My understanding to the issue when IMSA changed from Group C GTP cars to open cockpit World Sports Cars was two fold. The open cockpit car rules were designed to be more like the Riley & Scott car than the Ferrari 333, ie cheaper. Chassis were relatively inexpensive as far as racers go, and could be made plentifully. Supposedly the open cockpit would allow the race fan to see the driver at his job. Having seen them in person, it works. The other measure was a way to slow them down. An open cockpit car creates more drag than a closed version and allows the rules to be structured so that stability in engine programs is allowed. The idea being that additional drag did not force the manufacturers to react to radical rule changes every year in an effort to contain speed.
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