Major manufacturers in sports prototype racing aga
Discussion
Belatedly reading the November issue of 911 & Porsche World I see that Porsche are considering a return to “top level motor sport”.
Since they already have a healthy privateer representation in GT racing and are unlikely to enter F1 this presumably means building a sports prototype to win Le Mans and run in the supporting LMES series and the American one (IMSA?).
I have mixed feeling about this.
On the one hand I would like to see the glory days of sports car racing from the 70’s, and later group C in the 80’s, re-ignited where we saw the likes of Porsche, Mercedes and Jaguar competing for supremacy with Toyota, Nissan and Mazda snapping at their heels. I’d also love to see a successor to the 917/956/962. And finally it would be good to see someone break the domination of the Audi R8.
However, sports car racing has never enjoyed the same stability as F1 and, the major manufacturers getting involved whilst delivering great racing for 2-3 seasons, usually ends up with costs spiralling out of control and all the manufacturers then deserting, leaving the series to collapse and, then rise again from the ashes in a modified form at the hands of the die hard privateers.
I went to the last British round of the then dying Group C championship (It had turned into the WSPC 3.5 Litre formula by then - but essentially similar cars) at Donnington in 1992 and it was quite a sad affair for a “world championship” round. Eight cars turned up: 3 works Peugeots, 2 works Toyotas, 2 private Spice Cosworths and something else.
So what does everyone else think? Get the manufacturers involved at the risk of self-destructing the championship or keep it to the privateers/small manufacturers (e.g. Courage, Dallara, Dome et al)? Or does it have to be like that?
Since they already have a healthy privateer representation in GT racing and are unlikely to enter F1 this presumably means building a sports prototype to win Le Mans and run in the supporting LMES series and the American one (IMSA?).
I have mixed feeling about this.
On the one hand I would like to see the glory days of sports car racing from the 70’s, and later group C in the 80’s, re-ignited where we saw the likes of Porsche, Mercedes and Jaguar competing for supremacy with Toyota, Nissan and Mazda snapping at their heels. I’d also love to see a successor to the 917/956/962. And finally it would be good to see someone break the domination of the Audi R8.
However, sports car racing has never enjoyed the same stability as F1 and, the major manufacturers getting involved whilst delivering great racing for 2-3 seasons, usually ends up with costs spiralling out of control and all the manufacturers then deserting, leaving the series to collapse and, then rise again from the ashes in a modified form at the hands of the die hard privateers.
I went to the last British round of the then dying Group C championship (It had turned into the WSPC 3.5 Litre formula by then - but essentially similar cars) at Donnington in 1992 and it was quite a sad affair for a “world championship” round. Eight cars turned up: 3 works Peugeots, 2 works Toyotas, 2 private Spice Cosworths and something else.
So what does everyone else think? Get the manufacturers involved at the risk of self-destructing the championship or keep it to the privateers/small manufacturers (e.g. Courage, Dallara, Dome et al)? Or does it have to be like that?
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