The Provisional 2014 WEC calendar...

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

To quote RacingSportsCars.com:

"WEC 2014 calendar announced(WEC)

Just one day after the IMSA's USCR championship date announcement, FIA released their calendar for the next WEC season too. There are the same eight races as this year. So any hopes for either Nürburgring or Red Bull Ring came to nothing while some artificial exotic races with no tradition and relative low interest will continue to feature in the championship that should be at the top of all. But races like Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours, Petit Le Mans, which attract much more spectators and attention than Bahrain, China or South American venues, still stay away from the World Championship."

Anyone agree?

[Simmi]

It's just rehashing a tired argument from two years ago.

What are the WEC supposed to do about the likes of Sebring and Daytona? They are USCC properties and it's been proven they can be run at the same time as the American series.

Teams don't want the calendar extending. Manufacturers want to race in China and South American markets more than they do in a forest in Austria. It has to be a world championship. As I said in another thread, adding in the likes of the Nurburgring would likely come at the expense of somewhere like Spa. That's not a net gain for anyone. Plus holding the same races allows the events in theory to grow and gain tradition.

Teams want to see stability right now, with the economy coupled with big rule changes in P1. WEC teams have been able to work on next year for a while as they've known essentially what they were going to get.

The only real area of argument for me is Bahrain. It would be good to get a 10-hour race in there somewhere too and mix up the lengths a little bit. But you have to take things one step at a time.

[Acid09]

If the WEC continues to race in Bahrain for the next 10 years, will people still argue that it has no "tradition"?

The WEC is building their own heritage at those tracks and it's a good thing. It's easier to attract a crowd if a race happens annually, at roughly the same time.

Adding more rounds is tricky, that always rises up traveling costs which are a major factor for privateers. The WEC is doing the right thing, it provides stability that both the teams and the fans can plan with.

If you look at how the FIA GT used to do things, obscure new tracks each year, rounds that had to be cancelled or swapped - Nothing like that is worthy of a world championship and I'm glad to see the WEC putting stability over everything else.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by Acid09

If the WEC continues to race in Bahrain for the next 10 years, will people still argue that it has no "tradition"?

You get answer to this question when you look at their F1 "tradition" which has been now supposedly been building soon for 10 years. I have really hard time seeing many normal people attending the race paying for the ticket himself. Especially now that F1 has another race in Middle-East, in a lot richer country that might actually have real spectators and turists, it's obvious it is in the calendar only because they pay well above normal GP fees.

[Acid09]

I think that is more of an issue for F1 than it is for the WEC.

F1 is used to racing in front of packed stands, the WEC is not aside from Le Mans. I don't really expect a capacity crowd in Austin today either.

So the question is, does the track provide a good setting for a sports car race? If you ask me, the night racing from Bahrain looked pretty sweet last year. Add the fact that they actually pay good money it really is a no-brainer.

[deggis]

Doesn't tradition and specators go hand in hand? At least e.g. Austin has potential spectatorship wise, unlike Bahrain.

[deggis]

Lets just add Daytona, Sebring and Petit to the calendar... That seems to be the point of that quote in the OP.

.

[Fogelhund]

No question that these races in Bahrain etc. don't have the history, nor the status that events such as PLM, Daytona or Sebring have. Nor will they ever have such status, no matter how it gets built. These events have nothing to set them apart, except for being in the WEC, as their length is the same as all of the other races. They are just another race. Having said that, the status standing of PLM, Daytona and Sebring will be eroded for being part of a National championship, instead of being part of the International sport.

[Dyson Mazda]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

No question that these races in Bahrain etc. don't have the history, nor the status that events such as PLM, Daytona or Sebring have. Nor will they ever have such status, no matter how it gets built. These events have nothing to set them apart, except for being in the WEC, as their length is the same as all of the other races. They are just another race. Having said that, the status standing of PLM, Daytona and Sebring will be eroded for being part of a National championship, instead of being part of the International sport.

A national series that is going to feature drivers and manufacturers from all over the world.

