182 replies to this topic

[WhiteBlue]

I have inserted the totally with a clear conscience. If you compare the racing series by the on track entertainment, the technology fascination, the performance of the cars and thr TV coverage F1 has already lost it on the first two points. The third point is under heavy attack because there are no limits to the LMP1 cars development speed if you compare it to F1. The manufacturers will bring updates to every race and right now we have three manufacturer teams competing very hard on the same performance level but with vastly different technology. Without a bunch of silly restrictions leading to uniformity LMP1 cars are getting more powerfull and faster every race. They already have 1000+ horse powers and are going strong. My impression is that by the end of the season LMP1 cars will run an F1 race distance faster than any F1.  So really the only archilles heel  is the TV. This is likely to take the longest time, but in some regards LMP1 has outmanoeuvred F1 already. They embraced the internet and you can buy one hour of LMP1 racing for half a Euro and have no advertisements. After the race you can find copies on Youtube which are not killed by the commercial guys. So if they fix the issue with the free live TV coverage F1 is a goner in my view. I wonder how long this will take.

[Henri Greuter]

Given the current state of F1, it can't happen quick enough for me......

 

 

If F1 is to die as it is right now, then I want Bernie to see it with his own eyes and with a healty as possible brain (not derailed by alszheimer etc) before his own death......

 

henri

Edited by Henri Greuter, 13 April 2015 - 12:28.

[aramos]

6 hour races is far too long for most fans, so never.

Maybe if they introduce 3 hour sprint races. I'd be behind that idea personally.

[CountDooku]

When your average Joe can be bothered to stay up for 24hrs to watch a race.

[Henri Greuter]

6 hour races is far too long for most fans, so never.

Maybe if they introduce 3 hour sprint races. I'd be behind that idea personally.

 

 

Which is what Bernie did in the very early 90's affter first making the GpC using near F1 specification engines and those sprit races then killed off sportscars.....

[MNader]

Unfortunately, never.

 

 

for now i prefer WEC, but F1 has the glamour and the media and that won't change unless WEC becomes silly. Also having long races is not enough to attract audience in this day and age.

 

It's like in the movies where you have the blonde "OMG" cheerleader with everyone drooling on and the beautiful smart girl who most of the time is at home studying.

 

 

WEC is far more to professional and because the teams are manufacturers they focus on efficiency and development and thus run a good business for less money. F1 is turning into boys with toys for me at this point. but hey, sex sells.

[Imateria]

Which is what Bernie did in the very early 90's affter first making the GpC using near F1 specification engines and those sprit races then killed off sportscars.....

The Norisring 200 predates the 3.5l Group C cars by some years.

[johnmhinds]

Aren't the circuit attendance figures for WEC races still 1/3 what F1 can pull in?

How many people attended the race at Silverstone this weekend?

[Henri Greuter]

The Norisring 200 predates the 3.5l Group C cars by some years.

 

 

Come on, do you take that as a serious event in the spirit of what was Sportscar Racing at that time?

 

Maybe for the German homecrowd it was an interesting showcase event at a near legendary facility but nothing like the true endurance events for which GpC cars were specified and built initially. Nice for the German public to see Saubers-Mercedes and Porsches in action at yet another venue in "Die Heimat".

I don't think we need another F1-like series (if it comes to tracks and race distances) with LMP's instead of open wheel racers. We have Touring cars for that, for example....

 

Henri

 

Edit:

 

I do acknowledge that it is an event that drew/draws lots of spectators so in that respect it is a success. But i doubt if a series of such events would be a success, given the lack of tradition to fal back upan. And the Norisring, gratned, has tradition.

 

Henri

Edited by Henri Greuter, 13 April 2015 - 12:45.

[Dan333SP]

I have inserted the totally with a clear conscience. If you compare the racing series by the on track entertainment, the technology fascination, the performance of the cars and thr TV coverage F1 has already lost it on the first two points. The third point is under heavy attack because there are no limits to the LMP1 cars development speed if you compare it to F1. The manufacturers will bring updates to every race and right now we have three manufacturer teams competing very hard on the same performance level but with vastly different technology. Without a bunch of silly restrictions leading to uniformity LMP1 cars are getting more powerfull and faster every race. They already have 1000+ horse powers and are going strong. My impression is that by the end of the season LMP1 cars will run an F1 race distance faster than any F1.  So really the only archilles heel  is the TV. This is likely to take the longest time, but in some regards LMP1 has outmanoeuvred F1 already. They embraced the internet and you can buy one hour of LMP1 racing for half a Euro and have no advertisements. After the race you can find copies on Youtube which are not killed by the commercial guys. So if they fix the issue with the free live TV coverage F1 is a goner in my view. I wonder how long this will take.

