Audi to end their WEC programme....off to.....Formula E
Discussion
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/126832...
End of an era.
A shame, and that they are going to the thrill a minute Formula E....
End of an era.
A shame, and that they are going to the thrill a minute Formula E....
king dull.Gutted that they are going to be honest. WEC has been brillant for the last few seasons and Le Mans was one of the all time classics this year. But given the current issues within VAG at the moment it's not a surprise especially when Formula E is so much cheaper. And it gives them a chance to battle the two other German mega-manufacturers head to head.
Speaking of which, we really need to face up to some cold facts about Formula E and I think this is the easiest way to illustrate it.
Factory teams for 2017.
WEC: Toyota. Porsche.
F1: Mercedes. Renault. Ferrari.
Formula E: Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Citreon, Mahindra with Volvo and Tesla waiting to be confirmed.
Now which one of those looks the healthiest? Seems to me that a lot of people in very important places have decided that Formula E is the future and we need to get our heads around that. When I first saw one of those cars I laughed and said that it would go the same way as A1, Super League and GP Masters. Well it's not very funny now is it?
WEC can always re-invent itself and possibly go down the GT route which I'm sure would be very popular. The idea of McLaren P1 GTRs, La Ferraris, Porsches etc flying through the Dunlop Curves would be fantastic. But if Mercedes decides to quit F1......
Speaking of which, we really need to face up to some cold facts about Formula E and I think this is the easiest way to illustrate it.
Factory teams for 2017.
WEC: Toyota. Porsche.
F1: Mercedes. Renault. Ferrari.
Formula E: Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Citreon, Mahindra with Volvo and Tesla waiting to be confirmed.
Now which one of those looks the healthiest? Seems to me that a lot of people in very important places have decided that Formula E is the future and we need to get our heads around that. When I first saw one of those cars I laughed and said that it would go the same way as A1, Super League and GP Masters. Well it's not very funny now is it?
WEC can always re-invent itself and possibly go down the GT route which I'm sure would be very popular. The idea of McLaren P1 GTRs, La Ferraris, Porsches etc flying through the Dunlop Curves would be fantastic. But if Mercedes decides to quit F1......
The Hypno-Toad said:
Gutted that they are going to be honest. WEC has been brillant for the last few seasons and Le Mans was one of the all time classics this year. But given the current issues within VAG at the moment it's not a surprise especially when Formula E is so much cheaper. And it gives them a chance to battle the two other German mega-manufacturers head to head.
Speaking of which, we really need to face up to some cold facts about Formula E and I think this is the easiest way to illustrate it.
Factory teams for 2017.
WEC: Toyota. Porsche.
F1: Mercedes. Renault. Ferrari.
Formula E: Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Citreon, Mahindra with Volvo and Tesla waiting to be confirmed.
Now which one of those looks the healthiest? Seems to me that a lot of people in very important places have decided that Formula E is the future and we need to get our heads around that. When I first saw one of those cars I laughed and said that it would go the same way as A1, Super League and GP Masters. Well it's not very funny now is it?
WEC can always re-invent itself and possibly go down the GT route which I'm sure would be very popular. The idea of McLaren P1 GTRs, La Ferraris, Porsches etc flying through the Dunlop Curves would be fantastic. But if Mercedes decides to quit F1......
the problem with formula e is lack of spectators/ fans. im sure that will come in the future but it will be a hard slog to get petrolheads to convert.Speaking of which, we really need to face up to some cold facts about Formula E and I think this is the easiest way to illustrate it.
Factory teams for 2017.
WEC: Toyota. Porsche.
F1: Mercedes. Renault. Ferrari.
Formula E: Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Citreon, Mahindra with Volvo and Tesla waiting to be confirmed.
Now which one of those looks the healthiest? Seems to me that a lot of people in very important places have decided that Formula E is the future and we need to get our heads around that. When I first saw one of those cars I laughed and said that it would go the same way as A1, Super League and GP Masters. Well it's not very funny now is it?
WEC can always re-invent itself and possibly go down the GT route which I'm sure would be very popular. The idea of McLaren P1 GTRs, La Ferraris, Porsches etc flying through the Dunlop Curves would be fantastic. But if Mercedes decides to quit F1......
le mans needs to get back to basics. lmp2, lmp3, gt pro and am are really strong. lmp1 has suffered from the price hikes over the last few year. they need to concentrate on getting racing manufacturers like oreca, riley and scott, Gibson, ligier etc in so that they can compete on a level playing field with the likes of Porsche or Toyota..either give them a weight/hp break to get them on terms or scrap hybrid/ bring in a standard off the shelf hybrid
It is sad to see Audi leave but it seemed inevitable when Porsche came back. It still feels like a big step back for a sport that's been taking a hell of a lot of steps forward in recent years. Hopefully another manufacturer will step in their place.
The Hypno-Toad said:
Factory teams for 2017.
WEC: Toyota. Porsche.
F1: Mercedes. Renault. Ferrari.
Formula E: Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Citreon, Mahindra with Volvo and Tesla waiting to be confirmed.
