Quote:
Originally Posted by Bcarr6
Is the GT World Championship meant to remove GT from WEC so that it is Proto only? Allowing LMP1, LMP2, LMP3
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I very much doubt it. The idea of convergence is to lessen the difference between GTE and GT3 cars, thereby making it easier (as in less expense) for GT manufacturers to go to Le Mans. Having more GT manufacturers at Le Mans is something that would make the ACO very happy.
Could Le Mans function as both a round of both a world prototype endurance racing championship (WEC with just prototypes) and a GT+ world championship? Probably not, unless the ACO added another 10 or 15 garages.
Taking GT cars out of the WEC and replacing them with a bunch of LMP3s doesn't exactly increase the appeal of the WEC. Most people would rather watch some Ferraris, Ford GT, Corvettes, Aston-Martin, and Porsche 911s as compared a horde of Ligier LMP3s. Such a change would also take a lot of factory money out of the series.
Possibilities I see:
1. The WEC also becomes the GT world championship with very likely just LMP1/LMP2/GT+ classes (no pro-am GT class).
2. A separate GT world championship is set up, scope and leadership TBD. The WEC stays roughly the same though — it still might lose its GTE-Am category — with a trophy for endurance GT driving. The way the GT world championship is structured is such that it isn't entirely about long races, so that there's still some value in the WEC for GT cars.