 

Not to nitpick, but LMP cars won't run a race distance faster than an F1 car any time this season, or really any time in the near future with current regulations. They're closer than they have been in relative pace terms since maybe '92 when the 3.5L Peugeots set times that would have qualified them for that year's GPs when they raced at the same tracks, but LMP1s have a very big mountain to climb with the weight difference. Don't forget that despite the tight regulations, F1 engineers are still improving their cars race to race. Just look at laptimes from last year versus this year, they're already several seconds faster and will continue to improve.

[Spillage]

It won't. Races are too long for TV and too long to hold the attention of the casual fan even if it were conceivable that they were to be broadcasted on FTA. I've nothing against the WEC, but I think the very nature of endurance racing makes a mainstream audience impossible to achieve.

[SanDiegoGo]

 

no. just, no.

 

take out le man and the WEC wouldn't even be televised or exist at all. it's a support series for one event. the tv viewing figures are less than a tenth of F1 and race attendances are massaged to show a much better figure than actually attend. it is NEVER, NEVER going to match F1 for several reason, least not endurance racing has no interest to casual viewers. by all means enjoy your delusion, but at least be honest and accept it is just that.

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

To put it simply.........never. F1 is a worldwide championship with a worldwide following of probably hundreds of millions? WEC/Le Mans generally only get a mention on TV, in papers etc if something major happens eg a death. LMP1 having various manufacturers, new technologies, fast cars etc isn't going to make it even partially steal the show from F1, let alone totally, certainly not in the eyes of the 'not a major motorsport fan' general public.

[TimRTC]

Endurance racing is unlikely to ever become more popular than F1 and not just because of the time issue, there are many issues that would stop a casual fan being able to get into the sport.

 

Having multiple drivers in each team means that it is harder to cheer on a particular driver - people get behind series a lot better when they get to know the drivers and their personalities - there are 18 drivers in the season-long factory LMP1 entries alone which is more than most casual fan can name on the current F1 grid.

 

Class racing makes races hard to follow and means a 'winner' can finish laps down.

 

There can often be a lack of close racing - cars can end up laps apart and the second half of the race can easily become more of a regularity event than an actual race.

 

Races seem to far more often end up decided by dodgy calls eg: safety cars and penalties than F1, with frequent post-race exclusions.

 

I'm not even sure why the OP thinks speed and lap time is an issue in a series' popularity - if it was, then surely no-one would watch F1 if the NHRA was on?

Edited by TimRTC, 13 April 2015 - 12:52.

[Fastcake]

It never will, and the WEC would be better off not trying in vain to reach F1.

[917k]

Ummm, what are there - 5 LMP1's?

 

I'm a huge Porsche fanboy but I'm still realistic as well.

Edited by 917k, 13 April 2015 - 12:54.

[Tourgott]

I don't see any motorsport series replacing F1. The overall interest in motorsport is declining so the question is:

Can F1 survive or will motorsport get a niche sport (even more as it already is).

[043Max]

ehm, I believe LMP1 will never steal the show from F1, especially when they are getting rid of the pitbabes/grid girls in de WEC.

[SenorSjon]

I watched Silverstone yesterday, but it was in the background as 'white noise'. Six hours is to long to watch and all those different classes running 20% slower than LMP1 is making it a messy to follow. The grandstands were near empty.

[SealTheDiffuser]

Insane racing with those moving chicanes on track... interesting. Mega fast cars (LMP1) and good looking also . Field 24 LMP1 and race 3 hours (without those moving chicanes) and I would be watching it fully.

Edited by SealTheDiffuser, 13 April 2015 - 13:03.

[Dan333SP]

ehm, I believe LMP1 will never steal the show from F1, especially when they are getting rid of the pitbabes/grid girls in de WEC.

 

Not to open this can of worms again, but do you seriously think the lack of grid girls has any effect at all on the relative popularity of F1 vs. WEC? If someone chooses F1 over WEC because they want to see scantily clad women, wouldn't that logic dictate that they choose porn over any auto racing at all?

Edited by Dan333SP, 13 April 2015 - 13:06.

[SealTheDiffuser]

the problem about WEC is also about the cars and the drivers... I'm Buemi fan but I don't care what those other two guys do... so in the end I don't care about where the car finishes until I m a Toyota fan (are there any?)...

