Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike E
It looks like LMP2 could become more Am. Possible that crews will have to include two Silvers or a Bronze. Not sure if that means two Platinum and a Bronze would be allowed.
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2020/0...-for-2021.html
Mods: please change thread title to WEC 2021 season, since we are going back to calendar years. |
This is what LMP2 should have been in the first place. The current half baked mandatory "fake silver" line up in the class makes it a bit of a farce as it is.
Better to react now and keep Am's like Van Eerd, Hedman etc interested otherwise they will leave to another class (Perrodo) or go altogether. The young silver drivers are less of a gurantee in the long run than an established enthusiast. Remember a lot of the young silvers have/had single seater aspirations and if seats in F3/F2 etc are available for a good price they may find their way back. True Ams who love Le Mans will turn up even if they have no chance of winning their class but if it begins to take the **** in a championship class they have sunk a lot of money into then they will lose motivation.
In the LMP1 Hybrid heyday in the WEC (14-16), it would have been a perfect time to reintroduce an LMP1 class back to the ELMS for non hybrids. As Akrapovic notes, a viable LMP1 class that could be the perfect ground for those nearly all pro LMP2 teams.
With the huge influx of high quality teams running an LMP2, if only half had upgraded to LMP1 they would have had a chance of an outright overall win in the championship and not have to worry about getting certain driver lineups etc.
I'm sure between Jota, TDS, SMP, Signatech and others at least half a dozen LMP1 cars could have been done.
With the higher costs new LMP2 (post 2017), from what I gather there is not a huge difference running cost wise per hour for a Rebellion R13/Dallara BR1 with a Gibson compared to an Oreca 07 (according to one source I know of)
Spares is another issue thanks to near monopolies but that's another rant for another place...
Thus you could have Pro + quick upcoming Silver with a budget who can be upgraded to Gold without fear of losing their drive the next year because they are too quick as an "Am" but not fast enough to be a full pro platinum driver. Thus someone like a Rusinov and Hanson can be the "weak link" and have regular teammates without either having to reshuffle the lineup, not worry about being upgraded and an incoming decent if not world beating ex F3 racer with a budget can come straight in as a gold into a LMP1 Non Hybrid and compete for outright wins.
Like gert, I doubt there is/was an easy solution to this but the fact remains that more places you can race a car, the better your chances are. Why does GT3 and LMP2 do so well? Options.
LMP2 is a much better investment for a lot of teams for the simple fact that you can race 1 car in 4 different championships and at Le Mans with 2 of those championships being the top class but I'll stop there before straying off topic anymore