Le Mans' BoP secrecy: 'We spend far too much time talking about it'

When the people running a category feel compelled to limit conversation about BoP, it's a sign the mechanism has become a distraction from the racing itself — which is the opposite of what it was designed to do. BoP was the deal that brought manufacturers in; the trade-off was always that parity would require ongoing adjustment, and that adjustment would always invite scrutiny. The tension here is structural: the more manufacturers invest, the more each BoP decision carries financial and competitive stakes, and the harder it becomes to keep the process quiet or uncontested. Regulators wanting less public focus on BoP is understandable, but the only way to earn that is through a process manufacturers trust enough not to challenge openly.