2024 World Endurance ChampionshipSports Cars 

  • Thread starter ScottPuss20
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Yeah, one of the LMP2 racers made sense with his comment during the race that I didn’t like. He was saying how he hopes the category doesn’t get pushed to the side as it’s a good feeder series to Hypercars. It prepares racers a chance to actually get a Hypercar seat.

Anyway, that’s sixteen slots that could be used to invite all kinds of GT3 teams from around the world. Oh well.
 
I think it should be LMP2 with multi class races with LMP3, GT4. That would make Lmp2 the headliner of that series. Hypercars should just have their own races with select ones being multiclass with LMGT3. The reason I say Hypercars having their own races is because the number of likely manufacturers that are set to join the class in the coming years on top of what we have now. Aston is coming next year, Mclaren is likely eventually as well as Hyundai's Genesis line, Ford is strongly thinking about it then we can't sleep on Vanwall making a return with a different engine so that leaves it at roughly 15 manufacturers if all that I mentioned end up joining. To me that's enough for them to race on a few medium-long length tracks without any other class being involved.
 
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Yes, we absolute need to make room for "Vanwall" (Who totally isn't the same team run by the same questionable dentist crook that tried to blackmail Toto Wolff once, still have no indication that they legally can use that name AND haven't produced a Single car that didn't turn into a Barbecue at least once a year).

Totally a fan of these guys if you can't tell...

As for LMP2, ACO won't get rid of it no matter how much GT3 supercedes it in terms of AM drivers with massive pockets nor the room for more potential GT3 cars . I personally am unsure I want it to go when it produces Gems like Ben Keating.
 
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I would take lmp2 (and lmp3 :D) cars over (lm)gt3 cars anyday :D
GT3 cars are used in many series (SRO alone has a handful series already with its European, American, Australian & Asian Series, ICTG) while lmp2 only race in imsa sportscar championship, european & asian le mans series and Le Mans
 
FP3 was basically just gt3 incidents and hypercars coverage 😒
Qualifying for the hypercars was a poop show on fia wec tv; the picture froze every few seconds and looked more like a dia show

Great performance of Sarah Bovy again in the qualifying.
 
I was expecting a lot more drama and interventions, but besides a few short FCYs recovering cars or cleaning the track there was no safety car required (or a red flag).

(lm)gt3 coverage was mediocre for the first two thirds of the race but later got better.
Race looked pretty good for iron dames until the lambo gave up on a pit stop and leaked water/coolant in the pit lane. (Nice to see how fast Michelle Gatting got out of the car thanks to the safety belts)

The hypercar battles were pretty epic and so far the highlight for me this season; Sektor 2 slowed all cars down, caused "bottlenecks" that made the racing more interesting and the abrasive track was great for seeing the different strategies/tire choices :D

ACO should definitely bring the track back for next season.
 
It's a shame what Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari is doing to the rest of the hypercar field, it's almost no contest. Mid pack you have Cadillac, Alpine and BMW then back of the pack It's Peugeot, Isotta and Lamborghini
 
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I truly wonder about the customer Hypercar entries in the long run. Group C lived for so long because there were a lot of customer entries, but of course the WSC didn't have to share the track with GT cars back in the '80s, unlike today's WEC. It's great to have such a wide array of manufacturers but at one point they will lose interest because there are only so many podium places at any given race or championship. Sure, nobody wants a 963 Cup but I'm worried how soon the OEMs lose interest when they don't see their cars up the rankings.

 
I truly wonder about the customer Hypercar entries in the long run. Group C lived for so long because there were a lot of customer entries, but of course the WSC didn't have to share the track with GT cars back in the '80s, unlike today's WEC. It's great to have such a wide array of manufacturers but at one point they will lose interest because there are only so many podium places at any given race or championship. Sure, nobody wants a 963 Cup but I'm worried how soon the OEMs lose interest when they don't see their cars up the rankings.

For one I think WEC and even IMSA should limit the amount of cars each manufacturer can have on track. I honestly don't care to see 4-6 Porsche 963s in a race at a given time when some of that dpace could have been anpther cadillac, Lamborghini sc63 or even another manufacturer. I think it should be 3 max per manufacturer including customer cars. Theres so many more manufacturers that have interest in the hypercar class that I think they should consider doing just hypercar only races especially if they choose to allow more then 2 cars each team. Imagine 30-40 teams trying to fight to have a spot for a 6-24hr race.
 
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ValkLMH.jpg
 
For one I think WEC and even IMSA should limit the amount of cars each manufacturer can have on track. I honestly don't care to see 4-6 Porsche 963s in a race at a given time when some of that dpace could have been anpther cadillac, Lamborghini sc63 or even another manufacturer. I think it should be 3 max per manufacturer including customer cars. Theres so many more manufacturers that have interest in the hypercar class that I think they should consider doing just hypercar only races especially if they choose to allow more then 2 cars each team. Imagine 30-40 teams trying to fight to have a spot for a 6-24hr race.
I wouldn't be against Hypercar-only races but I'm not sure whether there's enough interest from the OEM side to put up a 25-30 car grid. On one hand there's the mandatory 2-car rule for next year, so there will be another Lambo and Caddy. On the other, Cadillac wasn't in a rush to go beyond the a single car in WEC (apart from Le Mans) while in the DPi area they were the ones with several customer cars (but ruled them out this time) and seemingly only BMW considers customer cars on any level beyond Porsche.

