Just watched the highlights of the 2025 LeMans 24 hr. I always dreamt of racing in formula 1 but I don’t know about you all but WEC is right up there.
In terms of pure sport, it is right up there. But in terms of prestige and spectacle, nothing comes close to F1
It’s not pure sport imo. They had to sacrifice the pure sport element to get manufacturers who’d be too scared otherwise, to enter cars. We also have two regulation sets with one that uses a spec gearbox, battery, MGU and semi-spec-chassis. Then we have BoP into the mix.
One can argue whether it’s a necessary evil. but the current grid is a result of de-purification of the sporting element imo.
What were you expecting ? 
And I still feel like it is quite free in terms of rules (Looking at Aston Martin)
LMH is ‘free’, but then BoP comes in. So it’s not really ‘free’. iirc there’s also some drag co-efficient regulation you can’t breach.
Also, we already have Toyota moaning about BoP creating a two-tier formula. This undermines Kubica’s win. The whole thing is a complete mess.
the new regs have generated a grid, but it’s quite disposable from a viewer perspective, certainly out of the Le Mans weekend.
I will throw it on the TV while doing things around the house, but I struggle to get really invested in either endurance racing or NASCAR for the same reason. Whoever is leading - or not leading - at lap 300 out of 400 just doesn’t matter. Heck, any position is irrelevant. Pit strategies and cautions mean that last can still win and the winner may be last. The drivers and teams know this, so sandbagging abounds. They like to say they are racing out the gate, but we all know that fuel and tire management means that they absolutely are not.
Honestly, I prefer any racing that doesn’t have tire changes over one that does. Sprint races are just more enjoyable to watch and easier to hop in the middle of the race and be invested. I worked for some ALMS teams and back when Pirelli had World Challenge, and PWC was some really fun racing to watch. Staring at a laptop for 23 hours (I took a nap) for the Daytona 24hrs was a bucketlist event but I have zero interest in doing that again.
I love the F1 sprint weekends for the same reason. The sprint race may not be the highest priority for the teams’ strategists, but it is the most fun racing to watch. Same for the support series like F2 and F3.
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I think BoP goes against everything pure about motorsport, and for me it kills the entire genre. Also, I like to watch a whole race so I can keep track of strategy and watch the story of the race play out, which is simply not possible for endurance races. And something about teams of drivers vs. a single driver is off-putting for me as well. To me, pinnacle motorsport should be about the greatest drivers taking each other on mano a mano, 1v1.
That said, I do love the variety of cars competing with different strengths and weaknesses for each car. For example, I love that Peugeot showed up without a rear wing initially or the Nissan that was front wheel drive or Audi going diesel. And seeing those battles play out in short clips from the race is really cool.
Yeah 24 hours is a tough one, 12 was well
WEC was alright when Porsche, Toyota and Audi were going at it, non-BoP. There was a race at Sao Paulo which really was good. I think it was a 6 hour. It was ‘followable’ then.
They have the opposite problem to elite karting. For me 20-25 minute racers aren’t enough. Needs to be near 45 minutes. Not sure the drivers would enjoy it though lol
WEC is good background TV motorsport currently, like watching an old movie while you do other things.
I was just comparing the two from a driving point of view really not watching on tv. I watched the 25 minute highlights of the 24hr and it was quite entertaining and it just jogged my memory as to how much fun those wec cars would be to race.
I agree Caleb. I find sprints to be the best F1 racing of the weekend for that same reason. Although it would be better if it followed the main race so you didn’t have to worry about the condition of the car.
Just go flat out and win.
I know I am dragging this off topic, but of professional racing MotoGP is the best to watch. Short. Competitive. No mirrors. No radio comms. Amazing vehicle control
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Same for the TAG weight adjustments when those existed in karting not that many years ago. Not to mention those were impossible to get “right” at every track.
Honestly speaking, I enjoyed watching the Le Mans more than the Canadian GP.
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