[WEC] WEC 2019/20 season

[gert]

Robertson / Orudhev / Hanley for LNT Ginetta #5, Simpson / Smith / Dyson for #6 at Silverstone

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...for-wec-return

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Juntos

You rock!

It was obviously penned with great effort and time was taken over it. This explains the 27 hours between posts. Obviously that is longer than the allowed edit time on the forum.

It kind of reminds me of why the second series of Fawlty Towers took so long to write. Cleese wanted to make sure that everything was perfect to maximize the comic effect. Artists crave perfection.

[Juntos]

Originally Posted by gert

Robertson / Orudhev / Hanley for LNT Ginetta #5, Simpson / Smith / Dyson for #6 at Silverstone

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...for-wec-return

Strong line ups! Good chances of getting a 3rd place finish in the LMP1 class.

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by Juntos

Strong line ups! Good chances of getting a 3rd place finish in the LMP1 class.

Well... they won't need to struggle a lot to finish 4th at least

[joeb]

Originally Posted by gert

Robertson / Orudhev / Hanley for LNT Ginetta #5, Simpson / Smith / Dyson for #6 at Silverstone

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/1...for-wec-return

Does that say something about the funding mechanism for the #6 car? Is it going to be a race by race kind of thing? Great to see Dyson and Smith back into a prototype for sure. Dyson has been doing a bit of everything lately, with a focus on TransAm, but also some off road trucks, iirc, and got in a nascar last week at MidOhio too. I'm sure the Ginette will offer a slightly different driving experience.....

[gert]

Originally Posted by joeb

Does that say something about the funding mechanism for the #6 car? Is it going to be a race by race kind of thing?

Both crews are for Silverstone only, AFAIK.
That doesn't mean either or both will change on a race-by-race basis, although possible.

So far, only the Silverstone crews have been announced, nothing else.
Apparently there is/was some interest in Ghiotto (fastest Ginetta during the test days) but he is unavailable at Silverstone because of F2 in Spa.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by gert

Both crews are for Silverstone only, AFAIK.

That doesn't mean either or both will change on a race-by-race basis, although possible.



So far, only the Silverstone crews have been announced, nothing else.

Apparently there is/was some interest in Ghiotto (fastest Ginetta during the test days) but he is unavailable at Silverstone because of F2 in Spa.

Thanks, and just to be clear, I have no problem with switching drivers every round. It can be good for more drivers to provide feedback as they are developing the car.

[LC2guy]

Did i dream that when Silverstone WEC was announced as being reduced to a 4 HR Race, that one positive was that there would be extra time for better support races ? I've just checked the Timetable and it's just a Porsche Race, followed by the WEC 4 HR .... Not sure who the "Fans" were that requested this format in the ACO Survey !!!

https://www.silverstone.co.uk/wp-con...-Timetable.pdf

[gregc]

Originally Posted by LC2guy

Did i dream that when Silverstone WEC was announced as being reduced to a 4 HR Race, that one positive was that there would be extra time for better support races ? I've just checked the Timetable and it's just a Porsche Race, followed by the WEC 4 HR .... Not sure who the "Fans" were that requested this format in the ACO Survey !!!

https://www.silverstone.co.uk/wp-con...-Timetable.pdf

That's just garbage. If I was going this year, based on that timetable I'd probably only do Saturday.

And Bahrain gets an 8 hour race, for the seventeen people that will turn up...

[Akrapovic]

It’s 4 hours to spite the fans, to be blunt. The polls keep saying Silverstone is popular. So they dropped it and the fans went crazy. So they brought it back but dropped the leave length.

It’s spite. Or stupidity. Either or.

[JoeW04]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

It’s 4 hours to spite the fans, to be blunt. The polls keep saying Silverstone is popular. So they dropped it and the fans went crazy. So they brought it back but dropped the leave length.

It’s spite. Or stupidity. Either or.

I was annoyed by them reducing the race length but I was still thinking of going on the Sunday but after seeing the timetable for Sunday I won’t be bothering

[GT6]

Well as i booked this up some time ago i will be there, arriving friday and staying at usual travel lodge. Lets hope a few others turn up and the weather is ok, see everyone in 10 days time

[LC2guy]

Genuine Question GT6, i know you're an avid Fan of Sportscars, as i am, but having booked further in advance than most, are you disappointed with just porsche cup alongside ELMS & WEC ? I mean no disrespect, i will also be there, but i feel after the initial hype around reducing to 4 Hrs & how this would free up time, that just having porsches is a real let down.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by LC2guy

Did i dream that when Silverstone WEC was announced as being reduced to a 4 HR Race, that one positive was that there would be extra time for better support races ?

The race used to be 1200-1800, now it’s 1200-1600. The timetable is otherwise unchanged as far as I can see.

I agree it’s poor, but I don’t understand why it has came as a surprise. The candidates for an extra support were Le Mans Cup, Masters Endurance and maybe GT Cup. We knew none of those were going to be there.

I think the weak field is a better reason not to go than the reduction in time. An extra two hours watching Toyota lap everyone isn’t going to make the race any more enjoyable, either on TV or in person.

[TF110]

The reason Silverstone was 'dropped' was because of the tracks' business, or lack thereof. There was talk about it even continuing to be raced on because their main money-maker, F1, was thinking about cancelling the round at Silverstone or at the least they were trying to get a better deal (Bernie steadily made/takes more money from them). This all escalated when talk of a London race for F1. Silverstone being dropped for that would basically put it out of business and there's no way the WEC and local GT/Touring Car series would fill in the hole that an F1 race not being there would leave. I'm assuming this is what the management at Silverstone were thinking of in their renegotiating of deals, probably including the WEC.

