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I wish WEC would institute a mandatory customer car rule and set a price ceiling on the customer cars. Then the manufacturers can spend all the money they want to develop an LMP1 car, but still have to make at least two cars available for sale at say 500,000-750,00 EUROS each.
Further, if a customer wanted to buy one of the mandatory customer cars, they would be able to take deliver of it AS IS at the conclusion of a race. So, at the end of any race, ANY car on the grid is available for sale, as is, at a rules-capped price. (Part of the rule would be that a car can't be bought in this manner more than once per season. If a privateer claimed a car, it couldn't then be claimed by some other team after the next race.)
As an example, Audi wins Le Mans. The rules say that Audi has to make available at least two customer cars. A team could claim the winning Le Mans car for the capped price as soon as the winning car pulls into the garage. Other than custom seats, Audi could not remove any part of the car before the customer takes it away.
Staying with Audi as an example, say they are fielding two R18 factory cars and two other teams have one customer car each (Four cars total.). Audi would be required to bring at least six engines to the race. Prior to technical inspection and under supervision of the race steward, each team would draw an engine with ECU at random. This would ensure all teams would get the same level of engine.
If someone buys a car, they would have to race it or forfeit an "entry deposit" to the series which would be payable at the same time the car is purchased.
This would ensure that privateer teams have access to top level equipment at a reasonable price, which I think is the real problem with sports car racing. It might not reduce development costs if a manufacturer wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars, but it might make them think twice if they know they have to make two cars available.
Another interesting proposal I read somewhere is that any manufacturer that wanted to enter WEC would have to pay a fee to support the series. I think the proposal was for around two million dollars a year in three to five year increments, to be paid up front. Again, sticking with the Audi example, Audi would pay two million per year for the next five years for a total of ten million, paid in full before the season starts. Then, if they decide to drop out of WEC, they have already paid 10 million to support the series for five years, even if they drop out after one season.
Two mil a year for Audi, Toyota or Porsche would be a drop in the bucket and would go a long way to stabilize the series.
Those two rules couldn't be any worse than what's going on now.
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