At this point, I don't see any interest for a privateer to run with a hybrid car. Too complex to run. Too costly to develop or buy. No advantage in terms of overall energy allocation (on paper at least).
Besides, the ACO made it crystal clear in their
original statement of June 2012 that privateers running "without KERS" (read, in the "LMP-L sub-category") will be "protected". Here are the explicit statements on pages 7 and 8 of the
ACO press release:
Quote:
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Adjustment of the performance of the cars in the column without KERS if necessary to protect private teams which use them (sport and spectacle)
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Quote:
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Private teams are protected
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I would hope that this "promise" will be duly reflected in the new Sporting Regulations that are to be established before the start of the 2014 season.
The only "problem" is that Rebellion Racing will be the only private team to run in 2014. Oak Racing/Onroak will possibly run their car after Le Mans (I don't believe it will be ready in time for the big one), but the car is likely going to come too late to be sufficiently competitive. In other words, the ACO-FIA will have to carry out adjustments for the LMP1-L sub-category on the basis of the level of competitiveness of a single private team. This is unfortunately far from giving a sufficiently representative basis to carry out adjustments. It's quite unfortunate that we don't have more diversity in the LMP1-L sub-category in 2014.