Edited by SealTheDiffuser, 13 April 2015 - 13:07.

[MNader]

Insane racing with those moving chicanes on track... interesting. Mega fast cars (LMP1) and good looking also . Field 24 LMP1 and race 3 hours (without those moving chicanes) and I would be watching it fully.

That would be a good way to get spectators. But then again 3h is not really endurance racing

[brr]

I wonder how long this will take.

 

None of us will ever know, unless Hell has a subscription to motorsport pay channels. Actually if it has, then it should be called Heaven.

[TimRTC]

I watched Silverstone yesterday, but it was in the background as 'white noise'. Six hours is to long to watch and all those different classes running 20% slower than LMP1 is making it a messy to follow. The grandstands were near empty.

 

To be fair, that is the Silverstone management who don't bother to open up most of the grandstands. The lengthy International pit straight grandstand was full for much of the day, but it is rarely visible on TV and there were a lot of people walking around the circuit.

 

I believe it is the third most attended event on the Silverstone calendar after F1 and the MotoGP.

[Henri Greuter]

I watched Silverstone yesterday, but it was in the background as 'white noise'. Six hours is to long to watch and all those different classes running 20% slower than LMP1 is making it a messy to follow. The grandstands were near empty.

 

 

I must also admit that I doubt if I could watch 6 hours at the track, even on TV.

Endurance racing (other than Le Mans) is, regrettably a tough act to follow.

Basicly, the F1 format is indeed about the best, if not actually the best format, no denying that.

 

I could envision myself however to take a supscription or watch coverage like: first hour live, and the last 1.5 hours of the race first starting with a highlight report of, say half an hour, longer if the action was worth watching, and the close the program off with the run to the finish.

 

Henri

Edited by Henri Greuter, 13 April 2015 - 13:21.

[huisne]

Never. No other racing series has a chance, in Europe F1 will always be the No.1 motorsport. Why?

- Tradition. It has been the pinnacle of motorsport for decades. The most famous teams and most famous drivers are there. This is still true now, even if the series is not in its best shape. People will always see F1 as the pinnacle - teams/drivers know this, so the best ones will always aim to be in F1. 

 

- Apart from motorsport fans, nobody knows what WEC is. It rarely features in newspapers, mainstream news sites, television, etc.  F1 is a household name (at least in Europe), pretty much everyone knows what it is, even if they never watched a minute of racing. That's a huge difference when it comes to getting more fans or keep the fans interested. If you're an F1 fan, you can watch a nice several-hour long coverage of the race, quai, even free practices... You can discuss the race afterwards with hundreds of people in an F1 forum, you can read about it in the newspaper the next day, ect.  If you're a WEC fan, in most countries there is not even coverage for the race - if you want to watch it without paying for it, you do it illegally on live streams... You cannot really discuss it with anyone because there are few active fans. 

- WEC races are simply too long for watching. I love WEC, became a fan, but I find it difficult to fit it into my schedule. That's 6 hours on a Sunday  - if it's in Europe, I have to sacrifice my whole Sunday basically if I want to watch the entire race. That's not too compatible with family programs, work, etc. If it's outside Europe, I have to wake up in the middle of the night / stay awake until dawn if I want to watch the 6 hours. That's not ideal either. I do try to watch the races, but the timetable is not appealing to new fans I guess. Certainly not for children, young people, people with family.. .so, for the majority of people.

- In F1, the driver is the most important factor in the eyes of the fans. The driver is the hero. WDC counts more than WCC. Most people support drivers and not teams - and if they support teams, they're usually traditional ones like Ferrari or McLaren with big history. In WEC, the driver is not such a hero, because there are 3 drivers per car. We don't say "Fassler won the race", we say "Audi #7" won the race, so it's much less personal. The driver as an individual plays a lesser role. And about the teams? Manufacturers coming and going. You can be a Ferrari supporter in F1 for 50 years, and for the rest of your life. With WEC, you never know when your favourite manufacturer just leaves. 

 

- Complicated races. Strategies are hard to follow for 6 hours, the different categories racing together can also confuse the people. 

 

- Few cars. You're only talking about LMP1 and yeah, that is the category most people are interested in. But for now, there are only 6 manufacturer cars racing regularly (I know Nissan is coming). The situation is improving, but there are still too few cars who can compete equally. Of course, much better than  a few years ago with Audi being the only serious contender.

