[WEC] FIA World Endurance Championship

[JAG]

Originally Posted by alexkiller8

ferrari, porsche, aston martin and corvette currently use 2011 specs of their cars, or brand new cars if we talk about ferrari... why a team should pick up back a 2009 gt2?

Not 100% sure, but the FIA/Ratel controlled GT regs, ACO LMP's.

In 2010 the ACO took back control of their GT regs, finally re-naming them GTE, perhaps this is why there's a cut-off.

[CTD]

double post

[CTD]

Just posted this in another thread, but it belongs here:

Originally Posted by Le Vieux

Yes, that's obvious from the press release, but any involvement of the FIA in Le Mans is a matter of concern to me.

Remember Jean-Marie Balestre? How long before it all goes wrong again? Worse still, what if Mr Ecclestone decides he wants a part of it?

Ecclestone has nothing to do with FIA.
Ecclestone is head man of the hedge fond which owns the F1 brand, ei. the Marketing branch of F1.
Ecclestone therefor will have NOTHING to say at Le Mans, unless he somehow purchase power from ACO.

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

I'm still hoping that Todt remembers the state of Le Mans when he ran the show at Peugeot Sport, and does everything possible to prevent sportscar racing from going into another nosedive like that.

Todt entered Le Mans with Peugeot Talbot Sport, when it was about to go wrong. Remember the 3.5L rules, which killed the Group C cars?, The Peugeot 905 was one of the first of them.

But Todt, i respect, and i really think and hope that he know the spirit of Le Mans, and wants to improve this.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by AGD

I'm not really sure what the FIA is bringing to the table aside from lending the ACO "World Championship" status, but we'll see what the details are over the next few days and weeks.

As for the schedule, I'd imagine the 2012 speculation still holds. Right now the ILMC races on 3 continents, is this fine for WC status? Will there need to be a 4th continent?

It's the prestige and marketing value of World Championship status, ILMC doesn't mean anything.

These days the FIA set criteria that need to be filled, but the running and organisation will be down to the ACO.

Safety and calendar sign-off go through the FIA, but that's always been the case.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by DS"

Petit Le Mans will probably be dropped, as it didn't seem to be popular with team from abroad for a couple of years (And I talk about teams like Felbermayr, who skipped Road Atlanta to travel outright to Zhuhai last year)

While there is merit to this statement, dumping a race that has grown so immensely in popularity in it's short existence to the point that it is a very, VERY close second to other big endurance race in FLA (the 12 hour one), would be a mistake.

I am biased, but there should be two trips across the pond and PLM NEEDS to be a part, IMHO, to keep the tattered fabric of the American sportscars series from falling apart completely.

[JAG]

The WTCC is going to the US, you couldn't find a series more unsuited, but they feel the need to go for marketing value.

[chernaudi]

This has great potential, if it's carried out properly.

Having a legitimate WSC is something that many thought would never happen again after it's meltdown almost 20 years ago. And it was down to the ideocy of Balestre, Mosley, and Eccostone getting involved. Thankfully, Jean Todt isn't Max Mosley or JM Balestre, and he's successfully stood up to Bernie as FIA president. M. Todt is no ideot, and he saw the orginal WSC implode in '92/'93, and obviously doesn't want to repeat that mistake.

And this may be a shot in the arm for the ALMS, as with at least one (maybe two) rounds if Sebring and/or PLM are included, it could get them to see the light and get Don Panoz, Scott Atherton, and Scott Elkins to throw out their reservations over the GT3 cars in the ALMS and get rid of the GTC and LMPC classes sooner rather than later.

However, this depends on something that sportscar racing has never had much of--stable rules. The ALMS' issues are largely due to instability in the ACO's rules, and, especially, IMSA's reactions to them. IMSA should've seen their issues coming and got their heads out of the sand earlier than they did. If the FIA/ACO can come up with a reasonably stable set of rules that IMSA can adopt that make sense, then this could be a big reprive for the ALMS, LMS, and other similar regional series.

Then there's the fact that Ratel and Peter don't entirely see eye to eye, and haven't for nearly 15 years, after Ratel turned the BPR series into the orginal FIA GT championship.

