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So the answer is a faster LMPC class? That's the best we can come up with?
I agree the tub regs should be guaranteed utilizable for a minimum five years (as was pointed oput, tubs might not last longer than that anyway without safety issues due to wear.) But demanding a spec tub---would certainly not please some constructors.
Sure, a lot of cars were built off the Courage and Lola tubs, but Honda, Bailey ... if I recall the new Morgan/Oak are not. Would constructors really want to invest in a new spec class? Would fans really want to watch it?
You can say "DPs are not such a bad idea," but only if you ignore the fact that no one watches them. What ALMS brings to the table in the merger is Fans. GA brings cash and a reasonable management system.
ALMS had fans because it had Cars. Real cars, not kit cars. Cars that fans cared about
The only reason ALMS failed was because it didn't have any cash to spend on serious promo, and tried to grab all the cash it could which choked the teams. Had the series been properly capitalized, GA would be history.
It is indeed possible to build cheap cars, but if no one cares about them, they become expensive because they generate no revenue. Right now racing in general generates very little revenue, because series are figuring out how to monetize the web and deal with lower TV exposure--and a flat global economy.
Going to a formula no one cares about is not the answer. If DPs were a good idea, GA wouldn't have needed NASCAR life support.
I saw more fans at PLM on Wednesday than I have seen at all the GA races I have attended over several years. Somehow I don't think a new generation of DPs is the answer we all seek.
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