[Purist]

I'm not disputing the improvement in the 2020-21 calendar. However, it is one calendar announcement weighted against several seasons of what past calendars have been. That is, I'm only saying I'm not in a place to say that those at the top of the FIA WEC have totally changed their ways or mindset and desires regarding Grade 1 circuits. And it's just a bit more amusing considering that the entire rest of your post is about all the other ways that they haven't changed.

I'm not sure how the current regs expressly wiped out the other 3 besides Oreca. If it's the same for everyone, and Oreca did a better job from the outset, how is that their fault? Isn't this what everyone on here says will happen with a true, merit-based class? That the one who does the best will become the default option? I'm not saying it's ideal, but I'm not sure what you'd do about it. Also, if the Oreca is specifically better in top-end speed, it only makes all the more sense why it would be favored in the WEC, and especially at Le Mans. The current and next WEC calendars are weighted 75% in terms of circuits with enough straights of sufficient length that you probably want that top-end (Austin, Sebring, and Kyalami being the principle exceptions). The ELMS is weighted more like 67% in that way (Catalunya and Algarve being least in that vein). The AsLMS is 50%, I'd say (The Bend and Sepang being less top-end dependent). IMSA may have a proportion as low as 30% in this regard (Daytona, Road America, and Watkins Glen being the main ones where you want good flat-out speed).

I'm not sure how many people get duped by the badging. They clearly look like Orecas, and those not in the know are rather unlikely to be terribly familiar with either Alpine, or especially Aurus, so they'd be seen as just another sponsor. And since they are running Orecas, putting the cheap decals on isn't automatically going to get them results that would yield good marketing material; they'll still need to have good prep and a good team. Aside from all that, given all the engine badging over the years from shops like Cosworth, Ilmor, and AER, this doesn't stand out so much to me. Finally, is Ligier particularly less of a manufacturer than Alpine?

Major manufacturers pay the bills to have a World Championship. I think that's about the size of it, and has been since the 1970s certainly. It was a different equation with so many customer cars and no on-car sponsors earlier on, but works teams probably didn't hurt in the '60s and '50s either.