[Adam43]

I’m not following that. Silverstone thought they might lose F1 so didn’t renegotiate the WEC deal?

I would imagine it was independent of the F1 deal. Although you also seem to be suggestion Silverstone made all their money from F1 and nothing else.

[Akrapovic]

Fans: We like Silverstone
WEC: But they might lose the F1. No race at Silverstone.
Fans: But we want Silverstone!
WEC: But Super Season! We have Toyota! And things!
Fans: Silllllverstone!
WEC: Fine. Silverstone, fancy a race?
Silverstone: Sure bro.
WEC: Fine. But you're only getting 4 hours. Nobody wants 6 hours at Silverstone. Everyone wants the 48 hours of Bahrain.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by TF110

The reason Silverstone was 'dropped' was because of the tracks' business, or lack thereof. There was talk about it even continuing to be raced on because their main money-maker, F1, was thinking about cancelling the round at Silverstone or at the least they were trying to get a better deal (Bernie steadily made/takes more money from them).

Silverstone was losing money under the old F1 deal, it wasn’t a money-maker at all, that’s why they activated the break clause. The WEC dropping/adding wasn’t Silverstone’s doing. On the contrary, I suspect WEC is one of the very few large profitable race events they have (alongside MotoGP, the Classic, WRX and possibly BTCC).

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I’m not following that. Silverstone thought they might lose F1 so didn’t renegotiate the WEC deal?

I would imagine it was independent of the F1 deal. Although you also seem to be suggestion Silverstone made all their money from F1 and nothing else.

I didn't say that at all. I said the opposite actually. I don't know the specifics but what I read about the f1 situation is that it threw a wrench on the entire tracks' events, actually the track surviving, at least under the current owners.

I think what happened was they were tired of paying more and more each year or new deal for the F1 race and they renegotiated with everyone, not just F1. I don't know how much they make for the other series that race there but I do know that the British GP has easily 100k+ people just on race day. And that has to be the main money maker.

I'm wondering if there is anything comparable to that in terms of attendance and therefor money. I know the WEC says 30-50k but I think that's weekend total. Is there anything else racing there that can be a money maker? If they are losing money on their biggest venue what does it mean for the smaller ones like the WEC?

I actually found a recent article on Forbes that goes into detail about the situation they face- https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2...0-million/amp/... So looking at that, reading that they are in a bad place financially, maybe there's more to it than just the WEC dropping it because they don't like the place or anything along those lines. Money talks. Maybe Silverstone wasn't trying to give the WEC a race at the rate they had. Maybe 6hrs is a financial burden for the WEC organizers and decided 4 was a good deal for the price Silverstone asked? I don't know exactly, but from the info available it seems to me that both of them were looking out for their financial interests with light of the other big race and it's details on finances.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Fans: We like Silverstone
WEC: But they might lose the F1. No race at Silverstone.
Fans: But we want Silverstone!
WEC: But Super Season! We have Toyota! And things!
Fans: Silllllverstone!
WEC: Fine. Silverstone, fancy a race?
Silverstone: Sure bro.
WEC: Fine. But you're only getting 4 hours. Nobody wants 6 hours at Silverstone. Everyone wants the 48 hours of Bahrain.

Careful now. You're beginning to sound like some else.......

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by LC2guy

Genuine Question GT6, i know you're an avid Fan of Sportscars, as i am, but having booked further in advance than most, are you disappointed with just porsche cup alongside ELMS & WEC ? I mean no disrespect, i will also be there, but i feel after the initial hype around reducing to 4 Hrs & how this would free up time, that just having porsches is a real let down.

I booked in October, within hours of ticketing being open. Booked my accommodation at the same time. And if there's a WEC race next year there, I'll do the same again. As I've said to others in the scurrilous world of Facebook, I go to enjoy a race or two hopefully, but also to meet friends, and have another escapist break after Le Mans. Yes, my needs may be shallower than most purists but despite my age, my glass seems to be more half full than most..... See you there Simon.....

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Silverstone was losing money under the old F1 deal, it wasn’t a money-maker at all, that’s why they activated the break clause. The WEC dropping/adding wasn’t Silverstone’s doing. On the contrary, I suspect WEC is one of the very few large profitable race events they have (alongside MotoGP, the Classic, WRX and possibly BTCC).

I forgot about the Moto GP race! That surely is a big event that rivals F1 in attendance. In the articles I read, they don't get subsidies from the local government for the F1 race. So they are footing most of the bill. It seems like that is the main contributing factor in the track losing money. Even though they raised the ticket prices it seems they are losing money still. I would like to know the price of tickets for the WEC race this year vs. last. You're getting less racing so is the ticket prices reflecting that? That'd be interesting to know.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Careful now. You're beginning to sound like some else.......

What do we want?
BoP!
When do we want it?
Within 0.1 seconds a lap of the next ruleset.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by TF110

I think what happened was they were tired of paying more and more each year or new deal for the F1 race and they renegotiated with everyone, not just F1. I don't know how much they make for the other series that race there but I do know that the British GP has easily 100k+ people just on race day. And that has to be the main money maker.

I repeat: under the old deal Silverstone was losing money on the F1 GP, despite a sell-out at vast prices. So they activated the contract break clause and negotiated a better deal. The WEC has nothing to do with this process and it was certainly not Silverstone’s choice to drop it. On the contrary, keeping the big events was even more important when the future of the F1 GP was uncertain.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Careful now. You're beginning to sound like some else.......

Oh