”Does Tamenund dream? What voice is at his ear? Have the winters gone backward? Will summer come again to the children of the Lenape?” |
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Holy Grail Representatives of the world's leading manufacturers met in Paris last week to discuss their part in the future of endurance racing. The meeting, held in the presence of Max Mosley, was called by Ferrari's Jean Todt and it addressed the idea of an equivalency formula that would restrict costs, accommodate private teams, and realistically become a fully-fledged FIA GT World Championship. Grande Fromage General Motors, Ford, BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, Porsche and others were all represented at the meeting, invited to specifically discuss the idea. That the likes of Ulrich Bez (Aston Martin), Franz-Josef Paefgen (VW) and Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (AudiSport) were attracted to such a meeting speaks volumes for the level of seriousness being awarded to what has previously been regarded as a problem area for the FIA. Show me the Money Endurance racing has always appealed to manufacturers - you only have to look at the involvement of Porsche, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ferrari and so on. There was an FIA World Sportscar or Endurance Championship from 1953 to 1992. In recent times there has been an array of problems, both self-inflicted and imposed, that stopped the discipline from growing into something spectacular. Perhaps those issues have been, or are to be, addressed. The first issue, and as ever the most important, is money. Strategic Marketing Porsche, essentially, withdrew from endurance racing at the end of the 1998 season following a marketing decision. They did not want to get into a pissing contest with Mercedes, or with Audi who produced the R8 in 1999 and had it perfected by 2000. Who could spend more money? Mercedes or Audi? It didn't matter to Porsche, they weren't interested. My Budgets are Bigger than Yours……… What if Maserati had promised the board that it could win with a budget of X, the board would be delighted. What a plan! On that budget, you can win at international level? Crikey, where do I sign the cheque? Meanwhile, the same conversation is going on at BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and General Motors and they come up with budget Y, Z, W, and V. Any of the factories could win; probably the one that spends the most cash and the others had better match it. HOW much did you say, Maserati man? asks the board. But you promised us results on X budget. No way, mate, we are not spending to catch up. So in comes rules manipulation, instability and eventually, mass withdrawal. Paradise Lost The idea that endurance racing could once again become a World Championship is an intriguing one. If that is to be the case, we must compare it to the likes of Formula One, around for 54 years now, and the World Rally Championship. Formula One is one of the most expensive sports in the world, and private teams, such as Lotus, Prost, Jordan and Minardi, have either gone under with the financial strain or are fighting for every penny. The manufacturers have a breathtaking budget for each season, and here lies another problem. BMW won Le Mans in 1999 before embarking on their Formula One project. "I got more coverage from Ralf Schumacher finishing third in Australia than I did from winning Le Mans," said BMW Motorsport director Gerhard Berger in 2000 at Sebring. And there are only so many manufacturers. What would happen if, for example, BMW decided that it was spending too much money with Williams and that a properly organised and popular sports car series would gain excellent exposure for a fraction of the cost? Would Bernie lie down and accept this? No way. Hokey Cokey The WRC has another problem in that the manufacturers involved are treading carefully with their budgets. Skoda can only afford a bit-part championship this year; Hyundai has withdrawn until 2006 as it works on a new car. Ford got its funding in place for this year very late in the day and when it did arrive, it was 25 per cent down on 2003! Privateers are an integral part of the WRC and there is a Junior Championship but television coverage is biased towards the manufacturers. Stephane Ratel has built the FIA GT Championship on the promise that private teams can win races overall. Will the likes of Toine Hezemans and Frederic Dor continue to plough in vast sums of their own money to compete against factory teams? Blossom Dearie Privateers in the FIA GT Championship are blossoming in a well-structured environment. Stephane Ratel has begun to stretch them and turn the FIA GT Championship into a global one with races in Dubai and Zhuhai in 2004 and more fly-away events in 2005. The foreign races must be no more expensive than a European round. Ratel needs a sponsor but can he find one who will pay such travel costs? Can the likes of Manfred Freisinger, BMS Scuderia Italia and Carsport Holland otherwise afford to compete in a global championship? League of Gentlemen The representatives who attended the meeting in Paris will have thought about this and a lot more; we eagerly await their conclusions. They discussed the idea of an equivalency formula, one that will cover manufacturers and privateers in terms of costs and performance. "Everyone was sceptical," said one source, "about why Ferrari and Maserati wanted to push this, because they had a product that was likely to be dominant. But when you look at what the FIA is proposing, you realise that actually it doesn't favour them, everyone will be on a par." Peter Wright (Technical Advisor to the FIA) is looking at creating a level playing field with the regulations. Why would manufacturers spend any money at all on racing, if a winning car was to be pegged back? Oyster Beds The Grand-Am rules were designed with the idea that anyone with a sensible budget could go racing with a prospect of success. OK, at this year’s Daytona 24 Hours there were some seriously good drivers, some encouraged by the France family, others by the lure of a new Rolex watch. Some turned up because the cars are superb fun to drive, but there were, as always, a blend of the wealthy amateurs and professionals. In Europe those who can afford it want to drive cars such the Ferrari 550 Maranello, the 575, and the Murcielago but are being financially stretched. For example, Prodrive's 550 Maranello costs around Euro800,000, as will the Maserati MCC. Teams are already worried about the escalating costs to buy and run these supercars. Measures to reduce the cost of racing in this new initiative were discussed in Paris by the men in suits. Will the manufacturers create a fund to help privateers for example? USP This writer is in not opposition to the idea of a World Endurance Championship, if done with the long term of interests in mind over any short term objectives. The WEC would be sufficiently different to either the sprint format of Formula One or the three-day event WRC. Endurance racing has had a huge fan base in the past and the supercars are once again available. The idea appears to have initially the support of the FIA, and the support of the marketing-led teams, though "engineering-led teams were opposed to it!" according to a source at the meeting. Benevolent Dictator What makes a championship successful? A strong hand at the helm is often a good start. BMW and Alfa Romeo spent a long time arguing over H-pattern gearboxes and rear-wheel-drive penalties for their ETCC cars and it could have destroyed the series, with one or other throwing their toys out of the pram. Those issues got sorted out and there is healthy rivalry between the two. A unified set of regulations being introduced across Europe is helping to nurture the feeder championships, and Stephane Ratel is doing the same for the GT series throughout Europe. Ratel has two sportscar series to take care of, one for the FIA, the other for the ACO. The two bodies are friends again, but will that stretch to them working in harmony? Is this what the unified regulations were all about in the first place? It’s a Drag Man……… The plan is to slow prototypes this year, and further restrict them next year. With the rise in manufacturer interest in the GTS class, there is an argument that GTS is to become the new top class. Could Ferrari bear to be beaten by a Lola or a DBA? GTS racing, or GT racing in FIA terms, is almost certainly where the manufacturers are all looking, to run cars that resemble the exotic machines they produce for the road. Ever thought about owning a Ferrari? Six Hour Special The three hour format of the FIA GT Championship is too close in sprit to Grand Prix racing while races of 1000 Kilometres retain the necessary endurance element. The FIA GT Championship should be left to private teams while the LMES has the potential to grow into a new flagship for the FIA, ACO and sportscar racing. |
Andrew Cotton |
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