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Badger, you make it sound like the rules are designed to deliberately annoy the purists. That's not how it is.
If the ACO doesn't act on safety all the time, then do you think there will be a Le Mans 24 Hours for much longer? The race is run on public property after all.
Le Mans has to change with the times. The reason why it's the best race in the world still is that despite its many changes, the heart and spirit of the event never changes. To win Le Mans means the same thing it's always meant.
The reason why it's survived where the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia haven't is its willingness to change with the times.
They've not destroyed the track at all. Despite the changes over the years, the vast majority of the layout has been the same for around 50 years, and the basic layout hasn't changed at all ever. The only times when the track has ever been close to being destroyed was when the Nazis bombed it and when they planned to build a purpose-built one in the '70s. We're not talking about either of those things.
Bit of a shame that TR gets modified, as I thought the new corner was better than the last version in terms of spectacle as it really was a sling shot onto the Mulsanne, and it was a great place to watch from at night. But things don't stay the same.
But that's just the (debatably) bad news. The good news is, we might not ever have to live with 5 hours of safety car again. This year, it felt more like the Le Mans 19 hours.
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