This debate has been going since they brought the Covette DPs and P2 cars together. Continued with DPi vs P2, and still seems to be an issue. I wonder how the performance of a P2 car that runs in WEC/ELMS would compare to one in IMSA. Has IMSA dumbed them down, or is the DPi just that much better?
I think it's the latter, I thought P2 cars ran the same spec, fuel allowance etc. as in WEC. The only thing I'm not 100% on is tires
I think the DPi is a better format to run than a straight up P2. I don't think the P2 is BoP'd that much, I think the DPi is just better? It could use some work - OR - encourage the DPi platform which in all honesty is way better than P2.
Got a call from a buddy last night who attended Sebring. He camped out in the infield from Wednesday and with the chilly temperatures, now has bronchitis. So, he sounded horrible. Anyway, the point he made was that he noticed the lack of young people at The Race. He's now 67 and a long time fan of sports car racing dating back to the 60s. He said that everyone around them were the older set with no young people to be seen anywhere. While this is a common phenomenon in virtually every sport except perhaps college football and basketball these days, it certainly doesn't bode well as Sebring used to be a huge spring break attraction for college kids especially when John Greenwood was the promoter and he made a concerted effort to promote The Race at college campuses up the east coast. In discussing the live streaming debacle with IMSA representatives, they actually told me the reason they spread the broadcasts of the longer races over two or three networks is to appeal to new fans. However flawed this logic is, the fact is they're not appealing to new young fans. The kids that are at Sebring these days are there on comped tickets and cruise around the infield in their contraptions and could care less about the race. BHW
That has been true for a few years. Younger people seem to only like to travel short distances. Also I see very few women at races, unless they were dragged by husband/boyfriend. Minority attendance does seem to be going up, but still kind of rare. Mainly older white males sometimes with children and wife.
I attended The Race with a friend back in 2010. My friend had been a driver with Porsche and Acura back in the 90s. Once we got down to the Hairpin, he wanted to go over to Greenpark so see "The Animals". Over the bridge we went. But, instead of seeing crazed party animals, it was more like a country club scene with old guys holed up in their RVs watching the race on close circuit TV with cocktails. Not much to see there until we ran across a group of older guys who were sitting down to lunch at (at least) a 15' long table complete with table cloths and candelabras. There was probably a joke about Grey Poupon and my buddy asked the friendly group where the animals are. The response was "You're looking at them!". Things sure have changed. Sure, the massive police presence on the ground and in the air has had its effect in Greenpark. Is it for the better? BHW
The only problem with that is the DPi's aren't really available as customer cars. So as a fully privateer effort, your only choice is a P2.
I haven't made it to Sebring yet, but at Daytona the infield seemed to be a pretty good mix of young and old(er). Some of the RVs and camping setups were really impressive. I completely agree about the coverage. I had Sebring on for most of the race. I don't mind flipping between FS1 and FS2, but having to bounce between tv coverage and streaming is annoying. I just didn't bother to watch the race when it was only being shown on FSgo. If it would have been on tv, I probably would have had it on.
Very true, I think if they could find a way to mandate a customer program that may change the game some. Or customer program but let manufacturers have evo models to an extent to develop.However then it's a slippery slope in terms of cost containment.
