Quote:
Originally Posted by broadrun96
I have to ask what fans PWC thinks they have, it seems like no one in here cares even a little about WC and longer. And honestly with the drivers they have and lack of endorsement of driving standards it's just not worth the effort to find it 3 weeks later
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It's not just PWC. All sportscar "racing" has become a stupid waste of time.
When I started watching the sport it was in the early 2000s, the American Le Mans Series was just hitting its stride. I fell in love with how real the sport was. It was about real competition. The best cars, teams, and drivers would usually dominate because they deserved to. The rules were open to innovation, the cars were diverse and technically interesting and just plain cool. It was a breath of fresh air to a gearhead like me who had become disillusioned with the controlled and artificial nature of the Nascar racing that I had grown up following.
Sadly that golden age of sportcar racing somewhat abruptly came to an end when the same people that had destroyed stock car racing decided that they needed to control our little wing of motorsports also. Now racing no longer is determined by the competitors, it's controlled by the sanctioning bodies. Race teams aren't allowed to make their race cars faster, if you're not quick enough the only recourse is to beg and plead to the sanctioning power for more favorable BOP. You never really know if any victory was properly earned or just the result of less than equitable BOP.
To add insult to injury, racing is more expensive than ever due to (among other things) the way homologated parts have to be purchased from the manufacturer at an exorbitant price. Spec cars, spec parts, spec tires, timed pitstops, "untimed" pitstops with expected refueling times....EVERYTHING is controlled.
I used to really love sportscar racing...I don't anymore. It's now more of an addiction that I'm not quite strong enough to quit cold turkey. I still enjoy going to race events with my family though and PWC is less repulsive than the other forms of sportscar racing currently available in the US.
Why PWC? First off I think that some form of equivalency formula or BOP is somewhat necessary to retain diversity in production based racing. Otherwise the only cars that can be competitive are the mid engine supercar type vehicles. GT racing should be a good mix of big V8 front engined monsters, svelte mid engined supercars and classic rear engined Porsches.(you shouldn't have to build a mid engined 911 to race in a GT class.) Secondly the global nature of the SRO BOP should be a little less reactionary because it is not based on just one series.
The other thing is although PWC seems to share the same basic "control everything" philosophy that IMSA adheres to, they sometimes lack the manpower and resources to actually make it happen.
Lastly PWC did not buy out the ALMS and systematically strip away almost everything that made it awesome. I still haven't really forgiven the new IMSA for destroying our sport, plus things have really only gotten worse since 2014.
#PowerIsNothingWithoutControl
#SportscarRacingIsDumb