- Driver quality. For an average F1 fan the situation is this: in WEC there are unknown drivers never heard about, and there are the ex-F1-drivers who were either too old for F1 or never made a good impression in F1. So basically they will think the field has a much less quality than F1. As I said, for the fans the drivers are very important.

Edited by huisne, 13 April 2015 - 13:24.

[Ben1445]

I don't think it will ever steal the show from F1, but while F1 is in it's unhealthy state it can do a bloody good job of brining in disgruntled fans or those looking to move on to something 'harder' so to speak. 
I started with F1, I discovered LMP1s, I enjoy WEC, I dare say right now I prefer WEC, but I am not under any illusion that it will appeal to the mass market like F1 does. 

 

Aren't the circuit attendance figures for WEC races still 1/3 what F1 can pull in?

How many people attended the race at Silverstone this weekend?

I heard it was 45,000 total I think, though I believe back in 2011 it was about 20,000. F1 can pull in 120,000 on race day at Silverstone as far as I know. So yes, it's not really comparable. 

Edited by Ben1445, 13 April 2015 - 14:04.

[Jeeves]

I don't get why does there always have to be this argument about popularity between WEC and Formula 1. Look at how different they are!

 

I personally hope WEC will never be as popular as F1 is now, because it will most likely mean that it will end up like what F1 is now.

 

 

Think of the following chain and picture in your head what comes next:

 

Massive media attention -> huge sponsorship interest -> ridiculous amount of money involved -> .....

[Scuderia312]

I love wheel-to-wheel racing, competitive manufacturers and was really enjoying yesterday's race yet still left home for an hour after halfway, it was too long for me. Also we should have more than 6 LMP1 factory cars. But yeah Silverstone was epic 

Edited by Scuderia312, 13 April 2015 - 13:48.

[KingTiger]

Never going to happen with those ugly cars, and lack of numbers. How many LMP1s started yesterday? 6-7?

[Buttoneer]

I don't think it will ever steal the show from F1, but while F1 is in it's unhealthy state it can do a bloody good job of brining in disgruntled fans or those looking to move on to something 'harder' so to speak. 
I stared with F1, I discovered LMP1s, I enjoy WEC, I dare say right now I prefer WEC, but I am not under any illusion that it will appeal to the mass market like F1 does. 
 
I heard it was 45,000 total I think, though I believe back in 2011 it was about 20,000. F1 can pull in 120,000 on race day at Silverstone as far as I know. So yes, it's not really comparable.

Silverstone probably makes more money from WEC though, because of the price they pay to Bernie for his F1 fee.

[SenorSjon]

There was a American Le Mans series (IMSA?) in the mid '90s with 1,5-2 hour races. I loved those races. Later they got different classes like today and it generally disappeared from European TV.

[TimRTC]

Never going to happen with those ugly cars, and lack of numbers. How many LMP1s started yesterday? 6-7?

 

Ugly cars?

 

 

Versus:

 

 

 

And yes only 6 factory LMP1s ran yesterday, but all were in with a chance of the win, which is double the number of F1 cars which started yesterday with a realistic chance of the win (two Mercs and Vettel)

Edited by TimRTC, 13 April 2015 - 14:01.

[AlexLangheck]

It won't - and probably that's a good thing..... it doesn't need gimmicks etc for The Show....

 

I do feel as though they could do more with the WEC; it feels very much like Le Mans, plus some 6 hour support races. It needs to be more about the whole WEC, not just that race in June. A 10/12 hour race plus maybe a 3 hour races - purely to mix it up.

I also think Silverstone would be better in August; on an exceptionally busy sporting weekend, I haven't seen much newspaper coverage. I also think putting coverage online behind a paywall is misguided.

The non F1 series should be doing everything they can do attract more viewers/ followers.

[RockBrocaine]

Never, the average fan/person doesn't have 6+ hours to devote to a race. There's also the problem of TV coverage. Again 6+ hours is a lot to ask.

[PayasYouRace]

Will the manufacturers even hang around long enough? We all know how fickle they are when it comes to motor racing.

[TimRTC]

I also think Silverstone would be better in August; on an exceptionally busy sporting weekend, I haven't seen much newspaper coverage. I also think putting coverage online behind a paywall is misguided.

 

It ran in August in 2012, still didn't get much coverage.

 

My understanding (might be wrong here) is that the paywall issue is to try and encourage TV channels to run this - it was carried by Fox Sports in the US in its entirety on Sunday, I doubt they would have run it were it available for free online as fans would have watched this to avoid the ads, yet by being on a major TV station it would have attracted more first time viewers than if it was just available online.

