Your Dream WEC Schedule

[Roy4]

I was just thinking about and was wondering what your dream WEC schedule would be.

Mine would be as follows:
1. Sebring 12 Hour
2. Monza 1000km
3. Spa 6 Hours
4. Le Mans 24 Hours
5. Silverstone 6 Hour
6. Interlagos 6 Hour
7. Potrero de Los Funes 6 Hour {Night Race}
8. Autopolis 6 Hour
9. Buddh 1000km
10. Bathurst 6 Hour {would be cool to see prototypes at Bathurst}

[trickyd]

Daytona 24 Hours
Sebring 12 Hours
Mille Miglia
Targa Florio
Spa 1000km
Le Mans 24 Hours
ADAC 1000km
RAC Tourist Trophy
Venezuelan Sportscar Grand Prix
Carrera Panamericana

[R4z3rw33n]

Disregarding regulatory and economic factors:
- Sebring.
- Monza.
- Spa.
- Le Mans.
- Nurburgring.
- Donington.
- Road Atlanta (or, Watkins Glen).
- Suzuka.
- Bathurst.

Regular season events are six hours - with exceptions for Sebring (12H), and Road Atlanta (or, Watkins - 10H/1000 mile).

[The Badger]

(1) Daytona 24 hours
(2) Sebring 12 hours
(3) Monza
(4) Brands Hatch
(5) Spa
(6) Suzuka
(7) Le Mans 24 hours
(8) Sao Pualo
(9) Road Atlanta
(10) Mosport

Sadly , Europe doesnt have many exciting tracks left anymore .

[crooky]

Daytona 24 Hours
Sebring 12 Hours
Road America
Montreal
Spa
Le Mans 24 Hours
Brands Hatch
Monza
Suzuka
Fuji
Adelaide
Sao Paulo
Road Atlanta

Needs another European event but I can't go as far to put either Monaco or the Nordschleife on the list for obvious reasons.

[lms]

not in this order
Sebring 12h
Silverstone
Le Mans 24h
Spa
Monza/Nurburgring
Shanghai
Fuji
Suzuka
Sao Paulo
Austin

[deggis]

No Bahrain & regular races cut to 3 hours.

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by deggis

regular races cut to 3 hours.

Whats endurance about 3 hours then ?

[Ultimo]

Originally Posted by The Badger

(1) Daytona 24 hours
(2) Sebring 12 hours
(3) Monza
(4) Brands Hatch
(5) Spa
(6) Suzuka
(7) Le Mans 24 hours
(8) Sao Pualo
(9) Road Atlanta
(10) Mosport

Sadly , Europe doesnt have many exciting tracks left anymore .

Originally Posted by crooky

Daytona 24 Hours
Sebring 12 Hours
Road America
Montreal
Spa
Le Mans 24 Hours
Brands Hatch
Monza
Suzuka
Fuji
Adelaide
Sao Paulo
Road Atlanta

Needs another European event but I can't go as far to put either Monaco or the Nordschleife on the list for obvious reasons.

I appreciate the Canada love, but why? I live here and I don't think I'd put either on a dream schedule other than for purposes of greed!

[The Badger]

I couldnt care less where Mosport is , to be honest , it could be in the back of beyonds or Timbuktoo for all I really care , Its a great track as far as Im concerned ..... and thats why I placed it in my choices .

What are your track selections ?

[Gingers4Justice]

Sebring
Oulton Park
Brands Hatch
Spa
Le Mans
Monza (with the old banks restored and re-intergrated into the circuit)
Reims
Nordschleiffe
Bathurst
Suzuka
Road America
Interlagos
San Luis.

There we are, that's my dream.

[Subaru_WRX_STi]

Here is mine a 10 round one:

12 Hours of Sebring
6 Hours of Silverstone
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
Le Mans 24 Hours
1000 Km of the Nurburgring
1000 Km of Fuji
1000 Km of Suzuka
Bathurst 12 Hours
Laguna Seca 6 Hours
Petit Le Mans

[pdxracefan]

I'm seeing a trend here. No one, so far, wants to see the old girl go away. Me either.

