[Sean]

Hi fellas,

I am a bit new to WEC and this year I committed to watching as much as I can, previsouly i had only watch bits of le mans.

I was quite thrilled by the silverstone race this weekend and all I can say is I want moar!

Looking at the calendar I was thinking to myself why so few races, I get that they are much longer so you end up getting more racing then say f1 but I feel that some more are needed, maybe 10 – 12.

Does anyone agree with me?

If so where would you recommend?

Personally I would love to see a race at bathurst(maybe somehow include the bathurst endro race).

If people do agree with me how could we go about making this a reality?

Is the current races per season limited by the fia?

I hope that this gets some discussion flowing :)

[PorscheF1]

Call me stupid but India is a perfect track for the WEC. Also Monza.

[Sean]

I remember really liking the last corner at India, and Monza would be awesome :D Imagine the first sector with traffic. It would be mighty impressive.

[Antonio Nartea]

@spaceman1861

I think there are a lot more factors to consider regarding the number of races in the WEC calendar than the duration of the races per se.

First of all I do believe it’s a financial decision and that it strongly relates to the restrictions on the number of engines and components used by the teams. More races = more engines, more components and automatically higher costs for the entrants. It might not affect the LMP1 class and the factory teams that much, but it would definitely mean a chunky budget increase for the privateers (most of which are even struggling now, with full-season costs being around 500.000E in LMP2). Adding 3-4 races to the calendar might throw the whole LMP2 class into extinction and it might affect some of the GT privateers as well. And since Neveu is trying to position his championship as further away from F1 as possible, teams dropping out due to increasing running costs is the last thing he needs. From this point of view I don’t think more races are going to happen until they figure out a decent cost capping solution for LMP2, especially. Or until they manage to attract the interest of more sponsors and/or investors or get more outfits involved.

Second of all, the whole championship is built around the Le Mans 24H, a race which is radically different than any other race in its approach and which takes A LOT of preparation. Le Mans is not a weekend event, it’s a whole week event. Maybe more if you add up the scrutineering and the whole logistical chaos implied by running a 24H race. The teams need every bit of that month between Spa and Le Mans to put everything in its place in order to stand a chance to be competitive. So the problem is the organisers simply cannot cram more races in before Le Mans. They could probably push for one more race before Silverstone, in March, but that’s it! Even that is a long shot given the fact that the current (ultra-relaxed) calendar saw two LMP1 teams not making it to the grid for the season opener.

The third issue is overlapping with other competitions, especially F1. Sure, Formula One might be losing viewers and attendees at an alarming rate, but when you’re a 3 seasons old endurance championship, you’re not going to be too keen on running on the same weekends and at the same time as your main rival competitor. Plus, the WEC has an immense roster of drivers, out of which (inevitably) many will be committed to other series as well, during the course of the season.

It’s also so many tracks capable of hosting an endurance race in perfect conditions. I’ve heard Neveu on Radio Le Mans talking about how much he wants to take the championship to Australia and so on, but… where would they race other than Bathurst (which, even though it’s a brilliant touring track, it doesn’t really do the prototypes any favours)? I’ve also heard talk about getting more classic circuits on board the WEC calendar, but I don’t see that happening either considering the current legal and financial status of many circuit administrators out there.

Add that to the fact that the WEC could do (in my opinion) without at least two current circuits (Shanghai and Bahrain) and it doesn’t really leave you with that much room for a quality “12 race per season expansion”.

I for one don’t see it happening in the immediate future.

[Sean]

Interesting points :)

In my head more races = more exposure = more ROI for the dev the big teams / the series runners = more attactive.

I hadn’t put much thought to the engines in the lower classes.

Nor did i think that they whould struggle with the schedule, but you are correct in pointing out that some teams struggle to make the current one work, perhaps 10-12 is to much at this point in time.

However what could be done is make it an optional round for anyone bar the prototypes and include the aussie v8 endro in the field or similar format, in the case of somewhere like bathurst where there already are endro races run. This kills 2 birds with one stone instead of competing with audience of existing formats they share. Positive for both series.

Perhaps the increased exposure would be enough to ring enough money from rights and advertising to cover the extra costs.(im not sure at all the break down of finances of wec tho)

And as for bathurst and the prototypes i was under the impression that if an f1 car can run round it would be fine for wec. Perhaps this is a false assumption.

[Adam Blocker]

@spaceman1861 I don’t think F1 cars are allowed to race on it. Button did a demo run, but that does not mean the FIA would support a race without ruining a great circuit.

I do think the WEC should expand its calendar a little, especially during the extremely long break between Le Mans and the fourth round. I agree that expanding the calendar before Le Mans wouldn’t really be possible.

[Sean]

Hmm what exactly does a track need to be eligible to support a wec race?
Im doing some research an i cant seem to pin it down.

Im assuming that if its good enough for f1 then wec would be ok, or is another bad assumption?

Perhaps I should be pushing to include a track more like monza.

[Sean]

Just found this in the FIA sporting code.

ARTICLE 7.2 APPROVAL OF COURSES

The selection of any Course shall be approved by the ASN and
with the request for such approval a detailed itinerary giving
the exact distances to be covered shall be submitted.

Not sure what the asn is.
http://www.fia.com/Regulations/regulation/international-sporting-code-123

[Iestyn Davies]

In French – Autorite Sportive Nationale…. or in English, national sport governing body (authority :P).

[PorscheF1]

between Le Mans and the fourth round

And even worse after Le Mans they all follow in so rapid succession.

I really think if they’d just add Monza the cost really wouldn’t raise that much to push teams outwards.

@Sean – watch the Blancpain Endurace Race, 59 GT cars. Very entertaining indeed.

[Sean]

@PorscheF1 – I will have a gander :)

[JackySteeg]

If you’ve acquired a taste for endurance racing, I’d recommend the United Sportscar Championship. It’s probably the next best thing to the WEC, even though the flagship Daytona Prototype cars are nowhere near as fast or beautiful as LMP1s. But there’s a decent variety of races — anything from 1hr40 sprints on street circuits to the Daytona 24 hours. They also race on simply the best circuits in North America, including Sebring, Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Mosport, Lime Rock Park, Road America, Virginia International Raceway and Road Atlanta. I can’t think of many other championships that can boast as many classic circuits as that.

Also the racing is exceptionally close. The GTLM class (technically the same as the WEC’s LMGTE-Pro class) produces some of the most competitive racing anywhere. Best of all, it’s free to stream on the IMSA website, featuring commentary from the lads at Radio Le Mans. The next race will be at Long Beach this weekend, so if you have the time I definitely suggest you give it a go!

[Author]

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