[LM24] Liberty Media and the ACO

[Gingers4Justice]

Just came across this video from Will Buxton, can't wait to find the time to watch the whole thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XxUag_RSEI

Although Buxton wasn't there in his official F1 capacity, this is yet another example of the F1 world 'discovering' Le Mans, and it's happening because of Liberty Media's entirely more friendly attitude to the big race.

Why is this worth commenting on? Well, for a start, in my opinion I think F1 is currently in the midst of a new golden era. Friends who have never expressed an interest in motorsport are all of sudden watching entire Grand Prix and are desperate to tell me about it, the cars are spectacular, and there's a fascinating title battle.

However, under Bernie and Co, the attitude to Le Mans - or anything else - was entirely hostile. Feels very different now, with the FIA working to avoid clashes, Chase Carey waving the flag at the start, the official F1 twitter account tweeting about the start of the race, and even having an F1 car lap La Sarthe...it seems like finally, we have custodians of the pinnacle of motorsport who sees the benefit of the entire pie being bigger, rather than aiming to just have the entire pie to themselves.

This is very significant, because we're about to have a golden era of sorts too. I know BOP and Hypercar has turned some fans away, but I can guarantee you, with the influx of manufacturers, we will have more eyeballs on Le Mans than at any point since the 1980s, if not all time.

For the first time in my lifetime, I'm not concerned that there will be a plot from F1 to destroy it as soon as it gets momentum.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by Gingers4Justice

Just came across this video from Will Buxton, can't wait to find the time to watch the whole thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XxUag_RSEI

Although Buxton wasn't there in his official F1 capacity, this is yet another example of the F1 world 'discovering' Le Mans, and it's happening because of Liberty Media's entirely more friendly attitude to the big race.

Why is this worth commenting on? Well, for a start, in my opinion I think F1 is currently in the midst of a new golden era. Friends who have never expressed an interest in motorsport are all of sudden watching entire Grand Prix and are desperate to tell me about it, the cars are spectacular, and there's a fascinating title battle.

However, under Bernie and Co, the attitude to Le Mans - or anything else - was entirely hostile. Feels very different now, with the FIA working to avoid clashes, Chase Carey waving the flag at the start, the official F1 twitter account tweeting about the start of the race, and even having an F1 car lap La Sarthe...it seems like finally, we have custodians of the pinnacle of motorsport who sees the benefit of the entire pie being bigger, rather than aiming to just have the entire pie to themselves.

This is very significant, because we're about to have a golden era of sorts too. I know BOP and Hypercar has turned some fans away, but I can guarantee you, with the influx of manufacturers, we will have more eyeballs on Le Mans than at any point since the 1980s, if not all time.

For the first time in my lifetime, I'm not concerned that there will be a plot from F1 to destroy it as soon as it gets momentum.

It a great video and well worth watching - I commented on it last night in the TV and streaming thread. With regard to Liberty - don't they own Discovey and hence Eurosport and therefore have most of the rights to LM TV - in which case the cross promotion is very much of mutual benefit

[GT6]

Well as long as a new breed of fans see and fall in love with the great race it can only be a good thing

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by Gingers4Justice

However, under Bernie and Co, the attitude to Le Mans - or anything else - was entirely hostile. Feels very different now, with the FIA working to avoid clashes, Chase Carey waving the flag at the start, the official F1 twitter account tweeting about the start of the race, and even having an F1 car lap La Sarthe...it seems like finally, we have custodians of the pinnacle of motorsport who sees the benefit of the entire pie being bigger, rather than aiming to just have the entire pie to themselves.

Allow me to be the pessimist - the pie is smaller than it was in Bernie's day and likely to shrink further. It's in everyone's interest to work together and promote whatever the new vision of top-flight motorsport is going to be, in a world where people - particularly younger ages - are slowly moving away from personal transportation.

Still, a good deed is welcome.

[Aysedasi]

Bearing in mind that ever since Balestre tried to emasculate Le Mans, there has been almost no crossover at all between F1 and the world of sportscar racing, I'd say any movement towards mutual appreciation has to be a good thing....

[GT6]

Non sure about the comment re personal transportation, the numbers of people riding motor cycles has been falling for decades, but the popularity of motorbike racing has not fallen, if you go to a big bike race now days the majority of spectators are not taking bikes.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Bearing in mind that ever since Balestre tried to emasculate Le Mans, there has been almost no crossover at all between F1 and the world of sportscar racing, I'd say any movement towards mutual appreciation has to be a good thing....

