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That's the downside of the alternative technologies at this stage of racing. I think that has escalated the costs more than anything else, really. I also think the restrictive engine rules/constant rules changes have hurt privateers. They simply don't have the funds to buy new engines and the small suppliers such as Judd don't have the resources to keep building new engines to adapt to new regulations. The modified 3.4 V8's have been around forever and are definitely obsolete. Nissan has the best LMP2 engine and I think a lot of it is due to the fact that they didn't come in to the sport until the new cost-cap LMP2 rules/regs were implemented.
To me, loyalty/longevity in the sport has not resulted in anything too special for the privateers. Yes, they should be somewhat at a disadvantage. Toyota are proving that equivalency regulations are fair for gasoline/diesel. It's just that in today's LMP1 racing, the alternative technologies/level of sophistication required to run at the front are far too costly for most teams to afford. You just can't buy a TS030 or R18 and run it competitively like Joest or the Kremer brothers could buy a 962 and fight with the works teams. Whereas the Group C regulations were stable, current regulations are anything but.
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