Autosport Plus

Why Le Mans' saviour is needed again

After the shock withdrawal of Audi and Porsche from LMP1 in the past two years, the top level of the WEC will be bolstered by new privateer entries for the 2018-19 superseason. On paper that might sound like desperation, but it looks set to pay off

The privateer is back. Back as an important component of the premier LMP1 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the World Endurance Championship. And, quite possibly, back in the hunt for outright victories against factory opposition.

This had been the avowed intent of the rulemakers, most pertinently the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, organiser of Le Mans and promoter of the WEC, as it strived to resurrect LMP1 privateer participation that slumped to a one-car low at the 24 Hours last year.

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Author Gary Watkins

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.