[WEC] Best Race duration for most viewers?

[Marcus666]

With all the buzz about WEC 2014 going on and threads like "are we entering a new amazing era", I've started to wonder if this series is the future in motor racing. But with an majority of 6 hour races, I wonder if this is the right direction for this series. I watched 6 hours of Spa this year, but I could just watch the first hour and the last hour. I simply cannot watch racing for more than 2 or 3 hours in straight. I think F1 races have a nearly perfect length with 1.30-2.00 hour long races. FIA GT also had good races with the 3 hour races.

IMHO, I think if they cut the races down to 3 hours or 500 km (like in the Group C era) the series would get more attention.

Do people out there agree with me?

[Salamus]

FIA World Endurance Championship.

[deggis]

To me less is more: 3 hours. 6 hours is too short to be "epic" like LM/Sebring/PLM, but too long to create better racing. And seriously 6 hours of day often feels like a burden and it is simply a nightmare for tv. When the biggest purists are calling even 24 as a sprint, what is the point with more then?

Now I am going to run and hide as I am sure this is a minority opinion.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by Salamus

FIA World Endurance Championship.

Do I have to remind what happened when the old championship had that name? And that was even before the format of all races actually changed to <500 km.

[Skemer]

It's not called endurance racing for nothing.

[Gingers4Justice]

3 hours is twice the length of a GP...to the general public, that's enough of an endurance race.

I would then add an extra 2 hours to a couple of rounds. Maybe Silverstone, maybe Spa. That's long enough for TV to dip in and out, while us enthusiasts can watch online in between.

6 hours isn't long enough to be flexible but it's long enough to put full race coverage on anything other than niche channels like Motors TV.

This isn't about dumbing down, but rather being a little pragmatic for the sake of the health of the series.

[isynge]

Originally Posted by deggis

Do I have to remind what happened when the old championship had that name? And that was even before the format of all races actually changed to <500 km.

The old WEC was magnificent, the rot set in when it became the Sportscar World Championship and you ended up with the absurdly short races.

In terms of getting TV coverage is this something that will inherently go away over the next few years? A profusion of other delivery channels will, I suspect, make the notion of sitting and watching a race on a single television channel seem remarkably quaint. In that light a 6 hour race is perfectly serviceable via a web stream combined with a properly produced highlights package available on demand.

[Martin90]

I wouldn't mind having one (or more) 10-12 hour races in the WEC provided it would be at a proper circruit (no Bahrain etc).

[deggis]

Originally Posted by isynge

The old WEC was magnificent, the rot set in when it became the Sportscar World Championship and you ended up with the absurdly short races.

I referred only to the first named used during GrC era (WEC). If I have understood correctly it was changed after manufacturers complained it gave the wrong image. I sense a possible deja vu coming up. (Also I think Ratel's WC status series played a small role in the name this time... "Sportscars" and "GT" were probably too similar)

1982-1985 World Endurance Championship
1986-1990 World Sports-Prototype Championship
1991-1992 Sportscar World Championship

Short format came aready on 1989: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Wo...ionship_season

In terms of getting TV coverage is this something that will inherently go away over the next few years? A profusion of other delivery channels will, I suspect, make the notion of sitting and watching a race on a single television channel seem remarkably quaint. In that light a 6 hour race is perfectly serviceable via a web stream combined with a properly produced highlights package available on demand.

Good point, but it doesn't change the thing that a viewer still has to sit on his butt for 6 hours.

[Adam43]

I've said this before, but I'd like a variety of lengths, from modern GP length to 24hours. I'd have a mix of time and distance lengths too. However most would be around 6h.

It is unlikely I'd watch a race on telly live. I tend to watch in stints during the following race. If I'm at home over a weekend I can't do all that time in one go in front of the telly.

[Canada ALMS fan]

It needs to be longer than the average NASCAR race...

[isynge]

I'd see it all as being a process of differentiation from other elements of motor sport - so being able to say things like
- the races are longer
- the cars look different
- the rules are more open
- there's more than one driver

would all help to make it clear that while the basic premise is the same there's a clear difference compared to F1.

To take an analogy with another global sport - test cricket can coexist with the IPL because they're clearly different challenges, attempting to bring in a greater crowd to test cricket by shaving a day or so off it, or making it just a little bit longer than a 20:20 game isn't likely to please all that many people.

[pach233]

I would enjoy multiple race formats in the WEC. Mostly, a mixture of races between 3-6 hours. Maybe a 10-12 hour race (at a classic track please) and of course Le Mans. This would bring a level of differentiation from round to round which would keep the season feeling fresh. Honestly, I love endurance racing but 6 hour race after 6 hour race can get pretty stagnant.