This has great potential to work, but as the late Dale Ernhardt said about NASCAR and corporate geed, "they can't get too greedy." IMSA did during the big factory years of '06-08, and look at they fight they've had to right the ship, though better managment would've helped big time there, too.

If the ACO and the FIA can manage this, it'll be a great spectical, but if not, it'll end up like the mid '90s, where a potent but ill-conceived rules package sent the series and LM spiraling out of control in as little as 18 months.

[AGD]

It'll be interesting to see if the ACO can schedule a race in Brazil (or some other valuable Latin American country for Peugeot/Audi) on back-to-back weeks (or something similar) with either Sebring or Petit. I'm sure that is being considered. Weather and track availability will be key. I'm not sure if Sebring is Petit is better in that regard. Hopefully both stay on the calendar.

The difference between the WTCC and the ILMC/WEC is that I'm guessing GM would like to advertise their Cruze in the US. Peugeot does not have anything to advertise in the US. Audi does, but I don't know if they have enough pull by themselves. AM, Porsche, Ferrari, and others aren't French and probably don't pay any sort of "ACO tax" to have any say on the matter. It almost seems like the direction the ILMC/WEC takes is dependent on what the Peugeot and Audi marketing departments want to do. Someone like Honda or Toyota could help sway the situation, but I guess they'll have to prove their interest.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by JAG

The WTCC is going to the US, you couldn't find a series more unsuited, but they feel the need to go for marketing value.

Yeah, love the WTCC and understand the market for them, but it just ain't LeMans style sportcars, which what I am referring to.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by AGD

It'll be interesting to see if the ACO can schedule a race in Brazil (or some other valuable Latin American country for Peugeot/Audi) on back-to-back weeks (or something similar) with either Sebring or Petit. I'm sure that is being considered. Weather and track availability will be key. I'm not sure if Sebring is Petit is better in that regard. Hopefully both stay on the calendar.

The difference between the WTCC and the ILMC/WEC is that I'm guessing GM would like to advertise their Cruze in the US. Peugeot does not have anything to advertise in the US. Audi does, but I don't know if they have enough pull by themselves. AM, Porsche, Ferrari, and others aren't French and probably don't pay any sort of "ACO tax" to have any say on the matter. It almost seems like the direction the ILMC/WEC takes is dependent on what the Peugeot and Audi marketing departments want to do. Someone like Honda or Toyota could help sway the situation, but I guess they'll have to prove their interest.

South America will also be interesting, as it is also a market for Peugeot and Audi.
A race in America
Brazil
South America
China
Australia
And one or two in Europe (Le Mans one of them of course)
Now that would be a proper WEC calendar!. But highly unlikely because of the huge travel expenses.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

And this may be a shot in the arm for the ALMS, as with at least one (maybe two) rounds if Sebring and/or PLM are included, it could get them to see the light and get Don Panoz, Scott Atherton, and Scott Elkins to throw out their reservations over the GT3 cars in the ALMS and get rid of the GTC and LMPC classes sooner rather than later.

I'm not really sure how this changes anything for the ALMS. Ok, maybe there will be more manufacturer interest, but I'd imagine that the WEC will be the magnet. Ultimately, I fear that the ALMS will still need the GTC and LMPC cars to fill the fields.

If the ACO and the FIA can manage this, it'll be a great spectical, but if not, it'll end up like the mid '90s, where a potent but ill-conceived rules package sent the series and LM spiraling out of control in as little as 18 months.

Success or failure is probably still in the hands of the ACO much more so than the FIA. The FIA could screw things up, but I guess they could have even without granting WC status by forcing the ACO to add more chicanes to the circuit and by making the cars look ugly by mandating big honkin' fins.

Anyway, I think the big thing will be to see how the LMS organizes for next year. They could set a new paradigm for domestic Le Mans style series, but they could also make the LMS completely irrelevant. I'm sure the ALMS will be watching.

[Mal]

I would hope this is good news for ALMS to as it should open up the GT class to a lot more cars

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Mal

I would hope this is good news for ALMS to as it should open up the GT class to a lot more cars

How do you figure? I can't see the ALMS adopting Ratel style GT1/GT2/GT3 equalization rules. There really isn't a need for them to do that as long as GTE is strong. I'm sure the ALMS will stick with the ACO's regular GTE rules (which will not incorporate the multi-class equalization).

