Saturday, June 11, 2022

24 Heures du Mans | 12:31:00

It is with a heavy heart that I report this will be the last year of the magnificent G.T.E. Pro. category. Gone will be the titanic battles between factory squads from Ferrari, Porsche, & Corvette. Instead, in 2023, only pro-am entries (currently represented by the G.T.E. Am. category) will compete, with the G.T.E. cars to be retired after that, replaced from 2014 with the popular but staggeringly dull G.T.3 spec., fancied up with a W.E.C.-specific aesthetic package called "G.T.3 premium." Thus ends Corvette Racing's involvement with the world's greatest race, & my last emotional connection to the godless abomination known as General Motors, a company I sincerely hope burns to the ground. Cadillac is to field L.M.D.h. in the N.A.S.C.A.R.-owned I.M.S.A. championship, but I.M.S.A. is unwatchable, more akin to N.A.S.C.A.R.'s old Grand-Am series than the late, lamented American Le Mans Series; Corvete might well run a G.T.3 factory squad in I.M.S.A. G.T.D. category, but I dont watch those races now & I won't watch those races in the future.

This is a terrible, short-sighted decision by the A.C.O., the governing body of Le Mans. They are trying to force more manufacturers into the W.E.C.'s Hypercar category or I.M.S.A.'s L.M.D.h. category. Without interesting G.T. racing, Le Mans won't be what it is supposed to be, none of the W.E.C. rounds will be what they are supposed to be. This is an incredibly stupid move.

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