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As a probably pointless exercise in car counts at Le Mans
1999: 48 28P 20GT (first year of LMGTP)
2000: 48 26P 22GT (first year of LMP900/675)
2001: 48 28P 20GT
2002: 50 28P 22GT
2003: 50 25P 25GT
2004: 48 25P 23GT (first year of LMP1/LMP2 eligibility)
2005: 49 26P 23GT
2006: 51 24P 27GT (last year of LMP900/LMP675 eligibility)
2007: 55 26P 29GT
2008: 56 33P 23GT
2009: 55 32P 23GT
2010: 55 30P 26GT
2011: 56 28P 28GT (LMP1 displacement reduction, LMP2 stock block+cost cap introduction)
2012: 57 33P 23GT 1NT
2013: 58 30P 26GT 1NT
2014: 58 27P 30GT 1NT (new LMP1 regulations)
2015: 56 26P 23GT
2016: 60 32P 27GT 1NT
2017: 60 31P 29GT (new LMP2 regulations)
The LMP900/675 years do not come across as particularly strong years for prototype racing. The high finishing places GT cars achieved suggest as much as well. It's clear there's some other external factors having a significant impact on prototype car counts considering 2008 and 2009 don't represent any major regulation changes. Yes privateers have generally moved from LMP1 to LMP2 but that's an indicator of how much better LMP2 has become since the days when they qualified in the 3:50s, got passed on the straights by GT1 cars, and all seemed to go out in a spectacular blaze sometime around 9pm Saturday night. (the last part of which is more or less LMP1's job these days) They're not significantly more or less competitive for overall victory than petrol LMP1 as a category during some of the diesel years (eg. in 2010 the first non-stock block petrol car qualified 10s off pole) or many of the LMP900 cars that were entered (only 10 other cars qualified within 10s of the Bentleys the year they won)
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