 

It would be nice if they made a 45 minute full highlights package available, maybe a week down the line, like the SRO does with the Blancpain GT races.

[Dan333SP]

the problem about WEC is also about the cars and the drivers... I'm Buemi fan but I don't care what those other two guys do... so in the end I don't care about where the car finishes until I m a Toyota fan (are there any?)...

 

I would say that when it comes to long-term endurance racing fans, more of them cheer for a marque than a particular driver. I'm a Toyota fan mainly because the car IMO looks and sounds better than either of the other two factory cars, and I got hooked on Le Mans 15 years ago when they rolled out the gorgeous GT-ONE. Drivers come and go, and some manufacturers do as well, but if you have a favorite marque like Porsche or Ferrari you'll always have some car(s) to cheer for in some class. I do enjoy seeing my old F1 favorites doing well (Webber getting pole, for instance), but I'd rather see a particular car win than a driver.

[scolbourne]

In Australia the free F1 coverage has been replaced with a $60 a month service on Foxtel so I have switched allegiance and will probably try to get to Le Mans this year instead.

 

Rather than watching the Chinese GP, I went to a hillclimb.

 

It is rather nice having some spare time at the weekends now. I used to make an effort to see every qualifying and race session live , even the ones on at 5:00am.

Before the F1 season started we all knew that the limits on engine development meant that Mercedes would win most races so this year I do not miss it.

I am also looking forward to the Motogp but these have been so far at really stupid times for Australia.

 

The world wide move of F1 to pay to view services must be unfairly hurting the sponsers with the big reduction in viewer numbers. I would not be surprised to see Red Bull and others pull out.

[johnmhinds]

In Australia the free F1 coverage has been replaced with a $60 a month service on Foxtel so I have switched allegiance and will probably try to get to Le Mans this year instead.

 

Rather than watching the Chinese GP, I went to a hillclimb.

 

It is rather nice having some spare time at the weekends now. I used to make an effort to see every qualifying and race session live , even the ones on at 5:00am.

Before the F1 season started we all knew that the limits on engine development meant that Mercedes would win most races so this year I do not miss it.

I am also looking forward to the Motogp but these have been so far at really stupid times for Australia.

 

The world wide move of F1 to pay to view services must be unfairly hurting the sponsers with the big reduction in viewer numbers. I would not be surprised to see Red Bull and others pull out.

 

Not sure what any of that has to do with WEC growing in popularity and taking F1's place.

 

If WEC has to rely on F1 being mismanaged to grow its fanbase then motor sport in general is in a pretty shitty position.

[TimRTC]

To be honest I think a healthy and popular F1 would be a boon for FIA WEC, particularly if more were done to co-ordinate event calendars and allow drivers to race in both championships. The FIA could run F1 demos at WEC events and LMP1 cars at F1 meetings to cross promote.

 

The vast majority of people get into motorsports by starting off with F1 and then discovering the wealth of other racing events as they go. If people are drifting away from F1 then they will probably drift away from motor racing in general rather than going to a series like the WEC.

 

This isn't like soccer where you can only support one team. Motor racing fans can watch every event - I was at the 6 Hours, but will be catching up on all the other races over the course of the week.

Edited by TimRTC, 13 April 2015 - 14:55.

[TCRacing]

I think they can improve the championship by learning from IMSA with their Tudor United SportsCar Championship. They have race's of 24, 12, 10, 6 and 2:45 hours (i think), and races on street circuits, rovals, new and old circuit, which is a lot of variety and makes every race more interesting and gives these races more character. I think the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the Sahlen's Six at The Glen and Petit Le Mans have something special because they aren't all the same and they all have different special elements which make them more interresting (duration, track, history). I think WEC could really improve their game by changing the races, by changing to more spectaculair circuits and more variety in the race duration and get of the same 6 hours for every race. This would make every race special and could in my opinion only attrackt fans instead of dropping them...

[Richard T]

Never going to happen with those ugly cars, and lack of numbers. How many LMP1s started yesterday? 6-7?

All of which was competitive enough to win the race. How many competitive F1 cars started yesterday? 2.

[johnmhinds]

To be honest I think a healthy and popular F1 would be a boon for FIA WEC, particularly if more were done to co-ordinate event calendars and allow drivers to race in both championships. The FIA could run F1 demos at WEC events and LMP1 cars at F1 meetings to cross promote.

