Following the withdrawal of Audi from the global sportscar championship, Jarvis has joined the JOTA Sport-run Jackie Chan DC Racing team for 2017, stepping down from LMP1 to the LMP2 class.

And while he is relishing the new challenge afforded by the intensity of the competition in the secondary division, he admitted he was disappointed that all five LMP2 squads have opted to run the Oreca 07 chassis.

As well as Oreca, teams were free to choose from Dallara, Ligier and Riley/Multimatic options, but these will only be seen in the Le Mans 24 Hours of this year’s WEC calendar.

“It’s basically a one-make formula, which is a shame, because one thing I love is about endurance racing is different chassis, engines, tyre manufacturers,” Jarvis told Motorsport.com.

“So for LMP2 to go from a real mix to everybody running the same thing… I’d like to see more variety.”

Asked why he felt all five WEC teams ended up with identical equipment, Jarvis added: “Oreca were probably the most confident in the press about how well testing had gone.

“Everybody knew it was going to be quick, and the problem is if you do take a gamble on a chassis and it turns out badly, it’s a lot of money you’ve spent and the whole year is gone.

“But, having seen what the Dallara has done in IMSA and in testing, that also looks like a great chassis. And the Ligier was very competitive in ELMS testing [at Monza].

“I don’t see any reason why they won’t be in the mix at Le Mans.”

DPi "a brilliant" solution

The new-for-2017 LMP2 rules have also been introduced in the US-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where the cars compete alongside the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) formula.

Jarvis was full of praise for the DPi regulations, which have resulted in Cadillac, Nissan and Mazda entering LMP2-derived cars in the series this year, and said he would like to see it brought over to Europe.

“I love it,” said Jarvis. “I think it’s a brilliant way to go about things.

“I’d love to see that adopted over here in Europe, but it’s a tough job because it’s not what the European manufacturers necessarily want. It’s a case of two different philosophies.

“But with Daytona and Sebring, IMSA is going from strength to strength with the racing and the manufacturers involved. It’s something everybody here is keeping an eye on.”