I was going to go into that, but I felt it was outside the scope of this thread. Reading/listening to the FISA/FOCA stories and other goings on in F1 in the early 80s is grossly fascinating, genuine car crash* reading.

As I said before, any closer link between F1 & Le Mans is good, for both parties. To echo Sebastian Vettel when Porsche won in 2015, "Thanks, [Nico Hulkenburg] for making us look good."

Originally Posted by GT6

Non sure about the comment re personal transportation, the numbers of people riding motor cycles has been falling for decades, but the popularity of motorbike racing has not fallen, if you go to a big bike race now days the majority of spectators are not taking bikes.

Outside of anecdotes, I'll have to put an "agree to disagree disclaimer here. But it's not just the top level ("big" bike/car races, which will always attract interest), interest down the pyramid has to be kept up as well. Hence the moves towards what marketing departments/series organisers think will attract those new fans every sport needs.

*Pun intended. I'll get my coat...

There's always going to be a core group who will preserve their sport - take horses and horse racing for example. Motorsport as we know it is never going to disappear. But how popular it will be and how relevant it will be are intrinsically linked.

[Pandamasque]

Originally Posted by J Jay

Allow me to be the pessimist - the pie is smaller than it was in Bernie's day and likely to shrink further. It's in everyone's interest to work together and promote whatever the new vision of top-flight motorsport is going to be, in a world where people - particularly younger ages - are slowly moving away from personal transportation.

Still, a good deed is welcome.

I second that. The problem with Bernie was that his attitude of "kids on the internet don't buy Rolex" became outdated long before he left his post. The end result was half the F1 grid without title sponsors and one team even running with self-ironic <your name here> stickers.
And now Liberty Media is trying to use every opportunity to bring the sport back into the public eye. Becoming buddies with other popular series can't hurt.

[Mike E]

This sounds positive. You would think Ferrari and Porsche would be keen to have more focus on their Hypercar efforts without the distraction of F1, especially next year.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...clash-in-2023/

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Mike E

This sounds positive. You would think Ferrari and Porsche would be keen to have more focus on their Hypercar efforts without the distraction of F1, especially next year.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...clash-in-2023/

I think we'll see clashes for the foreseeable unfortunately. That F1 calendar is so punchy.

I'd say you're correct in pointing out the likes of Ferrari and Porsche (incoming F1 presence) lobbying Liberty is probably going to be way more effective than anything the FIA could do.

F1 is such a juggernaut now that, from their perspective, they don't need to worry about clashing with anything.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by Simmi

I think we'll see clashes for the foreseeable unfortunately. That F1 calendar is so punchy.

I'd say you're correct in pointing out the likes of Ferrari and Porsche (incoming F1 presence) lobbying Liberty is probably going to be way more effective than anything the FIA could do.

F1 is such a juggernaut now that, from their perspective, they don't need to worry about clashing with anything.

F1 has (almost) always been the big swinger, but they're riding the crest of a wave at the moment. They haven't really worried about clashing at all, for better and for worse. Hopefully, the manufacturer crossover (and the subsequent appeal to exposure) will sway things towards a free Le Mans weekend.

On topic, out of ~36 available racing weekends, a 23-race series and a 7-8 race series are going to do very well to avoid even a specific date clash. I actually think Canada and LM on the same weekend was a decent compromise, as the races themselves did not overlap.

Besides, one of my favourite weekends of motorsport was LM/Canada 2011 - the closest racing finish in history and an all-time great drive from the back to victory.

[Michel Vaillant]

Incontestably, F1 is at the pinacle of motorsports, and probably last decades, cast a shadow above Endurance... Nowadays, F1 authorities are more friendly with ACO. I think, the main challenger of WEC to grows up is... WEC himself.
Le Mans is popular (230 000 persons on the week, on of the main events in the world). But the rest of the season is a little unpopular. Apart Spa and some IMSA races, grandstands are often empty. But, the heads of factory programmes and marketing departments are attentive about the popularity and media exposure of the event.
Last week, the CEO of VW Herbert Diess said in brief "only F1weighs in Motorsport ". I fear if nearby next years, WEC doesn't take off, lot of branding departments will do the same reasoning in the futur...