 

The vast majority of people get into motorsports by starting off with F1 and then discovering the wealth of other racing events as they go. If people are drifting away from F1 then they will probably drift away from motor racing in general rather than going to a series like the WEC.

 

This isn't like soccer where you can only support one team. Motor racing fans can watch every event - I was at the 6 Hours, but will be catching up on all the other races over the course of the week.

 

I agree that if F1 drops in popularity that doesn't mean all those fans will switch to watching WEC or any other motor racing series.

 

But I don't agree with the second part, the lack or loss of LIVE TV coverage for a lot of sporting events has limited the fanbases of those sports.

While you can go back and watch most sports during the week that isn't as appealing to most fans as a live event would be.

 

So as long as F1 has the monopoly on TV/media coverage it will remain the dominant motor racing series.

[MikeV1987]

LMP1? the lack of cars and the breaks between races are too long for me to hold an interest.

 

Indycar will steal the show! (for me anyway )

Edited by MikeV1987, 13 April 2015 - 15:30.

[Ross Stonefeld]

At the risk of being a WEC troll, is it even as widely watched as GP2 yet? Wake me up when they're as big as MotoGP. It kind of reminds me when people say "soccer is the fastest growing sport in the US!". Yes, but, it will take you a thousand years to catch the NFL.

[TimRTC]

I think they can improve the championship by learning from IMSA with their Tudor United SportsCar Championship. They have race's of 24, 12, 10, 6 and 2:45 hours (i think), and races on street circuits, rovals, new and old circuit, which is a lot of variety and makes every race more interesting and gives these races more character. I think the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the Sahlen's Six at The Glen and Petit Le Mans have something special because they aren't all the same and they all have different special elements which make them more interresting (duration, track, history). I think WEC could really improve their game by changing the races, by changing to more spectaculair circuits and more variety in the race duration and get of the same 6 hours for every race. This would make every race special and could in my opinion only attrackt fans instead of dropping them...

 

Changing the duration doesn't necessarily make a race more interesting, many of those USCC races were more like sprint events. As for interesting circuits, I think Silverstone, Spa, Nurburgring, Suzuka and Sao Paolo are pretty good, COTA is quite varied too. China and Bahrain are rather less interesting, but are there for the global markets that keep the manufacturers coming in.

 

That said I think a twelve hour race later on in the calendar might be interesting and I certainly wouldn't complain if they added a race at Monza.

 

As for endurance racing on a street circuit though, lets stop that idea right now:

 

[saudoso]

6 hours races? Not gonna happen.

[Dan333SP]

One huge issue with WEC is the constant problem with prototype/Le Mans racing. All it takes is one dominant season by a manufacturer, or one particularly bad accident, and suddenly there's only one factory team left and no interest. We're lucky that 3 manufacturers are fielding 6 competitive cars and can put on great races, but if next year's Audi is 4 seconds a lap faster everywhere or a Porsche goes flipping into the trees like the Mercedes 16 years ago, the game is up and we are right back where we started. Remember the Chrysler LMP factory team? Or Cadillac? Or even Nissan's 2 failed efforts previously (Group C and then the R390/1)? If the global car market tanks again, Nissan and Toyota are gone. Peugeot talks about coming back, but they most likely won't. Porsche should stay, but Audi would be gone in a heartbeat if they somehow end up in F1. If not, they'll stick around. It's always so tenuous. Enjoy it while it lasts!

 

Edit: One further thing to consider is just how expensive it is to be competitive at the top. In my opinion, LMP racing needs to have competitive privateers to keep grids up and to spice up the show/create a fallback if the factory cars withdraw. The ByKolles LMP1 is a decent package, yet it's 10 seconds a lap slower than the factory hybrids. The Rebellions won't be much closer. No privateer can afford to run a car with that level of complexity and be competitive. I guess that's just where we are going and the technology is fascinating, but it's also pricing out the little guys and making the races a strictly factory affair.

 

I don't want to be a negative nancy, but this whole bubble of interest feels an awful lot like 3.5L Group C. Amazingly high tech, beatufiul, fast cars put out by big manufacturers that rival F1 for speed and appeal. Then, Pug blows everyone away, Jag/Merc decide it's too expensive and get out of there, and the privateer cars are hopelessly uncompetitive so the class just goes away entirely. I hope I'm wrong, but history has a way of repeating itself in sportscar racing.

Edited by Dan333SP, 13 April 2015 - 15:56.