Quote:
Originally Posted by isynge
Wearing my optimistic hat, I figure the more viable designs we have out there the more feasible it is that some of them will see the light of day, if for no other reason that it makes the pitch to backers more persuasive.
At the moment, let's say you want to go LMP1 racing next year, you've got a bit of cash to get the ball rolling, but you need backers. Right now an obvious question would be, "okay, so what chassis / engine lineup are you looking at?", to which up until now all you could say would be "Lotus, or maybe some other vapourware projects", which doesn't sound all that thought through.
Now you could be in a position where you can say "We've talked to Lotus and run some numbers, but right now we're keen to go down the Perrin route, because we feel it's a less compromised package by being focused on LMP1 and benefits from looking at some of the lessons learned of 2013", which straight away is a lot more persuasive.
Will we see a Perrin on the grid next year? Perhaps we won't, but if nothing else the exercise of someone getting out there and doing the design studies is another good vote of confidence in the WEC, and a sign that people are moving beyond the overall tooth sucking about how the 2014 regs are absolutely impossible for a privateer that you hear in some bits of the media.
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The fact that manufacturers like Perrin are testing the waters in the WEC shows that finally it is getting more attention. More and more people are willing to spend in order to get a basic design blueprint, a group of people, a couple of demos, etc, etc. Evidence in Bailey Prototypes - that never took off but what matters is that they tried in the first place. Analysts and predictors like us here at 10 Tenths seemed to think the only way for LMP1 (and the WEC) was to get factory teams from places like Nissan, Honda, or Porsche. But perhaps it'll turn out to be the opposite way around... teams like the new Rebellion "works" team, OAK Racing, Perrin, and Bailey will make up the bulk of LMP1. Who knows... interesting prospects ahead.
My
cynic tells me this won't take off, though.
