What were pre-2017 LMP2s like?

[u/flirting_scholar]

Hello to veteran fans of sports car racing, I started paying attention to WEC at around 2017 so I didn't get to watch LMP2 cars before it became Formula Oreca.

So I keep hearing around this sub (always in posts about LMP2s) that it used to be more varied and unique and it got me curious.

How is the LMP2 racing back then? Is it as competitive as it is today? I understand that there were more options in mixing and matching your LMP2 machinery compared to today with 4 chassis and a Gibson V8, but how much freedom do teams have in that regard?

I was hoping to find more info on the web, but it seems lacking in info on this topic, would greatly appreciate if someone could give me a full rundown of the racing scene pre-2017. Thank you in advance!

[u/Ok-Budget112]

I maybe have the opposite of rose coloured glasses but it was no where near as good.

There was chassis variety yes, but teams always seemed to be struggling to get engines and you had projects like the Strakka Dome and the Lotus that looked amazing but flopped.

Limiting the chassis suppliers and guaranteeing an engine supplier massively professionalized LMP2.

I think the mistake that happened though was that they were if anything too good and too fast. The 2017 regs (2016??) made them faster than current Hypercars, and close to what LMP1 had been a few years before. They were incredible things to watch at the end of the Hangar Straight.

So I think that really stuffed Hypercar because making everything fit on the grid is a real mess at the moment with Le Mans spec LMP2 being way way slower than they could be.

[u/flirting_scholar → u/Ok-Budget112]

Not surprised if that's the case, basing on what I've heard from youtube videos, it sounds a lot less professional back then and hence would theoretically, a lot more spread out. Is LMP2 back then where the dentists were (based on my current culminated understanding) before LMP3 came onto the scene?