Aston Martin frustrated by World Endurance Championship rule tweak

Team principal John Gaw argued that the removal of the five extra litres of fuel capacity awarded to the car under the Balance of Performance rules three seasons ago has resulted from AMR's hard work over the 2012/13 off-season.

"Clearly, we made the biggest step over the winter of any of the manufacturers," he said. "That's why we feel a little hard done by."

Gaw also suggested that Aston's rivals, Porsche and Ferrari, had managed their performance over the early-season races for political reasons.

"One of our rivals played a masterclass and got help ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours," said Gaw, in clear reference to Porsche.

"We haven't done that and have raced fairly all season."

The ruling from the endurance committee means that the fuel capacity of the two GTE Pro Astons at Fuji must be reduced from the previous 95 litres to the class standard of 90.

PRESSURE FROM RIVALS

The move, made by the FIA and Automobile Club de l'Ouest endurance committee, follows pressure from Aston's rivals over the course of the season.

The debate came to a head at the previous WEC round at Austin in September when the winning Pro class Vantage shared by Frederic Makowiecki and Bruno Senna was able to complete the race on four full stops and one splash-and-dash six laps from the finish.

ACO sporting manager Vincent Beaumesnil, who sits on the endurance committee, said: "If a car has a waiver for a bigger tank, but you see on the track that the car has the better fuel autonomy, then it clearly does not make sense."

Porsche's new 991-shape 911 RSR has also been granted a further two waivers in order to help the car double stint its tyres. These affect the rear wing and the width of the wheel rims.

AMR has shuffled its driver line-up for Fuji after reducing its Pro entry from two to three cars.

Makowiecki moves into the lead Vantage with Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke, while Senna shifts over to the Am class car driven by Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen.

The second Pro car is shared by Richie Stanaway and Pedro Lamy. Canadian Paul Dalla Lana, their regular team-mate, will not be present at Fuji.