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Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks
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Pretty simple and very, very obvious really.
For starters, extending an existing international program into a one-off 12 hour race is pretty easy - just need to fly (or float) the car(s) & gear here, fly in the crew, adjust the budget and get on with it. Committing to development of a car and multiple seasons is a vastly larger financial commitment.
Same goes for provision of a Safety Car (Audi has done that in the past too). It isn't a big cost to the manufacturer and provides some brand exposure with no risk of being beaten.
Then there's brand risk - if Audi or BMW or Porsche competed in Supercars, if they win then the reaction is "well of course they won - they're high end performance cars - a Camaro or Mustang shouldn't get anywhere near them" but if they get beaten, then its "those German cars aren't all that special after all - beaten by Camaros and/or Mustangs" and they get a big hit on their desirability and market position. Big risk to take and one that requires a high level of commitment. BTW, Toyota found this out the hard way after spending over a billion per year in F1 - didn't win a single race and their own market research showed that the brand was taking a pummelling and consider a "loser" brand - no wonder they got out of F1.
Those are just a few of the reasons.