Both the ACO and IMSA would surely welcome new manufacturers into their top prototype classes. Yet instead of making the manufacturers choose between the two series, the two sanctioning bodies should unify their regulations to allow manufacturers to participate in them both.
When deciding for the future of top-class prototype racing, the ACO and IMSA should look at what makes GT3 maybe the best class in sportscar racing at the moment. Although GT3 was originally intended to be a class for customer racing, there are some de facto works teams. But also customer teams can succeed in GT3, and selling GT3 cars is a business for the manufacturers.
In a way, IMSA's Prototype class is reminiscent of GT3. The DPi entries are more or less works teams, yet also the privateer LMP2 entries can succeed there. IMSA has probably the healthiest prototype class at the moment; there will be four OEMs represented in 2018, though it's also an affordable class for privateer teams.
While Toyota is set to be the only OEM left in LMP1 in 2018, there are several privateer projects to join LMP1. However, the budget cap between Toyota and those privateers may be too big to provide close racing on track. And even if the privateers could match Toyota in lap times, the hybrid technology allows a better fuel mileage Toyota, putting them at an advantage.
The main goals for the future of the WEC's top class should be affordability and parity. IMSA has achieved that with the DPis and LMP2s, although the parity comes from the Balance of Performance.
LMP1 has featured some of the most advanced technology in all of motorsports. But maybe it would be better for the class to have more cars and closer parity than feature the latest technology. If the WEC got rid of hybrid technology, it might lose Toyota, though it might gain Cadillac, Mazda, Nissan, and Acura from IMSA. Hybrid technology doesn't anymore draw manufacturers; Audi and Porsche left LMP1 for Formula E.
IMSA has a top class that attracts both manufacturers and privateers. That's what the WEC would need. Develop IMSA's prototype class into a global top class and it could be the prototype equivalent to the successful GT3 class. It would be an affordable class for manufacturers and they could even sell cars to privateers who could succeed with them. I'd like to get rid of the BoP, though the rules should remain simple to ensure a close parity of the field.
An aligned class structure would enable the inclusion of Daytona and Sebring in the WEC calendar as co-sanctioned races with IMSA, not as a doubleheader with separate races. A World Championship is supposed to have the biggest races, those two are the biggest races in the USA. Even if the FIA's bureaucracy prevented co-sanctioned races, the same cars could participate in both organizations' races and sportscar racing as a whole would be the winner.
Of course, change takes time. The new LMP1 privateer entrants have entered under the assumption no OEM can enter with a non-hybrid car. Allowing non-hybrid factory cars would not be fair for the new LMP1 privateers. The DPis are designed for a BoP class; getting rid of the BoP would not be fair for those manufacturers.
It may not be the right time to align the class structure in the next few years, though it should be the aim for the near future. The ACO and IMSA may have different goals for their top classes, though the needs are the same; an affordable class for both manufacturers and privateers with parity. GT3 would be a good example of that, apart from the need for the BoP.
GTE vs. GT3 divides manufacturers
Just like prototype racing, also GT racing is divided in two top classes. GTE is the top GT class in the ACO's and IMSA's class structures, though it's GT3 cars that are racing for overall wins in races like the Nürburgring 24h and the Spa 24h.
While both classes are pretty healthy at the moment, the division feels a bit unnecessary. There are some manufacturers (Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, BMW) represented in both classes, though GTE is more of a class for manufacturers with an emphasis on factory programs (Corvette, Ford) and GT3 for manufacturers with an emphasis on customer racing (Audi, Mercedes, etc.).
There are certain differences between GTE and GT3 machines. GTE cars don't have ABS and they are built to stricter rules than GT3 cars which rely more on the BoP to achieve parity. However, also GTE uses the BoP.
Because of the need for the BoP in both classes, I don't really see any reason to keep them separated. The BMW M6 is not built to GTE regulations, though IMSA allowed a modified GT3 car into the GT Le Mans class in the past two seasons. While I like the limited driving aids of the GTE cars, I don't really see the need for the stricter technical regulations given that it's a BoP class.
The ACO surely doesn't have much need for the GT convergence at the moment, given that GTE is a healthy class at the moment and has been gaining new manufacturers. But wouldn't it be great to see Bentleys or McLarens in the GT class at Le Mans, or Corvettes or Ford GTs racing for the Nürburgring or Spa 24-hour wins?
The SRO, the sanctioning body of the Blancpain GT Series, has been trying to preserve the pro-am nature of the GT3 class. That's understandable; as long as there's customer racing, the class is a more sustainable business for the manufacturers. If it gets predominantly factory racing, it's mostly spending for the manufacturers.
I'd like to see a top GT class where each manufacturer has a basic car intended for pro-am racing with an option to upgrade it for all-pro classes. That would be somewhat similar to what BMW has done with the M6 in IMSA. That would also make the factory programs more sustainable, given the customer racing business in GT3.
If all GTE cars were based on a GT3 car, we might see more manufacturers in the GT fields of the WEC and IMSA as well as in Blancpain. Instead of fighting for manufacturers against each other, the sanctioning bodies should try to create regulations that allow participation across different series. The sanctioning bodies may have different goals for their classes but their needs are the same. In a sport like sportscar racing, incompatible class structures do more harm than good.
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