Another excellent piece by John. I would add that sports car racing is doing an excellent job of focusing on the confluence between the technical and the human. The presence of OEMs in both proto & GT is big plus, as a is BOP to keep the races close, a continuity of rules, race dates, and venues to make the explanation and experience easy. The paddock experience is far, far better than in any other series, which humanizes not just the drivers but the crews. Especially for kids, this is mesmerizing. The tie-ins with education are well appreciated. Even the "Corvette Finger" helps, creating rivalries. Perhaps what I like best is that it has been done without dumbing down the sport as often happens elsewhere. Indeed, it's the opposite. Challenging spectators to learn and they seem to like it.
After attending the most recent Rolex 24 at Daytona over all 4 days, the noticeable increase in younger fans and families present was evident since 2018 when I first came with my oldest son. Rexy and other kid-friendly aspects of the access that current IMSA events permit are a big factor contributing to that popularity among race fans.
The comparison with 1999 is an interesting one. While there were ten marques in LMP, only five were OEMs ( OK, six if you include Panoz). The rest were garagistes. What we are seeing now is very clearly an unprecedented level of major manufacturer involvement. The question that remains unaswered for me is, why so much interest? I think saying "we got the rules right" is only part of the answer. There is something more complex going on and understanding what that is will be the key to sustaining sportscar racing at a high level in the longer term.
I’m sure there are many answers to that question. I think return on investment is probably a big one. The LMDh platform allows manufacturers to enter top level prototype racing on a “relatively” affordable budget. Customer racing with GT3 is also growing in popularity, providing manufacturers with another outlet to sell cars. On the fan side, I know it gets a ton of crap, but I really think Drive to Survive did a lot to expand the audience for motorsports. It was the pipeline for me. DTS got me into F1, which got me into sim racing, which then got me into sports car racing. I’m sure there are plenty of folks out there who followed a similar path from F1 to endurance racing because, let’s be honest, the racing is just so much better over here. Love it or hate it, I think DTS does deserve some credit for pulling in a new wave of fans.
Another excellent piece by John. I would add that sports car racing is doing an excellent job of focusing on the confluence between the technical and the human. The presence of OEMs in both proto & GT is big plus, as a is BOP to keep the races close, a continuity of rules, race dates, and venues to make the explanation and experience easy. The paddock experience is far, far better than in any other series, which humanizes not just the drivers but the crews. Especially for kids, this is mesmerizing. The tie-ins with education are well appreciated. Even the "Corvette Finger" helps, creating rivalries. Perhaps what I like best is that it has been done without dumbing down the sport as often happens elsewhere. Indeed, it's the opposite. Challenging spectators to learn and they seem to like it.
After attending the most recent Rolex 24 at Daytona over all 4 days, the noticeable increase in younger fans and families present was evident since 2018 when I first came with my oldest son. Rexy and other kid-friendly aspects of the access that current IMSA events permit are a big factor contributing to that popularity among race fans.
It was also great to see how engaged so many were with Iron Dames. It also helped that they had an enclosed trailer that was warm.
The comparison with 1999 is an interesting one. While there were ten marques in LMP, only five were OEMs ( OK, six if you include Panoz). The rest were garagistes. What we are seeing now is very clearly an unprecedented level of major manufacturer involvement. The question that remains unaswered for me is, why so much interest? I think saying "we got the rules right" is only part of the answer. There is something more complex going on and understanding what that is will be the key to sustaining sportscar racing at a high level in the longer term.
I’m sure there are many answers to that question. I think return on investment is probably a big one. The LMDh platform allows manufacturers to enter top level prototype racing on a “relatively” affordable budget. Customer racing with GT3 is also growing in popularity, providing manufacturers with another outlet to sell cars. On the fan side, I know it gets a ton of crap, but I really think Drive to Survive did a lot to expand the audience for motorsports. It was the pipeline for me. DTS got me into F1, which got me into sim racing, which then got me into sports car racing. I’m sure there are plenty of folks out there who followed a similar path from F1 to endurance racing because, let’s be honest, the racing is just so much better over here. Love it or hate it, I think DTS does deserve some credit for pulling in a new wave of fans.