D-3: is the WEC in danger?

Yes

The abrupt end of the Audi program shook the world ofEndurance, preuve que le château de cartes demeure fragile. Il n’y a plus que deux constructeurs en LM P1, et si l’un d’eux venait à prendre le pas sur l’autre, alors l’exercice 2017 pourrait devenir aussi soporifique que celui de 2013 où Audi avait surclassé… Toyota. La perte engendrée se ressent à tous les étages, sportif comme financier. Et sur le papier, pour la première fois depuis sa renaissance, il y a cinq ans, le WEC semble marquer un coup d’arrêt. Et si en 2012, l’arrivée de Porsche deux ans plus tard était actée, les annonces d’éventuels constructeurs intéressés par la catégorie reine se font attendre, en espérant que Porsche et Toyota, en cas d’éventuelle arrivée, ne désertent pas les lieux. Là est l’inquiétude.

In 2017, officially, 28 cars are registered for the year. But we already know that several teams, including two in LM P2, have not managed to raise sufficient funds to field their cars for the entire campaign. For its part, ByKolles could be satisfied with the European tour…

No

As the president of the ACO, Pierre Fillon, rightly and insistently says, “the legend of Endurance was written around the great duels”. If Toyota and Porsche engage in an epic showdown over the nine rounds of the WEC, then the public will forget that there are only two manufacturers registered in LM P1. The 2011 edition of the Le Mans classic, which pitted Audi against Peugeot , isn't it considered one of the most beautiful in history? Apart from a promising inter-Oreca fight in LM P2, the good news concerns the awarding of a GTE world title recognized by the FIA. “We had to promote this title,” Frédéric Makowiecki, Porsche driver, told us. Until then, we had the impression of being considered as a subcategory when there are four manufacturers officially involved, and there will even be five of us next year (with BMW. Editor's note). Few championships in the world can boast of this. These are real factory programs, with cars only driven by professionals, so it seems very logical to me. »

For post-2017, let's wait to have the broad outlines of the 2020 regulations, normally revealed in June on the sidelines of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to speculate about the future of the LM P1. A class in which non-hybrid prototypes should make their return in 2018, although it will be complicated to find a place for them between the hybrid LM P1s and the current LM P2s.
 

Discover the challenges of the 2017 WEC season in the AUTO Guidehebdo, still available in digital version on all platforms and on kiosks.