|
At least IMSA has the problem of too many deserving tracks and not enough dates open. Granted, the schedule isn't perfect (no GTLM at Detroit because of LM test day clash for example, and I think that the Prototypes should be running at Lime Rock), but they're sort of in a better position than the WEC is.
The WEC is a "world championship", and some rounds are there in part due to pressure from the manufacturer teams. COTA is there because aside from Indy GP, COTA is the only active Grade 1 track in the US. And we know that in the past Audi, Porsche, Toyota, Ferrari, Ford and Aston Martin have pushed for a US round due to US sales. That also is why Shanghai is on the schedule, due to those makers wanting a presence in China.
Bahrain is there mostly because the ACO and FIA like to collect the bundles of bucks that the Royal Family is willing to pay to have a race there. From what I've heard Bahrain is a ghost town compared to COTA, but that doesn't stop the WEC from turning up every season.
Of course, that does open debate for which races should go and what should replace them. IMSA has the issues of so many deserving races due to so many US tracks having pedigree and history. Not to mention that one of the reasons they're doing COTA is a race in the SW US outside of California. They have two races in Florida that are there by virtue of being signature NA endurance events. So geography and location plays a role.
The WEC have races that unquestionably should be there, such as Silverstone, Nurburgring, Spa, and Fuji, let alone Le Mans. Mexico City also has history with sportscar racing. But COTA seems to be there because of the ACO/WEC's management's unwavering desire to run Grade 1 tracks outside of Le Mans. Personally, I think there's better places that the WEC can race at in NA if they'd be willing to bite the Grade 1 bullet and swallow their pride. COTA is an interesting track on layout for a Tilkedrome, but between not attracting fans to any of their races, bad management decisions, and the fact that any date outside of a September time-frame is inconvenient for the series, it makes sense why the race isn't that well attended.
With COTA, either there's not enough effort on the part of the track and WEC management to promote the event, or the local populace is indifferent to the goings on, or both.
Unfortunately, I'm not the one who makes the schedule, and the ACO are having to bend to manufacturer/team desires and promotional factors. Not to mention that as I hinted at in my first post, there is, like with IMSA, only a limited number of slots for races. Several teams almost crapped a brick when the ACO added Mexico City late in 2015. It screwed up Toyota's plans to run three cars at LM last year for one. There's not much enthusiasm for adding more races right now, and probably won't be for a while, if ever. Even then, at most, the WEC will be probably capped at 10 races max unless there's a major boom in the world economy.
|