[isynge]

Originally Posted by pach233

I would enjoy multiple race formats in the WEC. Mostly, a mixture of races between 3-6 hours. Maybe a 10-12 hour race (at a classic track please) and of course Le Mans. This would bring a level of differentiation from round to round which would keep the season feeling fresh. Honestly, I love endurance racing but 6 hour race after 6 hour race can get pretty stagnant.

Agree a lot with this.

The brief bit where most races were 1,000km but Silverstone (a flat out circuit in the period) was 6 hours but with same fuel allocation, and you also had the Kyalami 9 Hours (to say nothing of Sebring and Daytona) in there kept things very happily diverse.

Do tread carefully when dropping things below 6 hours though - dig around what the ELMS guys are saying about race length and financial viability. Having maybe one sprint race, much like Norisring was, or perhaps some of the hill climbs that counted for the World Championship for Makes way back before my day, but approaching the generic "motor racing must be 2 hours or so" level is something I don't think will work for sportscars - there was, after all, a reason the arrival of the LMES in 2004 was considerably more popular than the FIA SCC - and that was in a time of abundance...

[deggis]

Originally Posted by isynge

Do tread carefully when dropping things below 6 hours though - dig around what the ELMS guys are saying about race length and financial viability.

What are they saying? (Really, not enough keywords for googling...)

[isynge]

Originally Posted by deggis

What are they saying? (Really, not enough keywords for googling...)

Sorry - mainly picking this up from in race commentary from RLM etc.

Basic thrust is the current ELMS format doesn't allow them to properly run three drivers, so the basic commercial proposition doesn't stack up for them, even with the reduced running costs (which I believe are not trivial).

Either way I'm hearing a pretty strong lobby for ELMS to return to the 6 Hour model - and while there are more pay drivers involved in a regional series, there is a cascade into the WEC (especially in LMP2) and shrinking race distances could have a pretty profound impact there too.

[deggis]

thanks.

[dxk1]

Have to say I love the drama of the 24 hour race, but one a year in the WEC is enough. It would be nice to see a 12 hour as well (hint, hint, bring back Sebring). However, I do believe the majority of the races should be 6 hours with maybe one 2 or 3 hour "sprint" to change the pace.

DK

[Articus]

Slightly off topic but do you guys think that if the races were shorter the teams would run more cars?

[Breitling24]

6 hours

[FstrthnU]

Personally I would be fine with mixed race lengths, but the minimum should be 4 hours and the maximum for any race outside of Le Mans should be 12 hours, so as not to steal from the focus on Le Mans.

I think if the ACO shortened some race lengths it would try to lengthen others, so the overall racing time would not change very much. I don't think it would increase the number of full season entries, but depending on the circuit there is a chance that shorter races could attract more wildcards.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I've said this before, but I'd like a variety of lengths, from modern GP length to 24hours. I'd have a mix of time and distance lengths too. However most would be around 6h.

It is unlikely I'd watch a race on telly live. I tend to watch in stints during the following race. If I'm at home over a weekend I can't do all that time in one go in front of the telly.

Agree 100%

- I would like to see at least 1 short race in a prestige location (similar to long beach) 2 or 3, 3 hour races, 2 or 3, 6 hour racers one 12 hour and Le Mans

[Spyderman]

For me a race is 24H long; Anything less than that is a "racette"..

[Ephaeton]

2:45 are over before you know it. So are 3:00. I liked the ALMS 4h races. Sprint with an endurance touch. 6h are just fine, too, for sprinty endurance.
My problem with the WEC race duration is not the time itself, but the tracks. These F1-neutered tracks, a car field plus two wide roads, runoffs bigger than Walmart parking lots, etc., are boring my eye over 6h. I have the impression the LMP1 are just "too slow" for them. One of the reasons I like the US road courses. They are in horrible shape from a european perspective (and, obviously, from a FIA perspective as well), but they are fun to watch. They are tight, dangerous, challenging. Thus they are more interesting to watch racing on (and thus, naturally, for a longer time) than say any circuit the F1 currently runs on.

Time-wise, I don't think they should go beneath 6h. Endurance racing and all. Having a Sebring replacement (i.e., a 12 hour race) and a little diversity in their calendar would be nice, too. But imho first they gotta solve the problem of track selection / event sterility. I suppose FIA wants everything "premier" to look "as good" as F1, but what comes out feels extremely sterile to me. Honestly, it's hard to take this sterility over 6 hours (silverstone, e.g., I couldn't take it anymore, and walked away for two hours).

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Spyderman

For me a race is 24H long; Anything less than that is a "racette"..

That I like.......