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by Michel Vaillant

Incontestably, F1 is at the pinacle of motorsports, and probably last decades, cast a shadow above Endurance... Nowadays, F1 authorities are more friendly with ACO. I think, the main challenger of WEC to grows up is... WEC himself.
Le Mans is popular (230 000 persons on the week, on of the main events in the world). But the rest of the season is a little unpopular. Apart Spa and some IMSA races, grandstands are often empty. But, the heads of factory programmes and marketing departments are attentive about the popularity and media exposure of the event.
Last week, the CEO of VW Herbert Diess said in brief "only F1weighs in Motorsport ". I fear if nearby next years, WEC doesn't take off, lot of branding departments will do the same reasoning in the futur...

Somehow I think this is fair, WEC was killing itself when ACO and manufacturers decided to compete using f1 tier technology.
Sportscars need to stay in their comfortable dimension.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Michel Vaillant

Last week, the CEO of VW Herbert Diess said in brief "only F1weighs in Motorsport ". I fear if nearby next years, WEC doesn't take off, lot of branding departments will do the same reasoning in the futur...

The struggles of Audi and to a lesser extent Andretti to get their foot in the door on the grid shows it's not as easy to get into F1 as you think.

It's a cash cow and the teams have tried to bolt the door behind them.

[GT6]

manufacturers are not all the same, in order to push the company name F1 might be top but if you want to sell expensive cars to wealthy clients it is not the right enviroment, goodwood and gt racing are much better return on investment.

[ArnageWRC]

Originally Posted by Michel Vaillant

Le Mans is popular (230 000 persons on the week, on of the main events in the world). But the rest of the season is a little unpopular. Apart Spa and some IMSA races, grandstands are often empty. But, the heads of factory programmes and marketing departments are attentive about the popularity and media exposure of the event.
Last week, the CEO of VW Herbert Diess said in brief "only F1weighs in Motorsport ". I fear if nearby next years, WEC doesn't take off, lot of branding departments will do the same reasoning in the futur...

This is the big issue for me; and it might not be a popular view, but a sport needs more than one event that draws attention from a wider audience.

Look at the many motorsport forums around Le Mans, pages of comments, look at the crowds in the grandstands....it's impressive.

However, where are they all for Spa, Monza, et al?? Where do they go, and where do they come from?

And I'm still not sure that even Le Mans brings in the mainstream coverage it once did. We'd see hourly reports on 5 Live, newspaper previews/reports, even on main TV news bulletins.

I really do think the ACO need to be far more savvy regards to promotion of the WEC as a whole - but I've been saying that for a while, and I'm not sure it's a lot better. Saying that, it could be worse - it could be the WRC which lives in it's own little bubble.

For the general media, and sports editors, when it comes to motorsport, then it's all about F1 - and I don't know how you change that.

The LMH/ LMdH era looks promising, with all these manufacturers/ top drivers taking part. If that can't bring in more exposure, then nothing will.

[Anyopenroad]

There are people even on this forum who go to Le Mans every year but have never been to Spa, which is a fraction of the price, time and hassle to attend.

I chatted to a guy at Daytona who had only ever missed three races - one when his son was born, one when he was serving in Vietnam and the other when his father died. “I really should go to Le Mans one day…” he said. Another regular I spoke to had never been to Sebring.

I’d love to set up a swap service for them and some of the lovely Le Mans regulars here!

And that’s before I start singing the praises of Nürburgring 24, also easy and cheap to get to. There are also loads of fans there who don’t attend any other events all year.

[Aysedasi]

Pretty much goes for me, to be honest. This is my 35th Le Mans and although I've casually talked about Spa, I've never done it. I've no intention of going to the States for a race, I'm too much of a 'stay at home' type. I do the occasional UK event, but now that Silverstone has been axed from the WEC calendar sadly, I'm content with just getting to Le Mans.

[GT6]

In the old days i always did the three, le mans spa and silverstone but this year and last it was le mans only. However i will do spa next year and am planning to do Sebring in the near future.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

I’d love to set up a swap service for them and some of the lovely Le Mans regulars here!

I'll happily take you up on this for Spa 24 this year. If you want to show a like-minded camera-wielding forumer the ropes.

[Mike E]

I finally got a ticket for Spa in 2020 but then...

[S griffin]

Better make the trips to the major circuits while you can. Quite a few like Silverstone have dropped off the calendar, no guarantee others are going to stay on there

[Truckosaurus]

I really need to get my act together and get to the N24 one year.

Also making the effort to get back to Spa.