Looking at next year:
OEM entries:
Alpine - 2
Aston - 2 (if they come)
BMW - 2
Cadillac - 2
Ferrari - 2
Lambo - 2
Peugeot - 2
Porsche - 2
Toyota - 2
IF - 2 (if it comes through)

That's 20 entries out of 22 allotted. We'll have the #83 Ferrari and maybe the Proton 963.

I'm not sure what other OEM would be in play tbh. I don't trust McLaren, I believe more in Hyundai/Genesis than them and we have Acura/Honda, although I don't see them coming to WEC, either. If we discount IF but add the latter 2, that would be 22 OEM cars in 2026. Granted, I don't have the big picture of the industry and I'm not privy to any sort of information apart from what you can read on the big sportscar news sites, so my "analysis" is purely speculative and influenced by my personal bias. Nevertheless, I can't see a bigger grid without customer cars and I most definitely wouldn't limit the number of cars per OEM.

The FIA and ACO are so hellbent now in only giving slots to WEC participants and a select few invitees, plus the spec Oreca racing that we will never see stuff like the Le Mans-only GTE Pro field where the OEMs brought over their IMSA GTLM teams. I personally wouldn't mind if the 62 LM24 slots would be half HY, half GT3 if we could get some extra cars from IMSA or customer Hypercars, no matter the brand - same with GT3, the demand is clearly there and I wouldn't mind allowing the AMG GT3s, either. The whole loyalty thing stinks a bit for me.

PS: I'm not against LMP2 in general, it serves FIA and ACO very well, no question. However, given the current state of affairs and the grid limits, I wouldn't be opposed to boot them out of Le Mans for a while.
 
I wouldn't be against Hypercar-only races but I'm not sure whether there's enough interest from the OEM side to put up a 25-30 car grid. On one hand there's the mandatory 2-car rule for next year, so there will be another Lambo and Caddy. On the other, Cadillac wasn't in a rush to go beyond the a single car in WEC (apart from Le Mans) while in the DPi area they were the ones with several customer cars (but ruled them out this time) and seemingly only BMW considers customer cars on any level beyond Porsche.

Looking at next year:
OEM entries:
Alpine - 2
Aston - 2 (if they come)
BMW - 2
Cadillac - 2
Ferrari - 2
Lambo - 2
Peugeot - 2
Porsche - 2
Toyota - 2
IF - 2 (if it comes through)

That's 20 entries out of 22 allotted. We'll have the #83 Ferrari and maybe the Proton 963.

I'm not sure what other OEM would be in play tbh. I don't trust McLaren, I believe more in Hyundai/Genesis than them and we have Acura/Honda, although I don't see them coming to WEC, either. If we discount IF but add the latter 2, that would be 22 OEM cars in 2026. Granted, I don't have the big picture of the industry and I'm not privy to any sort of information apart from what you can read on the big sportscar news sites, so my "analysis" is purely speculative and influenced by my personal bias. Nevertheless, I can't see a bigger grid without customer cars and I most definitely wouldn't limit the number of cars per OEM.

The FIA and ACO are so hellbent now in only giving slots to WEC participants and a select few invitees, plus the spec Oreca racing that we will never see stuff like the Le Mans-only GTE Pro field where the OEMs brought over their IMSA GTLM teams. I personally wouldn't mind if the 62 LM24 slots would be half HY, half GT3 if we could get some extra cars from IMSA or customer Hypercars, no matter the brand - same with GT3, the demand is clearly there and I wouldn't mind allowing the AMG GT3s, either. The whole loyalty thing stinks a bit for me.

PS: I'm not against LMP2 in general, it serves FIA and ACO very well, no question. However, given the current state of affairs and the grid limits, I wouldn't be opposed to boot them out of Le Mans for a while.
You broke that down pretty good, I have a better understanding of how WEC sets up these grids and potential manufacturers who could be dropped or join. I like the idea that I mentioned a week or two ago where LMP2 should be moved into races with LMP3 and possibly GT4 and just have hypercar and LMGT3 have various races with each other with a few being solo class races. It would open up more grid spots and give some race choice flexibility for WEC.
 
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You broke that down pretty good, I have a better understanding of how WEC sets up these grids and potential manufacturers who could be dropped or join. I like the idea that I mentioned a week or two ago where LMP2 should be moved into races with LMP3 and possibly GT4 and just have hypercar and LMGT3 have various races with each other with a few being solo class races. It would open up more grid spots and give some race choice flexibility for WEC.
Due to the many classes in Super Taikyu and the limited number of pit garages at certain circuits, that series alternate the lower classes at different venues. It could work for WEC if grid size/race entries were ever a problem.
 
I hope the gold livery carries over. :drool:

I don't find the current Cadillac WEC liveries to be very good, despite relating to the Cadillac crest.
I imagine it will. Maybe some small tweaks here or that but I think they have a very good livery in general.
 
One down.

I see it as a good and bad thing. Sucks for Isotta because this was their debut year and even though they didnt have much success in the standings who knows how year 2 could have looked for them. But each hypercar that bows out or limits their numbers makes room for another. Now I wonder if Vanwall will make that comeback and if WEC will even consider it and maybe Acura will contemplate on joining.
 
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