SPORTSCARS WEC 2016 A GREAT NEW SEASON
I have been watching Sports Car Racing, Endurance Racing now known as WEC since 1977 and in all those years I have never looked forward to a new season with as much anticipation since the heady days of Group C in the late 80s. Maybe I am getting old (well I got a discount on my Ferry to Le Mans with SAGA!) and a bit senile but I may have good reason. Didn't we have some great races this last year. Who could ever forget the Silverstone epic with some of the best racing I can remember and what a Le Mans! A cracker by anyone's standards.
It is quite surprising really seeing as there are now only three manufacturer but the series is healthy and not about to implode like it has done so many times before. Elsewhere I wrote recently that F1 has lost its way because it doesn't "Blow you away". This is the twenty first century and I want to see amazing speed and technology and I guess I am not seeing that in the premier class. I guess my biggest example of the point is that In 1992 I took some non motor racing friends to the British Grand Prix and they were in absolute awe of what they saw. I think if I take some non racing friends to British GP at Silverstone this year they may enjoy it? But be in awe? I don't think so. But if I took them to see the WEC at the same circuit I think it may catch their interest. I say catch their interest because with a little explaining the technology is amazing. But no one is going to go wow because unfortunately at Grand Prix circuits you are just to far away from the cars. I am not saying it was not great racing, it was but I don't think you will reduce a youngster to superlatives! But then again if they then went to Le Mans and visited the straights and maybe Arnage at night I think that would "Blow them away!"
My son and I watched so much of Le Mans last year and we were really gobsmacked by the speed of the prototypes. They looked amazing as they scythed through the traffic especially at night. The thing that was most visible was the acceleration out of the corners, especially when you had a LMP2 in the same corner as a reference. With lap times around the 3.15 minutes you know the ACO are near to what they can allow and with close racing and cutting edge cars it makes for a great spectacle. Another great thing was truly not knowing who would win until very deep into the race. And my goodness me we had respect for all four of the prototype manufacturers. Who could not admire the amazing fight provided by Audi for a start.
Something not touched upon very often and often overlooked by the manufactures is brand loyalty through this kind of racing. You don't have to win Le Mans to succeed. If Porsche had been beaten by Audi last year I still think they would have still increased their fan base. A legendary marque with a road car based history attracts loyal followers. Owners of Porsches came out of the woodwork to cheer on the Stuttgart cars and others joined the ranks like my son. He had no reason at all to support the Porsche apart from it was legendary Marque. He followed the Toyota the year before because they were the underdogs. And do we really think Audi will be less revered since the loss? No they will be back and with the loyal fan base they built up this last decade. I wonder if in Formula 1 if Red Bull are selling as many caps and jackets as when they were winning titles. Merchandising wise I wonder if the very slow Manor F1 Racing out sold the very slow Nissan this year. I think probably not.
In the truly great years when we have had large amounts of manufacturers the fans or should I say new spectators could look down the grid and pick cars like in the Grand National horse race by say best colour scheme or along the lines of "I like the road cars, or I like the underdog or even I like the engine sound". Mazda came to Le Mans with very little support in the mid 80s by the time they had won the race they had a massive following from all over the world. Even if they had not won they would still be remembered and revered for their amazing wankel rotary engines. They did hurt your ears though! This last Le Mans I think Nissan head quarters really missed the point by withdrawing the front engined beast. Yes the car failed but even as the last car was wheeled out of the pits the legions of new fans cheered them on. Now what they did achieve has been waisted because those new fans who gave their loyalty to Nissan probably feel a bit cheated and left in the cold. I didn't care if they won I just loved the look of them and wanted them to do well.
It is a little bit of a puzzle that more manufacturers have not joined the series. I think I have made it quite clear that I feel Jaguar should be in the thick of the racing and would add a 10% to every gate around the world. 1987 Le Mans drew a good 40,000 Brits and they lost the race for the third time in a row and low and behold the next year there were even more Jaguar fans. It is not always the winning. I think whoever you are if you turn up with a slightly different type of car or something that relates to Jo public you will gain great publicity and a loyal following who will in turn buy the road cars.
So let's celebrate our wonderful "World Championship" and get out there to as many races as we can. Spread the word you might say so we don't loose our great racing and hopefully send out a message to the I'll informed boardrooms that a solid WEC is a great place to advertise your cars! Come on BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot, Ferrari and all!
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