Quote:
Originally Posted by Purist
Salamus, I really don't see how you have a commercially-viable World Championship without those name-brand manufacturers.
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You definitely need manufacturers to promote the championship. But you also need a strong privateer field to fall back on when times get tough (ie: now). Manufacturers grow a series, privateers keep it afloat. FIA/ACO relied solely on the manufacturers in their top class. They were constantly talking to them and getting their feedback for the new regulations and the manufacturers still left. As a side note, this exact same scenario can happen in GTE. All it takes is for a couple manufacturers to abandon the class and it goes into crisis mode as well.
What makes DPi and GT3 appealing and safe is that you have a good mix of both manufacturer-supported teams and small independent teams. I'm not suggesting the WEC go to DPi, but the FIA/ACO can certainly learn from IMSA and SRO.