The opening event of the 2013 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season was held last weekend at Silverstone, UK, and I couldn't help notice how twisted reality can be sometimes.
The 6-hour race on Sunday was the first round of a great, season-long battle between Audi and Toyota. A battle in which Audi -- it must be said -- has a psychological edge.
Simply put, the Ingolstadt manufacturer is No. 1 in the public's eye. Why? Because of its recent successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, of course!
Since 2004, victory has slipped out of Audi's grasp only once, when the win went to Peugeot in 2009.
How you do at Le Mans matters; it's what the spectators remember. As it turns out, Audi hasn't done so well everywhere else. Peugeot had the R15 and R18 beaten with its 908. Same goes for the still-young Toyota TS030, which in 2012 defeated the mighty Germans three times.
Shame then that we only remember Le Mans. It's as if the other races don’t matter. Audi actually tailors its cars around the specific needs of the French track, with very slim, low-drag bodies. That's right: Audi builds its cars just for Le Mans because nobody cares who won the 6 Hours of Shanghai or the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
The reality of world rallying is equally twisted: I fell off my chair the other day when I heard somebody talk about the success Subaru is enjoying at the moment. Yup, the same Subaru that pulled out of the WRC five years ago, in 2008 -- and won its last world rally in 2006 (i.e., seven years ago).
Too many people think Subaru is still involved, and winning, in the world championship, just like too many people think Honda is still in F1, and Mercedes-Benz still in IndyCar.
I'm not saying people are badly informed, I'm just impressed by the PR people of racing who manage to give whoever they represent credit for wins in series… they're not even in.
Maybe it's the future of sponsorship!
The 6-hour race on Sunday was the first round of a great, season-long battle between Audi and Toyota. A battle in which Audi -- it must be said -- has a psychological edge.
Simply put, the Ingolstadt manufacturer is No. 1 in the public's eye. Why? Because of its recent successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, of course!
Since 2004, victory has slipped out of Audi's grasp only once, when the win went to Peugeot in 2009.
How you do at Le Mans matters; it's what the spectators remember. As it turns out, Audi hasn't done so well everywhere else. Peugeot had the R15 and R18 beaten with its 908. Same goes for the still-young Toyota TS030, which in 2012 defeated the mighty Germans three times.
Shame then that we only remember Le Mans. It's as if the other races don’t matter. Audi actually tailors its cars around the specific needs of the French track, with very slim, low-drag bodies. That's right: Audi builds its cars just for Le Mans because nobody cares who won the 6 Hours of Shanghai or the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
The reality of world rallying is equally twisted: I fell off my chair the other day when I heard somebody talk about the success Subaru is enjoying at the moment. Yup, the same Subaru that pulled out of the WRC five years ago, in 2008 -- and won its last world rally in 2006 (i.e., seven years ago).
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| Photo: WRI2 |
Too many people think Subaru is still involved, and winning, in the world championship, just like too many people think Honda is still in F1, and Mercedes-Benz still in IndyCar.
I'm not saying people are badly informed, I'm just impressed by the PR people of racing who manage to give whoever they represent credit for wins in series… they're not even in.
Maybe it's the future of sponsorship!