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It is unusual for manufacturers to compete in top level sportscars for more than 10 years at a time. If you look back over the last 50 or 60 years the only manufacturers that have done so are Porsche and Audi. All the others have come and gone in much shorter time frames.
It is up to those who make the rules to plan for that as it is usually in era's with major manufacturer battles that sportscar racing is best remembered.
Ideally you need about 4 manufacturers competing, any less and you run the risk of not enough if one or two leave, any more and some will not be able to compete and will go anyway.
The usual way the problems build up is that the cost of winning becomes too great and the bean counters come and say there is not enough return for what we are doing and the plug gets pulled.
It is up to the rule makers to come up with a formula to prevent costs getting out of hand and also allow privateers compete with the manufacturers.
As an aside it will be interesting to see how FE gets on as there will be at least 5 manufacturers in it soon. That could lead very quickly lead to an arms race to win at all costs. We will know the answer in 4 or 5 years time.
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