[WEC] 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship

[TF110]

Lots of teams race elsewhere during the massive break thats currently ongoing. I dont think theres a money issue. Maybe for some small teams in p2 or gte-am. But if they schedule the races intelligently then the cost increases should be manageable. For instance, Canada then Austin then Brazil. Like they do with Fuji to Shanghai. Maybe in a winter schedule they could go South Africa to Bahrain in the beginning of the year after they do Canada USA Brazil -- Fuji Shanghai -- South Africa Bahrain -- Europe and Le Mans.

[Dimension]

just as an aside, you could never race WEC on a teeny tiny circuit such as the Norisring unless you split the grids.

Monaco would be a huge mess as well, not enough space to overtake.

[lms]

Originally Posted by Dimension

Norisring

lol

Originally Posted by Dimension

Monaco

lol

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by lms

lol

What's so "lol" about the Norisring? Group C went there with 30-car grids in the 1980s and the track hasn't changed that much since... (apart from safety alterations)

EDIT: And as far as I know, it's FIA Grade 2, so it would be certified for LMP1 cars.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Dimension

just as an aside, you could never race WEC on a teeny tiny circuit such as the Norisring unless you split the grids.

Monaco would be a huge mess as well, not enough space to overtake.

If Norisring could handle 36 Porsche Cup cars simultaneously this year then I'm sure the sub 30 fields WEC has been suffering as of late can manage that just fine...

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Dimension

Monaco

Is WEC at Monaco what hell is like?

[Rodger Davies]

Nah, multi-class would be entertaining there, having to lap cars.

Not sure why anyone would laugh at the idea of the Norisring, with the WEC cap of 30-ish it's never going to have too big a field. In my opinion they should be there rather than it being an abstract concept that will never happen, but hey.

[lms]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

What's so "lol" about the Norisring?

good for local events and dtm but nothing more. For a world championship? no fkin way.

[JoestForEver]

Originally Posted by lms

good for local events and dtm but nothing more. For a world championship? no fkin way.

You are saying this against the Group C era, mind you. The Norisring 300 trophy was always awarded to the winners of WSC rounds until 1990s when it went bust. Prototype racing here has precedent.

As I said, it doesn't even have to be a points-awarded race. Just use it as a fan weekend and showcase like what FIA GT1 did in Beijing at the Olympics stadium.
Pit stop challenge, one gallon (maybe 100KJ for the P1) mileage challenge, a 40 laps sprint race for GT and LMP separately and so on.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by JoestForEver

As I said, it doesn't even have to be a points-awarded race. Just use it as a fan weekend and showcase like what FIA GT1 did in Beijing at the Olympics stadium.
Pit stop challenge, one gallon (maybe 100KJ for the P1) mileage challenge, a 40 laps sprint race for GT and LMP separately and so on.

I don't FIA fancies anything that is out of total uniformity, they like their calendar formats standardized and clinical as they do their circuits.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Gasoline LMP1 cars are allowed to use a slightly larger refueling rig restrictor for races above 70 degrees F starting at COTA:

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/g...trictor-boost/

Outside of that, no other BOP changes have been announced as of yet.

The PDF finally appeared on FIA site
http://www.fia.com/sites/default/fil...r_2014(dc).pdf

I'd think that line "Fuel temperature measurements will be made during these 5 events to anticipate an average temperature for the 2015 season." means it'll get adjusted again for the start of the next season

As I said in the 365 comments, this is not the "actual" summer EoT/AoP/BoP adjustment yet (it's not even labeled as such), I can see that coming before CotA

Anyway interesting to see word "ridiculous" on official committee document :P

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

Nah, multi-class would be entertaining there, having to lap cars.

Not sure why anyone would laugh at the idea of the Norisring, with the WEC cap of 30-ish it's never going to have too big a field. In my opinion they should be there rather than it being an abstract concept that will never happen, but hey.

I take that back. Is TUDOR at Monaco what hell is like?

[JoestForEver]

Originally Posted by Articus

I take that back. Is TUDOR at Monaco what hell is like?

DPs proceed behind safety car with the corpses of P2s being piled up at the swimming pool chicane.

[Deleted]

Baltimore (and many other US street courses) are bumpier and more hazardous than Monte Carlo. Except maybe if they had multi car shunt at the tunnel.

Macau would be epic with LMPCs. If WTCC S2000s crash like idiots then think of our dear friends there.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Macau would be epic with LMPCs. If WTCC S2000s crash like idiots then think of our dear friends there.

You have a cruel sense of humor

[Starfish Primer]

Originally Posted by Dimension

just as an aside, you could never race WEC on a teeny tiny circuit such as the Norisring unless you split the grids.

Monaco would be a huge mess as well, not enough space to overtake.

Pau would be more epic.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Chiana

I don't FIA fancies anything that is out of total uniformity, they like their calendar formats standardized and clinical as they do their circuits.

More like theyre limited on choices because of financial and other reasons from the teams and organizers. You think they choose to go to a place like Bahrain over Sebring? No. They get money from one place and kicked out the other. Thats the world these days.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by TF110

More like theyre limited on choices because of financial and other reasons from the teams and organizers. You think they choose to go to a place like Bahrain over Sebring? No. They get money from one place and kicked out the other. Thats the world these days.

Of course they do, who are you trying to fool here? Neveu was drafted in as Ecclestone jr to turn the series [when it was still ILMC] into a F1 clone...

[TF110]

The guy used to manage paul ricard. Hes not an 'Ecclestone'. Ecclestone is the rights holder to all things f1. This guy is ceo of wec, huge difference. Cloning F1 takes a lot more than racing the same tracks.

[Deleted]

WEC has still paddled towards the direction of F1 infinitely more than ILMC ever did. Unsuccessfully I might add

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by Chiana

WEC has still paddled towards the direction of F1 infinitely more than ILMC ever did. Unsuccessfully I might add

How exactly is the WEC unsuccessful? All this constant negativity is so tiring.

The series made the best of what was the worst possible scenario to start with, having one of your main competitors withdraw just months before the first season.

Two and a half years later, pretty much every race I care to remember has been entertaining, we have an incredible LMP1 & GTE class. Everything's professionally organized, the on-track officiating is top notch, unlike in other series (TUSCC *coughcough*)

Just a quick reminder: There's four (4!!!) all-out works efforts at Le Mans next year, there has been years when people would have given their right arm for some competition at the front and now there's more than ever for the past 15 years. What more could you possibly want?

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Acid09

How exactly is the WEC unsuccessful? All this constant negativity is so tiring.

The series made the best of what was the worst possible scenario to start with, having one of your main competitors withdraw just months before the first season.

Two and a half years later, pretty much every race I care to remember has been entertaining, we have an incredible LMP1 & GTE class. Everything's professionally organized, the on-track officiating is top notch, unlike in other series (TUSCC *coughcough*)

Just a quick reminder: There's four (4!!!) all-out works efforts at Le Mans next year, there has been years when people would have given their right arm for some competition at the front and now there's more than ever for the past 15 years. What more could you possibly want?

Having four manufacturers at Le Mans is awesome but it has nothing to do with WEC, I'm sure Nissan would still be at LM if we were running ILMC or whatever. Championship is an afterthought

The rest is subject to opinion.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Having four manufacturers at Le Mans is awesome but it has nothing to do with WEC, I'm sure Nissan would still be at LM if we were running ILMC or whatever. Championship is an afterthought

The rest is subject to opinion.

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.

[JoestForEver]

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.

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.

[lms]

Originally Posted by Acid09

What more could you possibly want?

dayton prutos at le mons when?