The LMP2 Conundrum

The Le Mans Prototype 2 class is in crisis, and at the crux of the problem lies the desire of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organizing body of sports car racing, the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Heurs du Mans, to keep its dearly beloved legacy of an international championship for the ‘Gentleman Driver’ alive.

 As the rules currently stand, each three driver line-up must include at least one amateur, who substitute their lack of experience or ability with sacks with dollar (or rather euro) signs on them.  In an age where F1 drives are sold to the driver that brings the most financial backing with them, there’s an admirable level of honesty, not to mention a rather fitting hark back to the origins of motorsport when it was the wealthy early adopters of motorized transport who funded their own exploits.

Le Mans is the spiritual home of the Gentleman Driver, hence the ACO’s ambition to carry on the tradition.  It’s not for want of willing amateurs – there are plenty of independently wealthy people who want to race.  The main reason the class is in flux is a lack of professional drivers willing to partner with an amateur.  Most candidates are up and coming GP2 or F3.5 drivers who’s sights are firmly set on one day making it to F1.

So it’s a difficult question to consider: do you race and get paid, albeit coming out the other end with a result tainted by a rich banker or shipping magnate playing out a fantasy?  Or do you say 'thanks but no thanks', and potentially forego a trophy on one of the biggest stages in the world, as well as the opportunity to impress future sponsors along the way?

A moment ago I said that there were plenty of independently wealthy people who want to race, and that’s true.  But as any amateur athlete will tell you, whether their passion is downhill mountain biking, archery or curling, bunking off for a week 9 times a year to go and compete is easier said than done.  And the kind of people who tend to have the kind of money required to fund an LMP2 entry find it especially difficult, such are the requirements of their business affairs.

These two elements have conspired to the point where the LMP2 class hosted a field of just four cars at the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April, the opening round of the WEC.  At the second round at Spa-Francochamps in May, there were five.  There will be a full field at the 24 Heurs du Mans, certainly, but a good turnout at a single round each year won’t support a world championship.

So what’s the answer?  One option is to make the category all silver-rated amateur drivers.  That’s an admirable goal, but the question remains: where would you find 20-odd drivers who not only have €2-3 Million to burn each year on what’s essentially a hobby, but also the time required to put together a solid campaign?

The other option is allowing all professional line-ups.  This would help entice drivers from the lower formula categories and bolster the series.  It wouldn’t necessarily be to the exclusion of amateurs – the European Le Mans Series seems to be doing just fine as a pro-am category – but rather close off any ambiguity preventing a packed out grid.  This, unfortunately, seems to be the only option than can work.

It certainly goes against the ethos of the ACO, but I’m sure they’d prefer to see an all-professional LMP2 as opposed to none at all.

Hunting Season Is Open.

So the first big announcement regarding the 2015 season has been made, and surprise, surprise, Honda Racing Corporation has re-signed Marc Marquez to their MotoGP factory team for 2015-16.  Marquez stormed the World Championship at his first attempt, grinning the whole way like a kid on Christmas morning.  Interestingly, when making the announcement HRC made no mention of Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa.

This is Pedrosa’s 9^th year with Honda’s factory squad, and while he’s certainly won a lot of races and contended for championships, in that time three of his four teammates have been crowned world champion.  So without championship success in all these years, has Pedrosa’s place at HRC become untenable?  Not necessarily, but the fact that HRC have left a question mark, whether deliberately or not, over his 2015 is telling.  There’s no question he’s a talented rider, but what is it that he and he alone can bring to the table?

When such questions are raised about someone of Pedrosa’s standing in the paddock the answer is usually ‘experience and developmental skills’.  He has both in spades, there’s no doubt.  But let’s not forget that HRC have a certain multiple World Champion Casey Stoner in their back pocket as a test rider.  Suddenly Dani’s claim to his place at HRC doesn’t seem so strong.

Much of this would be moot were it not for the fact that there are more riders than usual out of contract at the end of this season, including one Jorge Lorenzo.  Yamaha rider Lorenzo was Marquez’s closest challenger last year, and were it not for a severe collarbone injury early in the season quite probably would have prevented the young scamp from taking home the silverware.  Lorenzo’s 4^th place finish at Assen, with said broken collarbone, showed just how much fight is in him, and how much he wants a third premier class title.

It’s no secret that Lorenzo and his teammate Valentino Rossi feel that their Yamahas are lacking when compared with the Hondas, and Lorenzo would be remiss not to eye the second spot at HRC as a way to level the playing field against Marquez.  Rossi, although also out of contract, likely won’t – the veteran burned that bridge back in 2003 when he defected in the other direction.

There are others vying for the place of course – German Stephan Bradl is signed with Honda already through to the end of 2015, albeit currently as a satellite rider.  That could easily be amended – there’s also Spaniard Alvaro Bautista, another satellite rider, as well as several promising youngsters on Open class machinery.

But let’s say HRC’s line up in 2015 is Marquez and Lorenzo?  Who take’s Jorge’s place at Yamaha?  Briton Bradley Smith is out of contract at Tech3 at the end of this year, and has been making a strong case by posting some impressive results on his satellite Yamaha.  There’s also Aleix Espargaro, older brother of Smith’s Tech3 teammate Pol, who’s been leading the Open class, and giving slower Factory riders a bloody noses week in, week out.

All of these possibilities, and we still haven’t even considered the talent lurking in Moto2, just waiting for their chance to jump ship… suffice to say that with a 5 minute mid-week press release, HRC has kicked off silly season much, much earlier than usual.