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One, in LMP900, BOP didn't really exist, but Audi built their car to the same exact rules as everyone else. No diesel, no hybrids, no big tech. Just be glad that they didn't spend the money that Toyota did for just two LM apperances and a one off race at Fuji with the GT-One just to basically go home empty handed. They ran full ALMS seasons and even sold some cars off to private teams.
Two, look at LMP2 from 2006-10.
LMP2 was intended for privateer teams (or factory teams on shoestring budgets), not what Porsche and Acura/HPD did, which was run OEM backed teams (even if Acura's were privateers per IMSA rules), which if the not for the 2009 recession and the ACO intervening for 2011, would've likely seen more of the same.
I understand that times are different. I also understand that in the customer car market back then, you had more options. If you don't count Audi/Audi Sport, in LMP900 there were times where private teams were able to take on BMW and Panoz and one up them. Not insanely common, but it happened.
You also had the likes of Lola, Courage, Dallara, Dome and boutique makers building cars for the LMP900 regs.
Sadly, how many of those names have I mentioned in the last sentence are there now? Though we gained Onroak/Ligier, we basically lost Lola (unless you count Multimatic as their successor), Courage (unless you count Oreca as a successor), Dome, and almost all the even smaller boutique makers.
I know that whatever IMSA and the ACO will cook up, it will favor OEM teams. And yes, most OEMs want LMDH. But outside of Toyota and Glickenhaus, do they want hypercar, or DPI, or something in between?
And we have to remember the big wildcard in this: Peugeot. I can bet you between Peugeot being a much desired OEM, and being French on top of that, that the ACO will be listening to what they want.
Also, between DPI 2.0 and LMP Hypercar and LMDH all being based around performance balancing, why can't all three exist under the same umbrella? Of course, that's in theory, and we've seen the ACO and IMSA make a mess out of it in the past.
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