GTgears

I guess I'm complacent because I'm mostly a GT fan. Other than the p1s in the WEC all prototypes are just kind of meh.

J richard

Same here but it was cool in the past to have all the mfgr prototypes at petite and then watch them at lemans just a shame to let it all go....

GTgears

What I would like to see is Sebring and Petit on the WEC schedule.

sbelles

The last sentence:

should strike fear in the hearts of European sports car racing fans.

Cory M

The idea of an all out LMP1 class and a cost capped LMP2 class isn't bad, but LMP2 shouldn't be a spec class. Modern LMP1 cars are so technologically advanced and expensive that only major automotive manufacturers can compete. LMP2 gives smaller builders and innovative race teams a place to compete. Having an LMP1 class that's only viable for manufacturers with hundreds of millions to spend sounds okay when you have a few teams involved; but as soon as the economy dips or the board decides to reduce spending those teams disappear. Audi is really the only team that consistently shows up, and that's only in Europe. When those teams pull out you're left with a bunch of identical spec racers in the "prototype" class. Fans of multi-class endurance racing want variety, not spec cars.

ir_fuel

Funny thing is in the WEC they'd rather only run LMP cars, and no GT's.

JCP911S

Yes.

I'll go one step farther. Just got back from Sebring, and nobody gives a cr*p about "prototypes"... they are irrelevant... "prototypes" of what?

Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari, A-M, BMW, Audi etc were racing legitimate (if hopelessly expensive) derivative street cars, and it was exciting, and competitive.

The prototype class has long out-lived its uselessness.

ir_fuel

You can say that about the Ferrari, Corvette, Aston and Audi. At least they run (modified) versions of the street car engine in their cars.

Porsche? Except for the looks they don't share anything with the street car (except for some parts of the tub maybe and some parts of the wiring).
BMW Z4? Same story.

One step further and we have "GT" cars as in DTM. The general shape is the same, but that's about where it ends.

For me, there already is way too much freedom in building these GT2-class race cars (RSR etc.). They should share a lot more with the actual street car they sell, from a mechanical point of view. The engine for instance.

For Porsche that would mean: start with a 991RS. Make it FIA compliant (safety: cage, fuel cell etc), allow extra downforce (bigger splitter/spoiler), open the engine (by making it breathe better, intake, exhaust since no noise/emission regulations), seq. gearbox and all suspension bits should be upgraded so they can correctly cope with slicks. That's IMHO how far "GT" class racing should go. Once you go beyond that you're already venturing in "proto" territory.
And people that buy the street car to do track days will at least know that the thing is built for the task (not like now where you have the "racing pedigree" Porsche for +$200K, and they're not even running its engine in the real "racing" Porsche. How confidence inspiring is that ...).

For BMW: start with ... eh ... mmm ... the i8 and run it in LMP1?


Rant over (and this is all IMHO of course)

JCP911S

I don't disagree that "street" cars are not racing cars... and a lot of creative engineering goes into them.

But my point (and I may be in a minority here) is that "prototypes" are irrelevant.

With global TV coverage, there's a global market for quality racing and a smaller market for sh*t.

I like the concept of manufacturers racing their best street cars, and may the best man win, and sell.

Virtually every manufacturer that counts is selling hyper-performance street cars, so let's let them fight it out on the track.

GTgears

I look at the GTLM cars as GTP where P= prototypes. GTD, soon to be GT3 spec is street cars hopped up on steroids with no drug testings.

Remember the 934 versus 935? One had to be street car derived. The other wasn't really. This is just the long term evolution of that.

J richard

The process of racing homologation is what has produced so many of the ultimate and iconic cars over time, always has. RS, RSR, Daytona, GT40, Shelby, to name a few.... Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche,Ford, Chevy, Audi, and then all the off Marques like Shelby and Panoz. They built the car for racing; the street car just to homologate it (the easy way was to build on street car shells) you always had a mix that tricled down to the best street cars.

LeMans is the ideal and the perfect example of multi class endurance racing. All comers welcome, the little guy (who proves he's serious) is able to compete in the same arena with the big teams, and sometimes win. The stuff of history and legend.

That's what we're losing....

JCP911S

Yes,

Remember, for the Ferrari 275 GTO, (maybe the greatest sports-car of all time and certainly the most expensive today) stood for GT Omologato.

They were cheating back then... (apologies to Jan and Dean)

Porsche built 50 917s to meet the homologation requirement, and then the FIA and ACO let Ferrari build maybe 15 512s (with the promise that they "planned" to build 50), because they needed competition...

They were even cheating back then....

Homologation is a "movable feast"... but it is a feast!

I'm just waiting for a ZYteK/Judd dealer to open in my neighborhood.

JCP911S

Yes... 250 GTO... don't start

winders

25 917's.....

GTgears

Well, there were over 50 chassis. But Porsche had the office staff jump in to help get al the rollers in place and really hoped that they wouldn't get called on it. They didn't actually have 50 running driving cars.

I like the 400 unit homologation. That keeps a road car connection, even if it is only from the uber riche. It's still a production run.