Very interesting to list it like that, although I would say WEC is in much better shape than F1 at the moment so maybe not quite as indicative as it seems. I watched the first FE race and some of the subsequent ones but it was hard to muster up a lot of enthusiasm for it. This drive from the manufacturers does show where the future lies in their minds though.WEC: Toyota. Porsche.
F1: Mercedes. Renault. Ferrari.
Formula E: Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Citreon, Mahindra with Volvo and Tesla waiting to be confirmed.
Altrezia said:
I assume that Audi has been hit with the diesel 'scandal' and is short on the funds required for LMP? Who knows.
Why quotes around scandal?18 years Audi have been in Endurance racing, that's a hell of a commitment. They certainly changed my perceptions of diesel performance (speedwise not mpg wise 
) and they sold a lot of cars off the back of it when they bossed the regs. It was always going to end by 2018 with the lmp1-h changes.
Eventually Formula-E will allow innovation and Rallycross will go electric and endurance racing will be left to be propped up by Gentleman drivers again. F1 will of course continue to be the bubble it always has been (full of pricks and yet never bursts!)
) and they sold a lot of cars off the back of it when they bossed the regs. It was always going to end by 2018 with the lmp1-h changes. Eventually Formula-E will allow innovation and Rallycross will go electric and endurance racing will be left to be propped up by Gentleman drivers again. F1 will of course continue to be the bubble it always has been (full of pricks and yet never bursts!)
Not surprising.
-VAG purchased Porsche a few years ago.
-Diesel is out of fashion
-The LMP1 arms war means near-F1 tech budgets.
-An F1 budget can be justified with 20 global races. But , WEC only has one race that compares (indeed beats) F1.
After 18 years, it wasn't sustainable. The return on investment of any big manufacturer gets smaller when you are no longer a novelty.
VAG need to decisively fightback from their diesel - cheating saga. They have announced an Audi badged Tesla rival to be launched in 2018 (E-Tron) and have declared that they have the ambition to lead in electric. It is the best way of bouncing back from their debacle - and, sadly for us petrolheads, FE ticks the boxes.
-VAG purchased Porsche a few years ago.
-Diesel is out of fashion
-The LMP1 arms war means near-F1 tech budgets.
-An F1 budget can be justified with 20 global races. But , WEC only has one race that compares (indeed beats) F1.
After 18 years, it wasn't sustainable. The return on investment of any big manufacturer gets smaller when you are no longer a novelty.
VAG need to decisively fightback from their diesel - cheating saga. They have announced an Audi badged Tesla rival to be launched in 2018 (E-Tron) and have declared that they have the ambition to lead in electric. It is the best way of bouncing back from their debacle - and, sadly for us petrolheads, FE ticks the boxes.
Edited by Redlake27 on Wednesday 26th October 16:06
sirtyro said:
Really short sighted of them in my view. Formula E raised just $3 million in sponsorship and needed a $80 million bail out from it's owners. The reason they can't raise more sponsorship is because nobody is watching it.
Plenty of people watch Formula E, just not in the UK when ITV4 were showing it. IIRC the figures for Japan at the start of last season was something like 15M for the first 4 races.It's not as if WEC has massive viewing figures and only has one race that most people know about.
AlexS said:
sirtyro said:
Really short sighted of them in my view. Formula E raised just $3 million in sponsorship and needed a $80 million bail out from it's owners. The reason they can't raise more sponsorship is because nobody is watching it.
Plenty of people watch Formula E, just not in the UK when ITV4 were showing it. IIRC the figures for Japan at the start of last season was something like 15M for the first 4 races.It's not as if WEC has massive viewing figures and only has one race that most people know about.
Unless manufactures join in lmp1 can see Toyota and Porsche pulling out as well whats in it for them. Never understand Toyota in lmp1 doesn't pass anything down to its road car and when Porsche entered thought audi wont be around long.
Maybe it times for lmp1 too go and go back to gt1 regs as the top class loads of cars to use in the hypercar market that would look spectactular and be relevant too todays cars.
Formula e is the future we have to accept that the manufactures have we most move with the times, atm formula e is growing the tech is improving and from what ive seen the spectator side of it more too see and do than f1 and cheaper.
Maybe it times for lmp1 too go and go back to gt1 regs as the top class loads of cars to use in the hypercar market that would look spectactular and be relevant too todays cars.
Formula e is the future we have to accept that the manufactures have we most move with the times, atm formula e is growing the tech is improving and from what ive seen the spectator side of it more too see and do than f1 and cheaper.
sirtyro said:
Really short sighted of them in my view. Formula E raised just $3 million in sponsorship and needed a $80 million bail out from it's owners. The reason they can't raise more sponsorship is because nobody is watching it.
Really its long sighted choice for audi what more can they achieve they have won everything possible in 18 year in sports car racing. Formula e is the future lmp1 isn't.DanielSan said:
If more manufacturer's don't enter LMP1 I can see Sportscar racing going more towards GTE/GT3 classes. It's more relevant to casual fans as they're cars people recognise, the cars are damn fast now and just look at the list of manufacturers that currently build GT3/GTE spec cars...
I doubt that's what the ACO want though - they want future 'road car relevance'.....sadly that's usually expensive - and only a few marques can afford it. They need to sort it out and quickly......Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff