In the paddock: Jack Cozens

Controversy over boost pressures, and the interpretation of Balance of Performance, marred last weekend’s World Touring Car Cup round. Was it all overblown?

Last Friday night was a long one at the Slovakia Ring, and not just because the circuit’s hurried addition to the 2018 World Touring Car Cup schedule – in place of an Argentinian round – on a shared billing with the European Truck Racing Championship meant first qualifying finished far later than it does on a typical WTCR weekend.

As the wait for final results continued long after the end of qualifying at 6.30pm, murmurs about boost issues began to surface. Mechanics from the YMR and BRC Racing Hyundai teams sat in parc ferme, their shadows growing longer and fainter in the setting sun as they waited for their cars to be released.

Finally, at 11.30pm local time, stewards published decisions after considering the evidence of a technical report, and the result was that three of the four Hyundai i30 Ns (all except race one polesitter Gabriele Tarquini’s) were excluded for exceeding maximum boost pressures. A day later, three of the four Hondas (those of Esteban Guerrieri, Tom Coronel and Benjamin Lessennes) were cast out of second qualifying for the same offence. It was a surprising and somewhat messy development that took (and still requires) plenty of untangling.

To get to the bottom of the matter, you have to go back to Friday morning, when the pre-event Balance of Performance chart was published, including maximum boost-pressure directives for each make at defined rpm markers.

At this juncture, an important point needs to be made: the

FIA is still learning how to operate BOP properly alongside TCR. Unlike, for instance, the GT3 concept, which was created by the SRO Group with the FIA as an integral part of the homologation process, TCR was born a separate entity outside the FIA stable. It’s the exceptional circumstances of the rescue package required to ensure a World Touring Car category survived. The upshot is that the governing body is working with cars it didn’t homologate and, in the words of WTCR supremo Francois Ribeiro, doesn’t yet“have the knowledge of”.

Here’s where it gets interesting. While the BOP chart was approved by the Touring Car Committee, Autosport understands it was not approved by TCR. This meant two interpretations were available. Despite the exclusions being issued for the same breach, the reasons behind them were different for the Hyundais and Hondas, since the BOP chart gave the Hyundai i30 N an increase in allowed boost pressure but reduced the Honda Civic’s.

The Hyundais’boost levels were increased in line with that proposal, so when they were caught out they were able to return to their original levels and become compliant again. In the case of the Hondas, the engines were kept at the higher boost levels allowed by the chart most recently ratified by TCR – described by more than one person as“gospel”– which meant they were always going to be above the maximum level in the Fia-published chart.

While neither Hyundai team appealed its decision (YMR renouncing its right and BRC allowed its appeal time to elapse), Honda squads Munnich Motorsport and Boutsen Ginion did. That process, and the cars’late release from parc ferme, delayed the start of the second race.

Before that, the Hyundais’ecus had been, according to an

FIA technical report,“seized” overnight and investigated further, but were found to be compliant, so the FIA could rule out any foul play and influence on the overboost.

Section 6.4 of the WTCR technical regulations says

ECU choice is free, but among other things it states that any “manipulation, modification or disconnection” of an ECU sensor is not permitted and“the software and the map(s) for all certified engine performance level(s) are frozen and cannot be modified”. As sketchy an area as this is, it doesn’t take too many attempts to add two and two to work out what might have been adjusted on the Hyundai engine.

If you’re in a generous mood, you could say that the confusion was unfortunate. Cynically speaking, it’s a potentially tricky situation, given that the WTCC is only tied in with TCR regulations for another season beyond the end of this year. What happens after that?

The boost issue is not something that looks likely to die down quickly, since the Honda teams’appeal means the

Slovakia results remained provisional as Autosport closed for press. But even if it won’t change things hugely – the cars in question only scored 16 points in races two and three – the boost debate added a layer of controversy to what has been an entertaining European leg of the new era.

Just as the established names were required to come in to boost (no pun intended) the series’profile, so too were their victories helpful in promoting WTCR. But 11 drivers have now won races this season – and nine have won the last nine encounters – as the young guns start to push the Tarquinis and Yvan Mullers. If that’s not a sign of a BOP that offers variety, then what is?

“THE BOOST DEBATE ADDED A LAYER OF CONTROVERSY TO AN ENTERTAINING EUROPEAN LEG”