I have to say, I have found Le Mans to be a let down lately. Whenever good competition to the Audis actually emerges, it's as part of a 3 year program that leaves as quickly as it arrived. There are no real long term contributors to match Audi and that makes for bad racing and bad entertainment. With an R9 on the way (it can actually get better than the R8?) someone is going to need to make a concerted effort to carry the fight - so far Bentley has managed, and BMW briefly, but both left quite quickly, as did Toyota, and McLaren seems a distant dream.
The problem is not far removed in Formula 1. I have no problems watching Schumacher win race after race, I enjoy the fights between some other drivers, and I think 2004 is far less interesting than 2003 was, but that's just the way things go. 2002 was the same, with utter domination. I acknowledge we are seeing the best team with the best car and the man I believe to be the best ever.
I still recall in 1996 when Jean Alesi and Michael Schumacher essentially swapped teams, Alesi had a chance to drive the 1995 Benetton that had carried Michael to his second championship victory - his instant question was "How the hell could he drive this thing??".
Formula 1 needs the other teams to lift their game, as BAR and Renault have done, but McLaren (especially) and Williams have conversely fallen by the way side. The result is predictable racing where the only variable is the lowest step of the podium. McLaren holds a record for the most 1-2 finishes in a season, 10 in 1988, whilst Ferrari only managed 9 in 2002, so they may yet eclipse that record. They've only lost one race this season, sadly, and if that continues they really will have eclipsed all marks. I find it stunning Schumacher has led 70% of the laps this year, and has won 30% of Ferraris total victories from the some 700 races they have contested, 175 of which have been won. Schumacher has won 59 for Ferrari and 78 in total now, and it's far from over. Whether Ferrari throw the most money at problems is something we debated briefly in the Formula 1 section.
I do feel such domination hurts motorsport. Viewing figures plummeted in 2002 and that's happened again this year. When the editor of the largest Australian automotive newspaper could not even watch to the end of the first five races of the championship, you know something is wrong. 2003 had it all - close racing, come from behind victories, superb driving, a nail biting finale. 2004 will be wrapped up 5 races from home, races verge on staged and people simply stop caring.
How can you possibly stop it though? You can't realistically impose penalties on people for performing well, it's just not fair.
I have to say the whole Ferrari thing is a topic close to my heart as both a giant F1 and Ferrari fan. Ferrari is dominating now just as McLaren did. Patrick Head complains that at least Williams and McLaren let their drivers compete amongst themselves if no other team could, and that's fair enough, but perhaps Rubens simply can't challenge Michael most of the time. I also feel that the teams and drivers have brought this upon themselves a lot. For 20 years Ferrari were the laughing stock of the F1 paddock - they've grasped their opportunity to turn that around and squeezed so tightly it's phenomenal. Every bad word, every joke at their expense, these things have fuelled a fire, a desire to simply conquer without any consideration whatsoever. Ferrari is repaying everything they received with interest, and loving every moment of it. Michael himself seems to be likeminded in displaying vindictiveness - people stood at the exit of the tunnel and cheered wildly as they saw his stricken Ferrari limping to the pits. All these people did was set him off, and suddenly he had everything to play for once again. That's why he's been so unrelenting in hunting down wins since.
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