Worth addressing is the latest WEC article in Auto week:
http://autoweek.com/article/sports-cars/wec-crossroads-series-must-have-strong-lmp1-class-or-else
An LMP2 car winning a World Endurance Championship race could be devastating
Every heard of "Rocky?"
So what if an LMP2 car had won? And wins again?
I suppose that would simply underline what a disaster the LMP1 cars are, and how important it is to have solid privateers to save the day.
Well, manufacturers pay the bills for the FIA and WEC. They buy advertising. They sponsor the broadcasts.
That's great until they bail, and they always bail, but only when it suits them. Like always, manufacturer pullout leave a trail of destruction behind them. Now, WEC is truly destroyed and it's going to have to reinvent itself if it ever wants to be taken seriously again.
The WEC insists that, “because of their superior performances and level of technological development,” all the Prototype classes “have a star status within endurance racing,”
And yet, over the course of 24 hours, all that million dollar technology is only good for one lap more than a lowly spec P2 car.
Do you think, had the Jackie Chan No. 38 DC Racing Oreca/Gibson had won, Oreca or Gibson would spend millions advertising that victory or touting the technological advances that came from it?
Maybe if it had a Cadillac, Nissan, Mazda or Acura engine and bodywork.
Oh, wait, that makes too much sense.
If an LMP2 car wins Le Mans, or any WEC race overall, the lack of interest could be devastating
It would certainly devastate a few egos, but it would make a great story. You know, the whole underdog things dates back to David and Goliath all the way through Rocky and into the Petite a few years ago when a GT Porsche won. We even saw it yesterday when Team Florida had their back against the wall for a whole season and still managed to pull one off from their flooded shop.
I think if people can give up their snooty ideas about what's "superior" they could actually enjoy motorsports instead of feeling like their sacred cows were gored every time there is an upset. Upsets are good. It's a lot better than seeing Audi trundle around with no other cars even in the game.
If the FIA would loosen its engine requirements and allow other manufacturers to supply engines alongside Gibson — and those existing engines already are, in IMSA, limited to about 600 hp, same as the Gibson—then the FIA WEC could bring major factory involvement back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans prototype class and beyond. Hell, they can even rename the LMP2 class LMP1 if they want.
And there is “a group of manufacturers that are pushing for that very thing,” we were told by one of those manufacturers a week ago.
And thank God. Since manufacturer involvement is the ACO holy grail, maybe they should listen to them. The key word here is "Group," which means more than one. That is still more than they are going to have next year, even if Toyota stays.
I think it just might be possible that manufacturers would like to compete in a cost controlled series where they can win races and make a little money instead of bleeding it. That would just make too much sense.
The FIA would have to write a check to Gibson, we’d suspect, but there are few other roadblocks.
Well, the FIA isn't exactly known for keeping teams and cottage industry concerns solvent. Still, if P2 becomes the premier division, and the Gibson being the baseline of performance, you can bet they will still sell enough motors. The prospect of privateers being competitive could and probably would pull more of them in, and plenty of them buying Gibsons. Gibson has more to gain here than to lose.
Time to bring in the ships and set a new course if the ACO and the FIA, which bill themselves as “guardians of the existence and quality of the FIA World Endurance Championship,” want it to continue.
The quality of the WEC all year long has been the P2 battles. All the ACO has to do is swallow a little bit of their overblown Gallic pride and invite the DPIs to compete. DPI, despite what the naysayers tell you, is working here. It could work every bit as easily at Lemans.