[Maelochs]

Why do you even mention my wife? She isn't involved in or even interested in racing.

Stay on topic, please!

[deggis]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Whats endurance about 3 hours then ?

If pundits are calling Le Mans "a 24h sprint race", what is so endurance about 6 hours?

I bet unpopular opinion, but I just think current/modern reliability has rendered 6 hour length pointless. And it's literally a 6-hour nightmare for tv.

[kurski]

(1) Sebring 12 hours
(2) Silverstone
(3) Spa
(4) Monza
(5) Le Mans 24 hours
(6) Nurburgring
(7) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
(8) Sao Paulo
(9) Potrero de los Funes
(10) Fuji

[Nigma]

Money and dates aside, this is how I'd like to see the schedule look.

12hrs Sebring
8hrs Donington Park
6hrs Spa
24hrs Le Mans
6hrs Jerez
8hrs Hockenheim
6hrs Imola
12hrs Dubai
6hrs Fuji
6hrs Shanghai
8hrs Interlagos
10hrs Road Atlanta

As you can see, it's prominently European focused

[pach233]

This would be my ideal long-term schedule with an example of dates using the 2013 calendar. I tried to limit the globe-trotting to make it more realistic. Anything with multiple venues means either venue would be acceptable or they can rotate on a yearly basis.

1. Sebring 12 Hours with ALMS- March 16th
2. Montreal/Mosport 3 hours- March 30th
3. Brands GP/ Donington 3 hours with ELMS- April 13th
4. Silverstone 6 Hours with ELMS- April 27th
5. Spa 6 Hours with ELMS- May 11th
6. LeMans 24 Hours- June 15th
7. Monza 6 Hours with ELMS- July 6th
8. Nurburghring/Hockenheim 3 Hours with ELMS- July 20th
9. Abu Dhabi 3 Hours into night- August 10th
10. Suzuka/Fuji 6 Hours- September 7th
11. Phillip Island/Bathurst/Interlagos 3 Hours- September 21st
12. Petit LeMans with ALMS or ALMS standalone on Friday 10 hours/ 1000 miles – October 19th

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by deggis

If pundits are calling Le Mans "a 24h sprint race", what is so endurance about 6 hours?

I bet unpopular opinion, but I just think current/modern reliability has rendered 6 hour length pointless. And it's literally a 6-hour nightmare for tv.

Le Mans is an endurance event ..... run at a sprint pace as opposed to cruising like it used to be . Its endurance end of .

TV ..... fine , show highlights then , Im happy enough with that .

[TF110]

Go for a grand scedule of 14 rounds!

March- Sebring 12hrs
late April- Monza 8hrs
May- Spa 8hrs
Late May- Silverstone 8hrs
LeMans 24hrs
early July- Nurburgring 6 hrs
late July- Catalunya 6 hrs
early August- Fuji 6hrs
mid August- Suzuka 12 hrs
late August- Autopolis 6hrs
mid September- India 6hrs
late September- Brazil
(Space for PLM)
early November-Austin Texas 6 hrs
late November- Abu Dhabi 6hrs

[Maelochs]

If TV is going to dictate how sports are run, not just presented, then every race should be run in seven-minute sprints to fit between commercials.

Soccer somehow is allowed to run 45-minute uninterrupted halves, though.

Six hours is an endurance race, not because of the pace (who says endurance racing should be slow???) but because it is difficult to keep any machine operating at maximum for a long time: human beings, human organizations, mechanized machines ...

Should marathons be doubled in length because runners can now cover the distance so much more quickly than 100 years ago? The original runner delivering the news of the Greek victory at Marathon died---should marathons be "Run 'til you drop"?

Should the whole idea of endurance races be scrapped because cars can now run fast for 24 hours, when originally it was rare that any car could run at any speed for that duration?

Longer races are more demanding, even if teams (and cars) can usually finish them. The simple need of maintaining focus for the entire race length gives the race its particular flavor.

The added duration also allows more time for error---errors in traffic, errors in the pits, strategy errors. This creates more drama for the viewer and more challenge for the teams.

