Quote:
Originally Posted by Acid09
No it's not. One of the reasons there were so few manufactures in LMP1 during the mid 00s, there was basically nowhere to race these cars but the ALMS. If a manufacturer wasn't particularly interested in the US market, they were out of luck.
Why do you think Peugeot & Audi pushed to have the WEC created in the first place? Why do the manufacturers insist on racing in China? All this is important to justify the costs for these cars... no one is spending that much money for one single race each year.
We haven't more than two large-scale manufacturers in LMP1 for more than 12 years and now that the WEC exists, people are suddenly starting to turn up. Could be a very weird coincidence...not likely though.
Manufacturer numbers is up, number of pro drivers in the series is up, trackside attendance is up, media interest is up (when was the last time sports car racing was discussed as a valuable career option for current F1 drivers before the WEC came along?) and yet the WEC is not successful for some reason, just because some very specific needs from a few hardcore fans aren't met sufficiently.
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It's privateers that support and keep a championship running successfully. F1 is supported not by Merc, not by Honda, but by people like Sir Williams, Bruce Mclaren, Jordan, Brabham and so on. However, all I see in WEC is a shrinking field of P2 and private GT entry. Yes there are manufacturers racing fantastic prototypes which totally dwarf any other racing cars out there, but it's a dangerous prosperity situation. What if one factory project is cancelled? Car makers just come and go. Without more privateers coming, it's hard to call it a success.