In just three weeks’ time the list of competitors for the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season will be revealed at a Press Conference in Paris, but work has already been underway for some time to prepare for the start of the new season.
CEO of the WEC, Gérard Neveu, has been in the UK this week to talk about the WEC and help promote the first race of the new season, the 6 Hours of Silverstone.
On the invitation of the Motorsport Industry Association’s Chief Executive, Chris Aylett, Neveu was a speaker at the MIA’s Energy Efficient Motorsport Conference on Wednesday (13 January), talking about entertainment in motorsport and the possible new technologies that might appear in the coming decade to attract and interest new fans.
The following day he spoke on the Central Stage at the Autosport International Show alongside Patrick Allen, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Ltd, about the festival of endurance racing and spirit of Le Mans that will be held at the home of British motorsport between 15-17th April 2016.
Just below the stage, on display for the duration of the huge, four-day exhibition, were the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours-winning Porsche 919 Hybrid of Nico Hulkenberg, Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber and the new Ford GT car which will be competing in the WEC this year in the LMGTE Pro category. Other sportscars could also be seen on different stands at the show including an Audi LMP1, and LMP2 and LMP3 prototypes.
Gérard Neveu commented: “It has been an extremely interesting, invigorating and productive two days. The MIA conference brought together a great group of people including some very bright engineers who will be developing technologies of the future, and it was an honour to be asked to speak about the WEC in front of them all. The size and scope of the Autosport International Show was very impressive, and it was the perfect venue for us to be able to publicise the first event of our new season, the 6 Hours of Silverstone. The British motorsport fans are some of the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic in the world, and what better place to start our racing year?”
Chris Aylett, CEO of the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), said: “We were delighted that Gerard joined us at the MIA Energy Efficient Motorsport Conference. The 250 delegates enjoyed hearing his views and insight on how the WEC could, potentially, pro-actively act as a test bed for motorsport and wider automotive innovation going forward. His thoughts on, and the discussions around, the possible use of autonomous vehicles in motorsport were enlightening, as was his assurance that fan entertainment would always be central to the future of the WEC.”
All ticketing information for the 6 Hours of Silverstone can be found HERE, and stay tuned to the WEC social media channels, web and App for more information on the season to come.
Photos: 1) Autosport International Show l-r Autosport host, Henry Hope-Frost, Silverstone Circuits MD Patrick Allen and CEO of the WEC Gérard Neveu. 2) Gérard Neveu on stage at the MIA 2016 Energy Efficient Motorsport Conference with Peter Wright, Head of the FIA Safety Commission, and Chris Aylett, Chief Executive of the MIA (part hidden).
