2019-2020 WEC Provisional Calendar Revealed
Return of São Paulo and Bahrain in calendar of revised race formats ...
The 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship calendar announced today heralds the return of two popular venues, São Paulo and Bahrain, and also introduces a revision to the duration of its different races in line with fan feedback gathered in the 2017 WEC Fan Survey.
The eight races, to be run over five continents, continue to offer the WEC’s manufacturers, teams and partners the visibility, marketability and intercontinental spread of prestigious venues in key regions around the world that have been a mark of the championship to date.
A significant change in this first stage of the new reverse calendar format, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans being the finale to the season, sees a revision to the length of certain established events. Four, six and eight-hour races will feature ahead of Le Mans in a targeted moved aimed at creating additional interest and growing the motorsport fanbase.
The calendar also sees the return of the WEC to popular venues São Paulo and Bahrain, alongside the traditional venues of Fuji, Shanghai, Sebring*, Silverstone and Spa.
The FIA WEC 2019-2020 calendar will be presented to the FIA Endurance Commission presided over by Richard Mille, and will be submitted to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for approval in Paris on 12th October.
“We are very happy to be able to present a calendar which not only offers a large degree of stability and familiarity, but also moves with the times and responds to the wishes of its many fans around the world,” said Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). “With the 24 Hours of Le Mans as its cornerstone, the WEC continues to offer access to the most competitive and open championship possible, as well as presenting our automotive manufacturers with the perfect showcase for their products. The revisions to the race formats may echo endurance events of the past, but we never stop looking towards the future to ensure a sustainable, relevant and exciting championship. The dawn of the new-look WEC calendar will rise in Silverstone in September 2019 and we can’t wait!”
“Our fans spoke, we listened and have reacted,” said Gérard Neveu, CEO of the WEC. “Naturally we have had a period of consultation with our partners and competitors, and we believe that this new calendar will meet their expectations and requirements as well as please the fans who are so important to us all. Our aim is to introduce an additional round to the 2020-2021 calendar so that there is more or less an event every month to help maintain interest.”
2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship Provisional Calendar **
01 September 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone (Great Britain)
13 October 2019 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
17 November 2019 4 Hours of Shanghai (China)
14 December 2019 8 Hours of Bahrain (Bahrain)
01 February 2020 6 Hours of São Paulo (Brazil)
xx March 2020 1000 Miles of Sebring (8 hours) (USA) *
03 May 2020 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
13-14 June 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)
*To be confirmed
** Subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council