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I think IMSA would be idiots to mess with Conti. it has been their strongest, most solid performer since the turn of the century pretty much (as Firehawk, maybe? That was a long time ago.)
Why would it be a benefit to make Conti a "mirror image" of WSC? What would be the benefit of taking two distinct products---one with a strong history and a strong following---and making them into versions of one product---and the least popular of the two at that?
There a plenty of GT racing fans and Conti has managed to provide those fans with the carts and the competition they want.
Not only would the fans find their favorite cars relegated to the middle of the pack, the teams would find that suddenly they went from being stars to being supporting actors. Seriously, how much coverage would ST ever get if it were the third class?
This is the same issue IMSA had when combining series, and the same issue when trying to fit WEC P1 into the ALMS (or as some used to suggest, the IMSA) field:
Teams who made their budgets by promising a certain amount of exposure would suddenly be getting drastically less. Front-row teams would suddenly be mid-pack, and the mid-pack leaders would be afterthoughts.
IMSA could sink Conti by starving the GS and ST to promote PC .... to "mirror" a series which fans would already be watching if they wanted to.
The alternative would be to keep the perennially healthy Conti series as a healthy series which offered up the product the fans seemed to want, while offering another product as well, doubling IMSA's chance to appeal to fans.
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