How Weight Penalties Track Championship Points
First-time viewers following a Super GT weekend may notice that front-running cars do not dominate every race. The championship uses a handicap system managed by the GT Association to balance performance as the season unfolds. In the GT300 category, cars receive a nominal penalty of two kilograms per Drivers Championship point earned, up to an overall cap of 100 kilograms. While the series temporarily raised this calculation to three kilograms per point during the 2020 season to apply earlier penalties to winners, it later returned to the standard two-kilogram rate.
Understanding these Super GT success ballast rules helps explain why standings stay competitive throughout the year. The penalties do not remain fixed all season. For the penultimate event, the calculation drops to 1.5 kilograms per point scored, and the ballast resets completely to zero for the final race for cars that entered every round of the eight-round championship.
Why Excess Ballast Moves to the Fuel Rig
Even though a car can theoretically accumulate up to 100 kilograms in nominal handicap, teams do not carry that entire load inside the chassis. To address safety concerns raised by teams after cars took on additional Special BoP Weight, the organisers capped the maximum physical ballast placed inside a GT300 car at 50 kilograms, aligning with the cap in GT500.
When a team exceeds the 50-kilogram physical weight limit, the remaining handicap is served during mandatory pit stops. Officials install a success refuelling restrictor beneath the shut-off valve on the fuel rig, narrowing the flow and increasing the time spent refuelling. The exact diameter of this restrictor is calibrated against each car's Balance of Performance fuel flow restrictor and confirmed in pre-event technical bulletins.
Official reference: SUPER GT official series information and results.
Post a Comment