Automatic BOP in championships
In community championships that enable it, your car is adjusted according to your position in the overall standings: whoever leads has it slightly harder, whoever trails has it slightly easier. The point is not to flatten everyone by decree, but to keep the championship alive to the end.
The three levers
Automobilista 2 lets you change three things per driver, and the BOP uses all three. The server applies them as the session starts, so they are active from lap one.
Ballast
kilos
Extra weight in the car. Carried by whoever leads the standings; the last in the table carries none.
The game does not allow negative ballast, so this lever only penalises. That is why it runs from the maximum (leader) down to zero (last), with everyone in between carrying their share.
Power
multiplier
How much power the engine delivers. Below 1 it takes away, above 1 it adds.
The server limits it to 0.90–1.10, that is ±10 % at most. This one does reward: those at the bottom race with a little more power than stock.
Drag
multiplier
How much the air holds the car back. More drag, less top speed.
Also limited to 0.90–1.10. It is the lever that depends most on the track.
Why ballast depends on the class
Putting 20 kilos on a 623 kg formula car is nothing like putting them on a 1400 kg GT3. They would be two completely different punishments. So ballast is not configured in kilos but as a percentage of the average weight of the class being raced, and converted to kilos for each championship.
At the medium level, the championship leader carries:
| Formula Classic Gen1 | 623 kg average | 19 kg |
| G40Cup | 925 kg average | 28 kg |
| GT3 Gen2 | 1399 kg average | 42 kg |
Power, on the other hand, is identical in all three: −5 % is −5 % whether the car has 1257 horsepower or 142. That is why only ballast needs to look at the class.
Why drag depends on the track
Drag shows up on the straights. On a fast layout with long straights, a bit more drag costs a lot of time; on a twisty one, you barely notice. So that the penalty feels similar everywhere, drag is scaled by the track’s corners per kilometre: the fewer corners per kilometre, the more this lever weighs.
The three levels
Each community picks the severity in its championship’s general options. “Extreme” goes right up to the maximum the server allows.
| Level | Power | Drag | Ballast (of class weight) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ±2 % | ±2 % | 1,5 % |
| Medium | ±5 % | ±5 % | 3 % |
| Extreme | ±10 % | ±10 % | 5 % |
How it is applied
Round one has no BOP
There are no standings yet, so there is nothing to compute it from. Everyone starts equal.
Recalculated every round
It is frozen when the round starts, using the standings at that moment, and does not change within the round.
The whole round shares values
The race, the reverse-grid race and the double reverse all carry the same BOP: the round is one unit.
Each class separately
In a multiclass championship every class has its own ladder, its own standings and its own average weight.
The whole grid is adjusted
It is not only about punishing the leader: the spread is continuous from first to last.
FAQ
Does this not reward going slowly?
The adjustment depends on your position in the standings, not on your pace. Whoever finishes best still scores more, and the effect is bounded: even last, you will not magically be faster than everyone else. What it does is stop one bad round from ending your championship.
How do I know my BOP?
The round shows the full grid with each driver’s ballast and multipliers before racing. Nothing is hidden or left to anyone’s discretion.
Does it affect my rating or licence?
No. The BOP only changes the car inside that championship. SR, GR and licence are calculated exactly as in any other race.
Can I see it in game?
Ballast yes: it shows on the status screen next to your name. Power and drag are applied just the same but the game shows no icon for them — you feel them driving.