ from WEC's?

IMSA plans to keep its BoP tables accessible to the public, while WEC has chosen to conceal this information to mitigate negative public comments.

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IMSA President John Doonan has stated there are no plans to follow the FIA World Endurance Championship in hiding its Balance of Performance (BoP) tables.

Earlier this week, officials from the ACO and FIA explained that WEC will no longer make its BoP information public, in a move aimed at preventing misinterpretations and speculation, which has already come under scrutiny by competitors such as Ferrari.

The ACO and IMSA have a strategic alliance, and ahead of the 2026 season the North American series introduced a BoP conduct rule to deter negative public comments from competitors and manufacturers in its paddock, something WEC did previously. Even with those factors, though, hiding the BoP tables from the public eye is not on IMSA’s agenda.

“First of all, IMSA and ACO have a strategic alliance agreement, but we operate our championships separately,” Doonan told Motorsport.com during the Long Beach weekend.

“There's things we collaborate on, like LMDh regulations and idea sharing all the time about all kinds of elements of the sport, not just competition. But we operate our championship in the manner that we think is best for the IMSA Weather Tech Sports Car Championship or the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

“Just because another sanctioning body has made an announcement doesn't mean we're immediately going to align with that.”

Doonan furthered that by saying that hiding the BoP is “Not necessarily anything we've discussed” for this year or 2027.

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One of the things Doonan pressed on is educating fans, which could be aided by new creations such as IMSA Labs, which was launched at the IMSA Technology Symposium earlier this year at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“I think education about what BoP is, and like at the IMSA Technology Symposium, we are going to continue to look at every tool possible to make sure that the end result is equal and fair competition, and the best possible entertainment for the fans,” Doonan said.

“If it involves AI, awesome. If it involves simulator, awesome. If it involves the wind tunnel, awesome. If it involves on-track BoP testing, awesome. Whatever the tools in the toolbox are that are going to create the best outcome, which is, I think, the best and most entertaining racing, that is what we're going to constantly do.

“And putting the BoP tables out for people to understand the differences in weight and power and energy and aero, I don't think that's bad for our championship so that we can continue to educate people on. There's hundreds of engineers, men and women, that have invested in creating these cars. Why shouldn't we tell the stories about the different ideas and angles that they took on the rule set?

“There's a rule set that's tight, that's designed to keep the costs in check, but why not celebrate the amazing creations these people have made?”