WEC 2025 has some of best sounding race cars of the decade, so definitively give this season a shot

Posted by pursuer_of_simurg@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 18 comments

WEC, for those who doesn't know them the Le Mans 24 championship, just recently had prologue for the season and it is definitively a feast for everyone here. [Sound of every car](https://youtu.be/mfy_vVIAU4Q?si=J6jtzSzSPO6Gt1cz) [The roar of Aston's V12](https://youtu.be/tvdCHq2i4AI?si=8Qf25oHyP0nYMFuN) If you liked what you saw the season will start at 24-25 of February, so just a few days for the whole meal.

Reply to Post

18 Comments

[-]

phalanxs@reddit

One cannot deny that the BoP was sucessful in bringing some much needed manufactuer attention to the WEC while preserving the technical diversity that sets it apart from Formula 1. But man I just can't get emotionally invested anymore.

[-]

The_Bucket_Of_Truth@reddit

Why not? How else would you do it and have 4 cylinder turbo hybrids competing with n/a V12s and all the rest in between? The biggest road block for me when I briefly tried to follow WEC was how long the races are. I'm totally game for watching another racing series, but I don't think I care to watch races that are 4-24 hours long. F1 is long enough. Would I watch a series with a bunch of these prototypes that had quali and a race around the same length as F1 races? You bet your ass I would. If even just for that sound I miss so badly.

[-]

phalanxs@reddit

Because to me, BoP racing is the worst of both worlds between a spec series and a truly open regulation series. First, ther'se the issue of fairness between pilots. I used to follow the WEC and watch as much as I could of Le Mans live back in the LMP1 era. There was already a BoP for GT racing back then, and seemingly every year at least one or two type of cars got absolutely shafted and were out of competition for a podium before the race even started. If I can't trust the ACO to balance a Ford GT and a V8 vantage, then I can't trust them to balance a Porsche 963 and a Peugeot 9X8. So, if it is not fair enough to be a driver focused championship, then it could be a good engineering focused championship right? Well not really. As long as you don't make a complete turd, if you're too slow the competition will be slowed down to the point where you can catch up. So making a good car is more about reliability and repairability than anything else. Not very exciting, and less challenging than before, where you also had to design for pace. BoP does gives you close racing, but to it's not even really a sport anymore. It's just entertainment. And how would I have done it? Super GT style sucess ballast, and spec "boring" parts like fuel pumps and such.

[-]

The_Bucket_Of_Truth@reddit

Isn't success ballast just another form of the same thing but using weights instead of intake restrictors or whatever is done today?

[-]

phalanxs@reddit

No, a sucess ballast follows a simple formula. For example, you are x points ahead in the championship, so you get y kg of ballast. The BoP on the other hand, is much more subjective. For each race, the organizer try to adjust weight and power in order to make a car lap as close as possible to a target time for the circuit. Judges have to predict how different cars will react to each circuit in advance. This is really hard to do, because some designs might be optimized for high speed circuits with long straight lines like La Sarthe, while others might be optimized for tighter circuits. It also creates an incentive for sandbagging.

[-]

hi_im_bored13@reddit

I love the engineering behind WEC and I love attending a race once in a while just for the sights and sounds. But I can't bring myself to actually watch one at home, I think F1 has more spectacle. BoP means the cars, as cool as they are, don't actually matter, and while the drivers are absolutely incredible, you got three in a car so you gotta root for a team. Got my wife into cars but I don't think I can explain the Hypercar/LMH/LMDh/GTP hierarchy to her. "What's the point of racing in the lower class if you can't win the race?!" she goes Hardcore enthusiast hate the direction but fia/fom has done a lot to make F1 more accessible throughout the years w/ DTS and whatnot. Even if WEC & endurance got that treatment the format doesn't really lend itself to the same widespread appeal. F1 is a traveling circus with some of the best stunt drivers in the world with my wife & her friends getting attached to the drivers and their looks/personailty. Helluva soap opera. They just happen to occasionally put on some good racing on the side. (When I say WEC I also include IMSA and Blancpain. IMSA is incredible to watch inperson and camp over but I haven't put a single race on my tele like, ever) I got invited through a sponsor for the las vegas gp ... was an absolute hater before then, don't know if i'd actually buy a ticket but it was the most fun I'd had at a racing event by far.

[-]

MNAAAAA@reddit

>Got my wife into cars but I don't think I can explain the Hypercar/LMH/LMDh/GTP hierarchy to her. "What's the point of racing in the lower class if you can't win the race?!" she goes I had a 24 hour watch party at my house last year for Le Mans (that people would pop in and out of), and most people weren't motorsports fans and hadn't heard of the race or WEC. The explanation I used that worked very well is "there are actually 4 races going on at the same time on the same track."

[-]

The_SHUN@reddit

Sounds absolutely diabolical, I love it

[-]

kgruesch@reddit

One of the coolest things about the late 80s/early 90s GTP was the variety of engines.. V8 SBCs to 7L V12s to twin turbo V6s and flat 6s to 4 rotors to the Cosworth F1 engine in the 92 Jaguar to the insane 503e turbo 4 in the Toyota. You could tell which car was which just by the sound it made.

[-]

Blackraider700@reddit

That's why I love IMSA/wec. So much variation in engine size/config and layout. F1 is so boring with just one main engine choice and they all look so similar

[-]

samurai1226@reddit

To me the actual racing in F1 is quite boring. There no room for contact, so you will never see duels like the BMW vs Corvette stuff on Daytona recently, where they often when bumper to bumper, side by side and just wouldn't back down - even though is ended with not so fair moves. And they have enough room to cut the track where it makes sense. Meanwhile f1 drivers can't really duel since the tiniest bit of contact destroys both cars, and the drivers behave like millionaire crybabies constantly complaining the other driver cut a corner there or made an unfair move here Rubbing is racing 😆

[-]

Swumbus-prime@reddit

Shoutout to Le Mans continuing to race the year after the 1955 race. 1980s WRC could learn a thing or two.

[-]

EmergencyRace7158@reddit

So good. I wish F1 would open up the 2030 engine regs while specifying an energy and power budget. We could end up with different configurations from hybrid I3 turbos to NA V10s with KERS.

[-]

cubanb407@reddit

Been to a few imsa races it’s an amazing event every time. Most recent one we got to go into the pits. I was amazed as it was full access you can walk up to the cars (no ropes blocking access/ no people directing you) It’s all just kind of understood don’t be dumb and try and climb in the car or pick up the parts laying around. An incredible experience.

[-]

WEC 2025 has some of best sounding race cars of the decade, so definitively give this season a shot

Reply to Post

18 Comments

phalanxs@reddit

The_Bucket_Of_Truth@reddit

phalanxs@reddit

The_Bucket_Of_Truth@reddit

phalanxs@reddit

hi_im_bored13@reddit

MNAAAAA@reddit

The_SHUN@reddit

kgruesch@reddit

Blackraider700@reddit

samurai1226@reddit

Swumbus-prime@reddit

EmergencyRace7158@reddit

cubanb407@reddit

Banana_Leclerc12@reddit

desipressurecooker@reddit

RiftHunter4@reddit

BrownRepresent@reddit