WEC: Audi to Leave Championship at end of 2016 Season

[Rodent]

You kinda hit the nail on the head, in an inadvertent manner. Two things (feel free to correct or dispute me as I am going on memory)

Yeah pretty much what I was talking about, it makes sense for Audi to step aside in LMP1 since Porsche is currently doing better, and the same holds true in reverse in GT racing where Audi has a great car while the Porsche's getting outdated ( ironically making it a great GT AM drive. =) )

Edit: Still, it's a shame. The GTs already steal the show at Le Mans and this year about the only really interesting thing to happen with the LMP1s was that Toyota has the worst luck.

 

[Alex72]

Like this one? http://game.raceroom.com/store/cars/p1/audi/audi-r18

And Assetto Corsa. At least they hinted it before. Audi, Toyota and Porsche LMP1's.

 

[Rodent]

The two sims ( though I love them both dearly for different reasons ) least suited for endurance racing of them all.

 

[Jorge Villar]

What will happen now with the excellent driver lineup Audi has in the WEC? Im sorry but I cant imagine them driving electric cars.

 

[hejsan_456]

The two sims ( though I love them both dearly for different reasons ) least suited for endurance racing of them all.

Very true! Would be needed in rF2. iRacing would have to fix their car limit to be fun.

Really sad to see Audi leave the WEC. But if im honest LMP1 cars are probably some of the most boring racing cars there is. Yes the racing is good, but the car itself is so boring, group C styled cars is what we need.

 

[GTSpeedster]

Cultural Marxism at its best. Wether it's fake ozone depletion HYPOTHESIS, global warming conjectures, oil depletion nonsense, bikes being pushed over the roads only as a way of denying cars the space and more recent the hype of the "electric car" as being the "way of the future" it's all just a strategy to undermine and eventually destroy the car culture that's always been the ultimate symbol of individual freedom.

 

[Deleted member 130869]

the fact that there is more money means it makes it more competitive meaning it costs more for a team, this must be one of the reasons audi are leaving the sport due to the blow in budget VW Group took because of diesel gate that means VW can only afford one LMP1 car in WEC, so, they picked the one that has had the most success in recent years.

Yup! That's got to be the biggest factor, despite all of ACO's attempts. VW is a public company and 2017 will be all about showing their balance sheets, EBITDA, etc, to share holders and investors so the stock price rebounds - which it will. And go up even higher.

 

[jaysm]

the fact that there is more money means it makes it more competitive meaning it costs more for a team, this must be one of the reasons audi are leaving the sport due to the blow in budget VW Group took because of diesel gate that means VW can only afford one LMP1 car in WEC, so, they picked the one that has had the most success in recent years.

And the fact it is the one not using diesel makes it better for the advertising reel, that helps the choice.

 

[paracletus]

Pretty much the end of wec lmp1 with it? where's the competition for porsche...
Tried watching formula e once, and couldn't get into it; didn't seem like they were racing cars somehow.

 

[samcar304]

Hoping Lotterer gets the Porsche seat... *Fingers Crossed*

 

[BoogerMac]

Does any of this effect Audi's IMSA commitments? Currently they compete in the GT class and the Sportscar Challenge. Hopefully those aren't effected by this.

 

[Blimey]

Does any of this effect Audi's IMSA commitments? Currently they compete in the GT class and the Sportscar Challenge. Hopefully those aren't effected by this.

LMP1 and GT are 2 completely different things.

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

In analysis Audi has just been hit by the perfect storm of crap.

A stablemate company is beating them the last 2 years, both in Le Mans and WEC season.
Diesel engines don't look like a good idea for the future like they did when Audi started using them.
Plus dieselgate (even forgetting how much it hurt VWs finances) makes it completely impossible to advertise them.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

Hoping Lotterer gets the Porsche seat... *Fingers Crossed*

That is between Tandy and Bamber.

However, there have been some murmuring about a 3rd Toyota, and Lotterer have been in Toyota-powered cars since 2006 in Japan (Yes yes, Lexus, Toyota - same thing!)

 

[samcar304]

That is between Tandy and Bamber.

However, there have been some murmuring about a 3rd Toyota, and Lotterer have been in Toyota-powered cars since 2006 in Japan (Yes yes, Lexus, Toyota - same thing!)

Ahh yes good shout! I just hope Lotterer gets a seat next season. For me he is one of if not the best in the LMP1 category.

 

[Rodent]

I would've expected drivers like Rast to eventually get a shot at it as well.

 

[Glaurung]

From a VW group perspective it's a rational decision because it was a waste of R&D resources to invest in parallel with two brands in the same LeMans Prototypes class.
It makes more sense to invest in a field with different technical specifications in order to develop different automotive technologies and in this aspect the Formula E is the one with the best perspectives in the future if the category gains more popularity. The other option was the F1 but they may have evaluated that from a costs/benefits analysis it was not advantageous.

 

[Patrik Marek]

so sad (( they still might return though , otherwise it will be hard to see where the WEC goes from there
FIA WEC is imo by far the best racing series to watch on TV, so it will be really bad if it should disappear

cant' be bothered about FormualE personally and this won't make me like it any more then before

 

[fortyfivekev]

Per RLM it seems Toyota will run 3 cars next season at least until Le Mans and maybe Porsche also. It would be surprising if there isn't some dealing being done under the table by the WEC/ACO to make this happen. Hopefully Toyota will be quick enough to make some good races.

Longer term a lot of racing series with manufacturer involvement are going to see some changes as the manufacturers are running scared of the electric/self driving car movement. It wont be too long before promoting your brand by racing petrol engined cars is going to look pretty uncool.

Hopefully by that time series like Formula E wont suck quite as much as they do now.

 

[Patrik Marek]

Pretty much the end of wec lmp1 with it? where's the competition for porsche...
Tried watching formula e once, and couldn't get into it; didn't seem like they were racing cars somehow.

and plus the "pit stop" where driver changes the car, .. I was almost crying when I saw that