[WEC] Are American Manufacturers incapable of fielding LMP1?

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Lagunaseca_4life

I'm just surprised that the media and general public didn't make a big fuss about it,almost shows how little people know about corvette and it's sports car program.

I wouldn't be as hesitant to say that the general public has zero idea or clue about the sports car program. I think they flew completely under the radar.

Richard

[dbagtbag]

Originally Posted by Dyson Mazda

The Corvette Racing program was probably saved by the fact that GM got the bailout. I have a feeling the team would have gotten cut if they had to go through the bankruptcy process. There were articles at the time saying they would cut the NASCAR program before they cut the Corvette Racing team due to the sport's relevance. I honestly think that the racing program had a ton to do with the design of the C7, meaning GM got a lot out of the racing team (though I might be naive).

The Corvette Racing program is almost entirely done by Pratt & Miller. They are and were in good financial condition.

[Dyson Mazda]

Originally Posted by dbagtbag

The Corvette Racing program is almost entirely done by Pratt & Miller. They are and were in good financial condition.

Um, where do you think the majority of their funding was coming from? Compuware and Mobil 1?

[Maelochs]

As I heard it the money for the racing program was budgeted in under promotion and the argument was that cutting it would hurt sales which would be counterproductive.

[Gulf]

Originally Posted by Lagunaseca_4life

I'm just surprised that the media and general public didn't make a big fuss about it,almost shows how little people know about corvette and it's sports car program.

I find it funny that the c7 has those ducts on top of the rear fender for brake cooling and the pr spin that it was developed from the race car.but yet on the C7.R those ducts are stickers! I was actually a little disappointed when I saw it in person.

The ducts came from the C6.R.

[dbagtbag]

Originally Posted by Dyson Mazda

Um, where do you think the majority of their funding was coming from? Compuware and Mobil 1?

OH Dooh. Sorry didn't quite think things through before responding

You're right a lot of the funding comes from Chevy. I know some folks on the Corvette team and Pratt & Miller does a lot more than just racing. They do military DoD stuff too.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by Lagunaseca_4life

I find it funny that the c7 has those ducts on top of the rear fender for brake cooling and the pr spin that it was developed from the race car.but yet on the C7.R those ducts are stickers! I was actually a little disappointed when I saw it in person.

It depends on the circuit. It changes at other tracks.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

As I heard it the money for the racing program was budgeted in under promotion and the argument was that cutting it would hurt sales which would be counterproductive.

(Setting... Conference room deep in Detroit circa 2009 in which the GM racing department is planning contingency plans around the impending repercussions of bankruptcy protection.)

Bob: I don't know guys. How do we spin this? They are about to pull the plug on funding!

Fred: I know it sounds crazy, but how about the same way we got money in the first place? We say that racing helps sales?

(Uproarious nervous laughter fills the room. It trails off to giggles and finally all is quiet)

Bob: Its a long shot, but I like it!



Richard

[skycafe]

http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/new...88381481237582 Steven Cole Smith's commentary about manufacturer involvement circa 1999. Entertaining for the commentary about taking a Cadillac representative into the Mercedes compound as they were withdrawing.

It probably is a good observation-if the company is not willing to carpet the garages, they are not willing to invest to win against other companies.

[rwindle]

History has proven that an American effort to win at racing outside of U.S. borders is irrelevant to automobile sales in the 50 states. Therefore, why should they spend the money. Viper withdrew from Le Mans this year due to lack of budget. They would rather focus on TUSCC with their available dollars. That seems to be the way American car companies prioritize.

Cadillac, Panoz, Viper, Corvette, those are small potatoes compared to the quantity of cars the U.S. companies need to sell to stay in business. They also know that they cannot compete with the likes of Audi, Porsche, Toyota, Ligier, Oreca, Rebellion in endurance racing.

American car manufacturers are flash in the pan when it comes to endurance racing. They never stay for long, they never do really well. That is their history.

[ss_collins]

American car manufacturers are flash in the pan when it comes to endurance racing. They never stay for long, they never do really well. That is their history.

I seem to recall Ford doing quite well

[Maelochs]

1964--1969----Not a long commitment. Outspent Ferrari to settle a grudge, won Le Mans a couple times, walked away.

Anyway, the thread title maybe should be: "Can the Current American Sports Car Racing Business Offer Reasonable Return to a Manufacturer Considering LMP1?"

Pretty obviously the U.S. is the major market, so aside from winning Le Mans I don't see any WEC involvement being sustainable (from a marketing perspective.) And well .... not many places to race a P1 in the U.S.

[CyberMotor]

One primary item that's missing in the American scene is an understanding of 'relevance' and how important it is to the future. Without that, it will be the SOS.

[lms]

Originally Posted by rwindle

American car manufacturers are flash in the pan when it comes to endurance racing. They never stay for long, they never do really well. That is their history.

except in gte

[TF110]

Yeah, how long has vette been there now? Since early 2000's.

[Maelochs]

GTE?

WEC Are American Manufacturers incapable of fielding LMP1?"

Why not bring up NASCAR if you want to show U.S. manufacturer commitment to racing in general?

[chernaudi]

Incapable? Probably not. Unwilling? Certainly.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by rwindle

American car manufacturers are flash in the pan when it comes to endurance racing. They never stay for long, they never do really well. That is their history.

Originally Posted by Maelochs

GTE?

WEC Are American Manufacturers incapable of fielding LMP1?"

Why not bring up NASCAR if you want to show U.S. manufacturer commitment to racing in general?

Take a look at the previous comments. American manufacturers are interested in endurance and Vette has been a model of that for over a decade. Lmp1 is the thread topic, but it wasn't what we were discussing. That being endurance racing in general.

[Maelochs]

Oaky. I thought the post was from RWintle, not Rwindle ... the former I know from long board exposure, the latter is sa stranger.

Because I thoucht the post came from RWintle, who is fairly knowledgeable and would be aware of the long Corvette program, I assumed he must be focusing still on American manufacturer involvement ion P1 where even the Corvette, like the Probe and the Northstar, were all short-lived and sort of half-hearted.

Do you believe all that? I might ... or not.

The real question is whether an American manufacturer can make an onboard fire extinguisher for a P1.