who will be racing whom in the future?

[cybersdorf]

Press reports over here say that VW is in negotiations with Proton about a possible takeover. Along with the Proton marque itself, and a majority share in the MV motorcycle group, and probably dozens of other investments as well, Proton also owns Lotus.

Now, VW already has Lamborghini in the bag, as well as the non-racing Bentley and Bugatti (but who knows, they may show up again one of these days), and is doing alright with its Audi prototypes; all these marques will never be allowed to compete against each other directly, ever. Same with FoMoCo's Aston and Jaguar. Manufacturer-wise, are we running out of actual competitors?

[Kempi]

Seeing that Lotus hasn't really had a competitive entry in quite some time, that Bentley and Bugatti havent been racing in quite some time (with the exception of the Le Mans only Speed8) and Jaguar have not been racing (in sports cars) since the demise of Group C as it was known in the 80s:

What harm is being done? There is no change really.

[Bramzel]

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

Now, VW already has Lamborghini in the bag, as well as the non-racing Bentley and Bugatti (but who knows, they may show up again one of these days), and is doing alright with its Audi prototypes; all these marques will never be allowed to compete against each other directly, ever.

Why not I'd say? Citroen and Peugeot are running next to eachother in WRC. Maserati and Ferrari run next to eachother in sportscars. It is possible, and I'm sure it'll happen again. I agree on you that all this inbreeding amongst manufacturers lowers the chance, actually as a head of motorsports of such a company I'd want to spread them as much as possible (wich VW does; Skoda in Rally, Seat in WTCC, Audi in DTM and LeMans). But still, it's not completely unthinkable that two brands from one company would fight against eachother.

[BSchneiderFan]

Ferrari and Maserati is not really a fair comparison, as the Ferraris are all privateers; the development of the 550 was all done privately (most successfully by Prodrive, of course), and the factory-blessed 575s are all run by private teams. The Maseratis are factory-built and were, last year at any rate, factory-run.

[isynge]

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

Manufacturer-wise, are we running out of actual competitors?

Short answer here is probably yes - absolutely. It's why nailing a series colours to the manufacturer mast is inherently dangerous - and it's a short step from having lots of manufacturers to the sort of 8-car grid at Magny Cours in 1992.

Where we really need to start looking is to encourage privateers like Henri Pescarolo and Martin Short who can run operations out of small engineering houses, and use bespoke expertise from the likes of Zytek, Courage, or Radical and off the shelf racing engines from AER, Judd etc.

A situation like that made Formula 1 great in the 1970s and early 80s - there's no reason why a paucity of manufacturers shouldn't make sportscar racing great.

[cybersdorf]

At the same time, we keep hearing complaints about "too many Porsches in GT2".

[Bramzel]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

Ferrari and Maserati is not really a fair comparison, as the Ferraris are all privateers; the development of the 550 was all done privately (most successfully by Prodrive, of course), and the factory-blessed 575s are all run by private teams. The Maseratis are factory-built and were, last year at any rate, factory-run.

575's = developed by the factory, sold to privateers but with factory involvement
MC12 = developed by the factory, sold to privateers but with factory involvement

Fair enough imho.

[Francesco]

after having spoked with Mr. Short in Monza he told us that a Judd in leasing for a season costs about 350.000euros... while running a Grand-Am engine with same power would cost less than a half, i think that we need more "cost-effective" machinery, i don't think chassis is so expensive as the engine-trasmission department so we just need some new, reliable, unrestricted engines

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

At the same time, we keep hearing complaints about "too many Porsches in GT2".

Blimey - I was only whispering too........

[Milanostah]

Personally, I think it's smart, yet risky to have 2 brands in the same series. If you do well, you can have both brands selling well.

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

At the same time, we keep hearing complaints about "too many Porsches in GT2".

I guess when someone comes up with something as fast with a good a back up structure from the works, as good a resale value, that is as reliable then we will see less.

I think only one retired from Le mans this year, and that was wrapped around a tree.