Rating World Sportscars' return year
After Peugeot's withdrawal the new World Endurance Championship could have gone sour in 2012, but Toyota and Audi helped keep it sweet, reckons Gary Watkins
Maybe they were right when they told me as a kid that I was greedy. Toyota emerges as a genuine contender in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and my first thought? Just imagine if Peugeot was still around.
An Audi versus Peugeot versus Toyota battle over most of the WEC season was only going to happen in my greediest dreams. Toyota, of course, wouldn't have ended up winning three WEC rounds had the French manufacturer not withdrawn from sportscar racing before the start of the championship.
Share Or Save This Story
Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.
Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.
More from Gary Watkins
Ferrari, Toyota receive biggest BoP breaks for WEC's Imola round
Gounon replaces Habsburg for Alpine Hypercar debut at Imola's WEC round
IMSA team boss Taylor to race ex-Scheckter Wolf F1 car at Monaco Historic
Cadillac confirms two-driver Hypercar line-up as Imola WEC entry list announced
WEC set to introduce minimum two car manufacturer Hypercar rule
Peugeot "surprised" by upgraded 9X8 WEC hypercar performance
Why Peugeot had no choice but to revamp its radical Le Mans Hypercar
Peugeot reveals revised 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar with rear wing
Latest news
Ricciardo brushes off F1 future worries, new chassis brings "peace of mind"
Who is riding at the 2024 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix?
Sainz: All my best 2025 F1 seat options are "still open"
Norris: McLaren can win races in F1 2024 if it gets everything right
Autosport Plus
Ranking Derek Warwick’s top 10 greatest races
Why Peugeot had no choice but to revamp its radical Le Mans Hypercar
How motorsport is embracing the opportunities of AI
The experiment WEC could revisit to magnify its boom period
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.