Next year we are going to have (or at least there is a decent chance of having) the following manufacturers represented on the grid

Chevy/GM (P, PC, GTLM)
Ford (P)
Nissan (P)
Honda (P)
BMW (P, GTLM)
SRT (GTLM, GTD)
Ferrari (GTLM, GTD)
Porsche (GTLM, GTD)
Aston Martin (GTLM, GTD)
Audi (GTD)
Mazda (GTD)
Mercedes-Benz (GTD)

I would also be willing to bet that Daytona and Sebring alone outdraw the 7 non-Le Mans rounds of the WEC.

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by Dyson Mazda

A national series that is going to feature drivers and manufacturers from all over the world.....

... and yet, still a National Series.

[Brake dust]

8 races is too few. No races for most of the summer. Would like to see another race after Le Mans in Europe in July/August.

[ATLFalconsFAN]

Originally Posted by Brake dust

8 races is too few. No races for most of the summer. Would like to see another race after Le Mans in Europe in July/August.

Agreed! There is way too long a gap in the schedule after Le Mans!

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by Brake dust

8 races is too few. No races for most of the summer. Would like to see another race after Le Mans in Europe in July/August.

I don't know if eight races is too few, particularly if they were proper enduros, but the spacing is problematic. Two months off isn't acceptable in the middle of the season, and either adding a race, or moving one of the last races into that gap would help.

[NaBUru38]

Drop Bahrain, add Germany or Italy, and I'm happy for life.

I don't think that adding Daytona and Sebring is a good idea now. But I would explore doing Petit Le Mans with a split protos / GT race format (2x5 hours?)

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Drop Bahrain, add Germany or Italy, and I'm happy for life.

I don't think that adding Daytona and Sebring is a good idea now. But I would explore doing Petit Le Mans with a split protos / GT race format (2x5 hours?)

Move the USCC race to a spring date, and have the WEC date as PLM in the fall... I'm all for that.

[deggis]

What if there were real negotiations with Nurb/Monza, but 2014 wasn't for some reason going to happen. Then it would make sense the keep the 2 months break and fill it in 2015.

[NaBUru38]

We're not just going to add races and feel good about collecting sanction fees and expanding the calendar without taking into consideration the impact that it has on the teams and their need to get whole in this.

There's some news that will be announced here in the near future that will provide I think an even greater degree of stability, particularly in the prototype category.

What could that be? A million-dollar prize for Rolex North American Endurance Championship winners?

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

What could that be? A million-dollar prize for Rolex North American Endurance Championship winners?

If they say stability, it likely means that the existing cars will be eligible until 2017 or something...

[Juntos]

Can someone explain me why the championship keeps going to Bahrain?

[Salamus]

Originally Posted by Juntos

Can someone explain me why the championship keeps going to Bahrain?

Because they get a lot of money.

[deggis]

That is the only correct answer...

[JoeMaters]

2014 WEC CALENDAR

April 20 Silverstone (GB)
May 10 Spa (B)
June 14/15 Le Mans 24 Hours (F)
Aug. 31 Interlagos (BR)
Sept. 21 Circuit of The Americas (USA)
Oct. 12 Fuji (I)
Nov. 1 Shanghai (PRC)
Nov. 15 Sakhir (BH)

[Drinking_wigga]

Originally Posted by Salamus

Because they get a lot of money.

But why do Bahrain feel the need to pay big money to have them race in front of empty stands? I guess I just want to know what benefits do Bahrain get in having WEC race there?
Cheers

[Starfish Primer]

Originally Posted by Drinking_wigga

But why do Bahrain feel the need to pay big money to have them race in front of empty stands? I guess I just want to know what benefits do Bahrain get in having WEC race there?
Cheers

We'll most of the Dubai sckyscrapers are empty, no businesses or people living there. Same for the Qatar football league, they pay a lot to players just to play with empty grandstands.

This happens when you have a lot of money and you don't know how to spend it.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Starfish Primer

We'll most of the Dubai sckyscrapers are empty, no businesses or people living there. Same for the Qatar football league, they pay a lot to players just to play with empty grandstands.

This happens when you have a lot of money and you don't know how to spend it.

Thats not spending wisely? I disagree. The country(ies) needs to grow and their population needs to gain interest in 'western' activities. It will take time but what makes them unworthy of having a race?