Quote:
Originally Posted by kyoung
The N24 is a showcase for German cars period; other marques are tolerated and bopped accordingly.
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I don't think BOP has much if anything to do with it. BMW, Porsche, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz have a significant advantage as they develop their cars there. Add a couple of works and customer cars in the VLN and you have a significant advantage in track time over others. Others who will do two VLN rounds with one or two cars and expect to be competitive when they won't even last until midnight.
The Bentleys may have the best shot at a win for a foreign brand (VW blah blah blah) with the amount of running time they have. The Aston and McLaren have proven to be as rugged as a sugar cube. Can't recall a memorable entry for a Lamborghini. Ferraris are a rare sight in VLN and even if AF Corse entered it would takes ages to catch up to the experience of the others.
So when it comes to Corvette, who do people complain that they are not at the N24 when they don't have a GT3 car, VLN experience, or a budget as there is no worthwhile market presence on the entire continent?
And would we really want a factory GTE car that a privateer can't really buy winning the N24 again? And we all see the Nürburgring as the mystical holy land where experience, skill, and good fortune lead to victory. Someone winning with a car built for faster regulations that costs significantly more to buy (if they will even sell you one) and run takes the fun out of it doesn't it? Would you want to watch an ELMS race with 10 P2 cars running behind a P1 car? It's not really any different.
VLN is great because we have no idea who will win. It may be a works supported Audi. It may be Sabine Schmitz in a Porsche that is out of date. It may be the front wheel drive Audi TT from a lower class when the weather is bad (yes, it has happened.)
And let us just be grateful that racing on the Nürburgring still exists at all before we start complaining that the BOP for theoretical entrants would unfavourable.