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Fact is that in '05 that Pescarolo had the rules heavily tilted in his favor and was racing semi-factory teams from Audi. So what should he have expected when Audi came back with a full factory program and a car built to take advantage of the same rules that Henri did the previous year?
Also, HPD and especially Porsche were dumping LMP1-level money and resources into LMP2. How was that fair to private teams, for whom the LMP2 regs were intended to cater to?
Only good aspect of it is that it created good racing. But it lead the ACO to do things like ban factory teams from LMP2 and turn it into a pro-am class. And it also lead to the ACO catering to factory teams to run in LMP1.
Like them or loathe them, Audi nevertheless supported top level LMP racing on a basically continuous basis for almost 20 years. But even they called it quits when they saw no light at the end of the tunnel due to spiraling costs and diminishing ROI. Porsche are seeing the same thing, so to soon will likely Toyota.
I do believe in racing being a proving ground for road relevance, be it racing GT cars or touring cars, or even prototypes.
However, that landscape has changed. Racing over the years has become more and more entertainment driven. And teams and car makers have become less and less prone to trying to play things out, and want results instantly.
You don't have to like it--and there's plenty that I don't like about it--but it is what it is, and there's not a whole lot we can do about it.
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