Is WEC a good alternative to F1 racing in today's day & age?

The technology introduced here is very close to what we find in our road going cars of today.

BHPian Sensible_Speed recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I don't know how many fans here follow the WEC here in this forum. As F1 has become monotonous and exceedingly commercial of late, I thought this would be a good opportunity to explore my long suppressed interest in other forms of racing. I was introduced to the world of motorsports through the 24 Hours of Le Mans race as a child. But in an effort to fit into motorsport conversations, I switched to watching F1. However, I cannot deny that I still find the Endurance Championship more fascinating and relevant to the automobile sector as a whole. The technology introduced here is very close to what we find in our road going cars of today. It is also more interesting in that a lot more manufacturers participate and the concepts for their cars are radically different, thus providing a more wholistic overview to any automobile technology enthusiast. Having said that, it also provides for sensational racing and action, the primary reason I watch it.

The 6 Hours of Imola held last week concluded the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. As we head to Spa in a couple of weeks, I'd like to share with you all what I thought of it.

First of all, this is the most exciting season to date as we have no less than 8 manufacturers in the Hypercar class (which was created for this very reason). The GT3 field is also vibrant with many manufacturers this year, with Ford retiring the GT in favour of a Mustang based competitor. The weekend got off to a fairytale start for us Ferrari fans with the Red securing 1-2-3 in the hyperpole round (read qualifying or starting grid). Unfortunately, the usual string of poor strategy and bad decisions that plagues the Italian marque, reared its ugly head here too, in front of their home fans. As the rains fell in, Ferrari bottled their lead and ended up in the midfield despite looking good all weekend. This meant, Toyota were back to their winning ways with Kamui Kobayashi taking them across the line for a shock victory after looking unenthusiastic in the first round in Qatar.

Porsche followed up their impressive 1-2 in Qatar by locking out the other two steps of the podium to register a big lead in the championship standings. If the first two races are any indicator of what's to come, the Germans are showing why they're the most successful team in the Le Mans classroom. Notable mentions include the WRT team taking 1-2 in the GT3 class in their BMWs. The GT3 field is bunched ever closer than before and virtually only differentiated by driver skill this season. Exciting times, eh!

Now, back to the hypercar class, which is the flagship of the series, BMW had a decent outing this time around, managing 5th. What interested the WEC veterans were the Peugeots, boasting a radical redesign back to conventional downforce generation, after a failed outing last year with the equally radical ground-effect car they ran. Unfortunately, that design proved too much of a handful as the French team struggled with tyre life and setup setbacks last year, with the car being too sensitive to literally everything on the track. With a new wing and paint scheme, drivers reported a more stable and confident package this time round and hope to be in the contention later in the season.

If you are considering diversifying your interests in motorsports, I'd heavily suggest you take a look at this year's WEC, especially on 15-16 June, when the tour travels to its flagship venue, the historic Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans. After the emotional Ferrari victory last year, Le Mans is finally looking like the golden soul of motorsport it was in the yesteryear, when drivers braved the weather and the nights as they blasted down the Mulsanne straight in all glory. This year's race promises to be better than ever before!

Here's what BHPian ds.raikonen had to say on the matter:

I do follow the WEC, but its difficult to get a free stream to watch the action (definitely not investing in WEC TV). Last year's race at Circuit De La Sarthe was epic for sure. Watching this iconic event 'live' is in my bucket list (along with Isle of Man TT, Belgian GP, Rally Monte Carlo, MotoGP Mugello). A lot of tech tested in the WEC finds its way to road cars.

I remember when Audi, Peugeot used to fight it out at the front with the great Dane 'TK' getting the better of Peugeot's F1 trio in 2008, along with Capello and . Then came Toyota in 2012 and Porsche in 2014 and the competition became even more fierce. Le Mans has always been special.

Though having followed many racing disciplines at different moments in time, I can definitely say that MotoGP is more exciting than all other disciplines put together!

Here's what BHPian PorscheFire had to say on the matter:

I'm a big fan of motorsports in general but am embarrassed to confess that I do not follow anything closely other than MotoGP. Maybe F1 highlights (which themselves are B.O.R.I.N.G, cannot fathom how the long races are!) to keep myself updated.

I've been exposed to WEC 25-30 years ago and that was limited to the stuff I read in the automotive magazines I used to buy and collect. 'Truth in 24' docu-series elevated that experience by a 1000 times and reaching a new high when I saw the Le Mans winning Porsche 919 Hybrid in person at IAA back in 2015. Sadly though, I never pursued my interest for the sport but going by whatever little experience and knowledge I have of it, there's no doubt in my mind when I say that it is THE pinnacle of motorsport. Nothing will ever come close to it.

Thanks for opening this thread, I'll be a TV spectator on 15-16 June for sure and hopefully visit the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 24 Heures du Mans in the coming years.

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