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[QUOTE]Originally posted by H16
"Porsche don't always race what they sell. The Dauer 962 and GT1 come to mind."
The Dauer was supposed to be a road car. But we all know that was a farce. There was no world championship in 1994, so Porsche built what they felt would win LeMans that year and they did a great job. Just like BMW has done a great job railroading their new GT car into the series. But Porsche sold '96 and '97 model GT1's and leased the 98 models.
"Basically, if Porsche are araid of BMW they shouldn't be racing."
Porsche was never afraid of anyone. They just want to race to the same rules as BMW, and then they will beat them. BMW is racing a car that you can't even buy, compared to the 911 that anyone with the money can get. The day you can buy the BMW off the showroom floor with a v-8 in it, it becomes a legitimate car. Until them, it is not a real car. It is a factory hot rod. Of course Porsche has twisted the rules before, too, but in the case if the Dauer, it was not asked back by the ACO.
Besides, how do you homologate a car that does not exist? In 1969, Porsche had to produce 25 copies of the 917 that actually ran. A promise to complete the production run was not enough. A warehouse of parts to build 25 cars was not enough. The Fia wanted to see 25 running examples before they would grant homologation. There are stories that they weren't so strict with checking on Ferrari, but another story.
If you can't buy one, it is not a production car.
"don't care how many priviteers they support, if the cars can't compete, then they should be out."
As far as Porsche, the cars are totally competitive, except the ACO allows BMW to run a car that does not exist. The privateers shouldn't be forced to buy their cars and then have to compete against one off factory cars. They can't put any motor they want in their cars, so why should BMW be allowed to? Absurd. Let Porsche jam a 962 engine in the 911 and we will see how lame the BMW really is.
"Remember that the LMRs were virtually unchanged from 1999 to 2000. I am suprised they kept up as well as they did with the R8s considering that."
Yes, they were great cars, but the company lacked enough committment to develop them. They lacked enough committment to even finish the season in 2000.
"And remember that they have a big commitment to Formula one, a full LMP program would not be wise from a money standpoint."
I agree. but it would be nice to see someone compete with Audi. Beating up on the privateers is soooo lame. If BMW is so great, let's see what they can do against Audi.
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