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Originally Posted by isynge
I think Rebellion's aspiration of 3 podium positions this year is ambitious but not absurd.
We've had periods in the past where a specialist can keep factories honest (think about the likes of Dyson and Zytek in the mid-00s) but Speed-King's point about the relative scales of investment cuts to the heart of it.
It does raise the interesting point though, that if the WEC could raise its profile so it became attractive to a Caterham / Marussia etc then it's feasible that an outfit with those sort of resources could come up with a surprise, and possibly get the better result than they're achieving in F1. Indeed, if the profile could be got to the position where a meaningful commercial proposition could be made for WEC participation then privateers in general could close the gap - I suspect if we asked Bart Hayden if he could use a doubling of budget and would that help him get better results the answer would be a pretty resounding "yes"...
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Nail, head, hammer, hit.
I think some people are expecting too much too soon from the WEC. The series is very much still in the business of surviving - get through these first few years and all the teething troubles which come with it, and we'll have something very strong. But after only three years, it's unrealistic to expect all the world's manufacturers and private teams to make the serious investment involved in running in the WEC - but rest assured, they've been watching with interest from day one.
All the time, entrants and organisers are learning something new. The LMP2 homologation and cost-capping rules, for example, may be counter-productive, looking at Strakka's no-show at Silverstone and Spa.
And I think we all know what was wrong with COTA, and already, affirmative action has been taken. Whatever happens, it's not possible for the attendance to be much lower than that again...
Who knows, a winter series could attract much more interest and stop teams skipping the first few rounds.
Who knows, the R-ONE could keep in touching distance of the manufacturers and inspire other privateers to enter.
The point is, the WEC is FAR from perfect, but how anyone could expect the series to be perfect after three seasons is beyond me. For such a young series, it has a pretty good profile, but already people are beginning to sit up and take note.
I already envisage that the difference in attendance between this year's Silverstone weekend and last year's - despite the earth-shattering news of Millenium and Strakka pulling out and the inevitable death of the WEC that comes with that - will be a demonstration of that rising profile.
Build it, and they will come. It's just they're not done building it yet.