[Ultimo]

Originally Posted by The Badger

I couldnt care less where Mosport is , to be honest , it could be in the back of beyonds or Timbuktoo for all I really care , Its a great track as far as Im concerned ..... and thats why I placed it in my choices .

What are your track selections ?

Have you been? I have been there for the ALMS in '06, and '08- now, plus a few more events.

I think I'd go with a mix of tradition and tracks I know and like. Dates are not ironed out in my plan.

Daytona (24h)
Sebring (12h)
Spa
Le Mans (24h, obviously)
Silverstone
Donington
Nurburgring
Monza
Suzuka
Interlagos

I suppose the rest 6 hours. Also, maybe throw in my home track Mosport, and Road Atlanta.

Hmm. Maybe add an extra race in Germany (Hockenheim? Ideally the impossible old track) and Japan (Fuji for Toyota) whilst Audi and Toyota are in the WEC. Cater this other manufacturers if they join. Maybe a race in Australia too? It'd be nice to see these cars at Bathurst or on the Nordschleiffe, but that isn't feasible.

So between 10 and 15 races.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

If TV is going to dictate how sports are run, not just presented, then every race should be run in seven-minute sprints to fit between commercials.

But it is, not your exaggerated way though. Even the current 6 hour format was made for tv due the clearer time slot vs. 1000km (ironically making most races a bit longer, though).

Length of the regular races must the single biggest reason for crappy tv deals and don't see this changing. ACO can ask for full live races, but they're not going to get them. Teams won't be pleased forever with 5000 worldwide webstream viewers. LM24 is of course different because it has prestige, and it happens only once in a year.

Umm, what was that other World Championship for sportscars, which used to have the E word in its name until manufacturers got rid of it and not soon after that regular race format became <500km? And tv was a lot less important back then than it was now (here "tv" includes also streaming).

Six hours is an endurance race, not because of the pace (who says endurance racing should be slow???) but because it is difficult to keep any machine operating at maximum for a long time: human beings, human organizations, mechanized machines ...

It's relative... In shorter race everything is closer to the absolute maximum, including the pace and unquestionably, it's always harder to drive faster than to drive in a endurance pace "comfort zone". At the same time, nursing the car is simply no longer needed in the same way it used to be needed, and that has taken a big chunk away from the driver skill. For example, think about gear changing now and before.

Should marathons be doubled in length because runners can now cover the distance so much more quickly than 100 years ago? The original runner delivering the news of the Greek victory at Marathon died---should marathons be "Run 'til you drop"?

Should the whole idea of endurance races be scrapped because cars can now run fast for 24 hours, when originally it was rare that any car could run at any speed for that duration?

I'll admit those are annoying rhetorical questions. Marathon example would be more comparable if the runners were controlling mechanized robots. Mechanized, that is the key word here. The other question I don't have to answer them as I only talked about the regular races. =D

The added duration also allows more time for error---errors in traffic, errors in the pits, strategy errors. This creates more drama for the viewer and more challenge for the teams.

Maybe more time for errors to happen, but because a shorter race tends to have have naturally smaller margins between the positions, errors have bigger consequences. What added duration also creates is a lot more progression, which by definition is non-dramatic.

[Duff_44]

Daytona - 24hr
Austin - 6hr
Sebring - 12hr
Monza - 2x 500km
Spa - 1000km
Le Mans - 24hr
Suzuka - 2x 500km
Silverstone - 1000km
Nurburgring - 2x 500km
Petit Le Mans - 1000mi
Interlagos - 6hr
Abu Dhabi - 8hr

[porsche91722]

Sebring 12H/Daytona24H (alternating)
Monza 6H
Spa 1000K
LM24
Silverstone 6H
Suzuka 6H/ Fuji 6H (alternating)
Laguna Seca 3H/Watkins Glen 3H (alternating)
Petit Le Mans 1000M
Phillip Island 3H
and the grand finale Bathurst 12H

It is a dream thread so I would not even entertain the thought of any of the bland Middle Eastern circuits, but if reality comes into this, probably Abu Dhabi, and Chinese and South American races would be added.