what is the point of LMP1, and even GT3?

[bordseye]

OK I am an old fart but in my youth I could watch cars racing, even at le Mans, that bore a relationship to real cars that you could buy. If you were well off that is. Nowadays LMP1 is really a sort of F1 style single seater with an all enclosed body - you cant buy anything related to it for road use, nor could you drive it on the road as they did with the D types.. LMP1 is what used to be the category of car called "prototypes" and that were prototypes for road cars.

Its not much better in GT3. Recently reading as report of the new Bentley GT3, they have taken 800kg of weight out of it in order to race. Does the result have any relationship to what Bentley produces other than a slight visual link? So whats the point?

And saloon car racing- words fail me.

I would love to see cars like Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720 driven to le Mans and then raced. That would mean something. What do you think?

[bordseye]

Kraken said:

Well it has to relate to road car development at some point for the boards of the large corporations to justify the massive spending on the sport.

Exactly. When Bentley go racing they are trying to add something to the iumage of the car and therefore to the sales. They arent doing it because as a company they just like motor sport. But how are they adding anything to the image when the car they race bears not the slightest resemblance to the one they sell

And there are other aspects to this. The first is the cost one - because the race cars have nothing to do with the road ones they are horrendously expensive to produce. The second is that there can be no pretence that "racing improves the breed" except possibly of race cars.

[bordseye]

Thats an eloquent description Groomi but I dont buy it. Sure there must be some particulalry shallow people who buy on image but I suspect most people buy on cost and suitability . What they can afford and certainly nothing to do with motor racing, like Soul Reevers wife.

My argument is that for those who do want a performance car and who do take an interest in motor racing, it would be far more sensible if the cars that raced were related to the cars that can be bought in the showroom. F1 and its predecessor has never had that connection but the likes of le Mans used to have . For me the particular irritant is the prototype class which has morphed into LMP and which is a prototype of absolutely nothing. They are F1 cars with bodywork. Interestingly Ford did race a prototype last year but it was in GTE pro

[bordseye]

groomi said:

bordseye said:

Thats an eloquent description Groomi but I dont buy it. Sure there must be some particulalry shallow people who buy on image but I suspect most people buy on cost and suitability .

You'd think so, yes. But how many people actually go and look at a Kia, Daihatsu (sp?), or even a Ford or Vauxhall instead of automatically going for the BMW, Audi, Merc option? Does the 'premium' brand make a better car or is it just paying extra for the image? The reality is probably something inbetween, but it is absolutely undeniable that marketing that 'premium' works - if it didn't, they wouldn't spend billions a year doing it.

I believe that the contract hire rates on BMW for example are better than on Ford reflecting the fact thet BMW are cheaper to run.

groomi said:

bordseye said:

What they can afford and certainly nothing to do with motor racing, like Soul Reevers wife.

You're absolutely right. And the cars that are available at any cost also have nothing to do with motor racing. But they all have an image, a brand and that brand is often promoted through motor sports - but can be equally found sponsoring racing yachts, partnered in glossy magazines with oversize watches etc.

It's simply consumerism. It's the age we live in. Everything we buy is the same - down to whether we choose to do the weekly food shop at Sainsbury's or Aldi.

Yes the Ferrari house magazine is full of boat ( stink boats not yachts! ;-) ) and watch adverts