[deggis]

Originally Posted by AGD

Here is Dagy's report: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-fia-aco-set-to-launch-world-endurance-championship/

Updated with (not so interesting) quotes from Todt & Plassart.

[Jonerz]

I don't think the ALMS and FIA (and the SRO in particular) are any closer as a result of this branding exercise between the ACO and FIA.

Chris

[NightStalk3r]

Sounds like horse ****, really disappointed with the ACO.

[Pandamasque]

What's the major drama? FIA won't have more influence on ACO racing than it currently has on SRO's. Both organisations already have to comply with the basic FIA regs anyway, but keep pretty much total control over the business side.
So ILMC will be renamed into WEC and have additional championships for drivers etc (what's the Cup all about btw?)

Then, since there will be no GT1 cars in usable condition by the end of 2011, FIA GT1 will be renamed to FIA GT and use whatever cars look suitable Makes perfect sense.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Is it too soon to start wondering what the TV package will be for the WEC? With World Championship status hopefully it will interest broadcasters in North America to carry it.

[Deleted]

You could never have a world championship without permission from the FIA, so I suppose this was to be expected. Stephane's updated FIA GT aka Dutch Supercar Challenge 2.0 was never mentioned in ACO's own press release, btw

Some good news as well:

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest hereby agrees to integrate the Le Mans 24 Hours into the calendar, but the event remains the exclusive property of the ACO and is not a participant in this agreement.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Pandamasque

What's the major drama? FIA won't have more influence on ACO racing than it currently has on SRO's. Both organisations already have to comply with the basic FIA regs anyway, but keep pretty much total control over the business side.
So ILMC will be renamed into WEC and have additional championships for drivers etc (what's the Cup all about btw?)

This could simply be a renaming job with some changes like the drivers championship that you mentioned. Those changes could have happened even without the FIA WC status of course. We'll have to see what other changes there are especially in regard to if the European races will be stand alone events and so forth. Also, we'll have to see if there are LMP2 and GTE-Am championships.

It's hard to say what the GT Cup is all about. Is it simply the WEC for GTE (albeit only for manufacturers?)? Who knows.

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

Is it too soon to start wondering what the TV package will be for the WEC? With World Championship status hopefully it will interest broadcasters in North America to carry it.

I'm not optimistic. The ACO makes the ALMS look like the NFL in regard to TV deals. Even the LMS has a better European TV deal than ILMC, although I guess that is debatable. At best those of us in North America might get some web streaming, tape delayed highlights on Speed/Bloomberg/etc., or something like that.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

Is it too soon to start wondering what the TV package will be for the WEC? With World Championship status hopefully it will interest broadcasters in North America to carry it.

Eurosport signed a three year Le Mans/ILMC deal, I take it Speed still have Le Mans?

[AGD]

Originally Posted by JAG

I take it Speed still have Le Mans?

Yes, at least in the US. The whole race will either be live on TV or streamed on speed.com. Le Mans is the only European Le Mans style race we'll get on TV AFAIK.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by AGD

I'm not optimistic. The ACO makes the ALMS look like the NFL in regard to TV deals. Even the LMS has a better European TV deal than ILMC, although I guess that is debatable. At best those of us in North America might get some web streaming, tape delayed highlights on Speed/Bloomberg/etc., or something like that.

Huh? Eurosport showed Spa flag to flag, same thing will happen with Le Mans. There' not really much more than you can ask for..

[AGD]

I guess they must have signed a late deal because my understanding was that ILMC races were only going to get spotty Eurosport coverage. Are all the ILMC races going to be covered in full from here on out? The bottom line is that those of us in America aren't going to see it without using a justin.tv stream or something.

Speaking of which, Dagys tweeted a couple of minutes ago that the word on the street is that there will only be one North American ILMC/WEC round. Yikes. I assume he is talking about next year, it's hard to tell on Twitter. I hope nobody is heading to the edge of the cliff!

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Huh? Eurosport showed Spa flag to flag, same thing will happen with Le Mans. There' not really much more than you can ask for..

Sebring "coverage" was below standards even for Eurosport, just one short highlight broadcast on Sunday morning and some stuff over at French ES. Yes Spa and LM are full of WIN indeed - as usual - but Eurosport's attention to sportscars has often faded pretty quickly after the big one.