Sebring, Monza and Algarve have lost their places on the World Endurance Championship calendar as the series expands to eight races for 2024.
The Sebring season-opener has been replaced by a new race at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The race will run to a distance of 1,812 kilometres in honour of the country’s National Day. It is expected to last almost 10 hours, making it one of the longest events on the schedule after the Le Mans 24 Hours.Italy’s round of the championship will move from Monza to Imola, and from July to April, becoming the second race of the season. It will be followed by two regular fixtures, the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the centrepiece 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
One month after Le Mans the teams will head to Brazil for the series’ first race at Interlagos in Sao Paulo since 2014. America’s round of the world championship will take place in September instead of March, and will be held at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. The length of the race has not yet been decided.
Following the usual trip to Japan for the Six Hours of Fuji later in September, Bahrain will reprise its role as the location of the season finale. It has held the spot almost continuously since 2015, and will ensure next year’s WEC calendar is bookended by rounds in the Middle East.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said he was encouraged by growth of the series, which was revived by his predecessor Jean Todt in 2012.
“For 2024, the calendar expands both in the number of races, and more importantly, geographical diversity, bringing WEC to more people. Looking at the bigger picture, the evolution of the calendar coincides with the rise of FIA WEC’s profile, and in particular its premier Hypercar class. This is testament to the reform of the series’ regulatory foundations carried out jointly by the FIA and the ACO, which has attracted new manufacturers.”
The President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest Pierre Fillon said the series has been “rejuvenated” and next year’s season “promises to be greater than ever before.”
“A record number of entries in the Hypercar class and a calendar of eight races on as many magnificent circuits make for an exciting prospect. Drivers will be getting to grips with four new tracks. That’s quite a challenge.
“It gives me great pleasure to see that the calendar reflects the rejuvenation of our discipline and I am grateful to all the circuits that will be hosting races in the eagerly awaited season to come.”
2024 World Endurance Championship calendar
| Round | Country | Circuit | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Qatar | Losail International Circuit | Official Prologue test |
| 1 | Qatar | Losail International Circuit | Qatar 1812km |
| 2 | Italy | Imola | Six Hours of Imola |
| 3 | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps | Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps |
| 4 | France | Circuit de la Sarthe | 24 Hours of Le Mans |
| 5 | Brazil | Interlagos | Six Hours of Sao Paulo |
| 6 | USA | Circuit of the Americas | Lone Star Le Mans |
| 7 | Japan | Fuji Speedway | Six Hours of Fuji |
| 8 | Bahrain | Bahrain International Circuit | Eight Hours of Bahrain |
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SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
9th June 2023, 10:48
Replacing Sebring by awful Losail. And of course Mohamed is very content by this.
StephenH
9th June 2023, 11:25
At least they’re going back to COTA.
RandomMallard
9th June 2023, 11:37
@spafrancorchamps Yeah I’m gutted they’re losing Sebring. The Super Sebring weekend they’ve ran with IMSA with the 1000km on one day followed by the 12 hours the next day always felt like a great event and was a very enjoyable watch. Just for that reason alone I don’t feel as excited about a Qatar race, and obviously then the track is nowhere near as good.
However, I am glad they’re adding Interlagos and especially COTA back onto the calendar.
some racing fan
9th June 2023, 21:43
It was a great event. So great that 236,000 people went to the event. I was there- it was so much fun.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th June 2023, 18:55
@spafrancorchamps There’s long been a certain amount of administrative tension between WEC and IMSA (formerly ALMS). It’s possible this may be one of the periodic boilings-over I’ve learned to expect. Mohamed is probably trying to make a virtue of necessity.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
9th June 2023, 10:54
This being WEC, there is only one “race” and a bunch of events no one would bother participating in if that were not necessary to be allowed into said “race”.
Hence, I don’t think anyone much cares about where exactly those events are taking place.
MichaelN
9th June 2023, 19:24
It wasn’t that long ago that the WEC race at the Nürburgring outsold the F1 race at Hockenheim. Sportscars are great fun to visit. The races are long, there’s all kinds of cars, and it’s very affordable.
Too much is made of this F1-spawned narrative that Indy500 and Le Mans are the only races that matter. The other races on the Indycar and WEC schedule are still good fun and people will race in them because … well, they love racing. Most sportscar races don’t even provide a path to Le Mans. People simply race in them because it’s cool, it’s fun and they love the competition.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
10th June 2023, 9:38
How is that an “F1-spawned” narrative?
Tony George literally broke NA open-wheel racing on that very premise almost 30 years ago, and he “won”, too.
WEC literally has rules to force participation in its events because teams in the past demonstrably don’t care for the series if they could avoid it and still be guaranteed a spot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As for sportscar “racing”, I don’t mind millionaires and billionaires burning millions on their hobby. (unless they endanger others) Good for the teams that get to exist and compete because of it.
StephenH
9th June 2023, 11:23
Still no Silverstone …
MichaelN
9th June 2023, 19:26
Yeah, that’s a bit disappointing. A few years ago I considered going but went to Spa instead; no regrets as that was an awesome event, but it would be nice to see these cars in action at Silverstone. It’s a great track for high speed cars.
some racing fan
9th June 2023, 21:44
Brexit
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th June 2023, 11:24
WEC giveth and taketh away here. Very sorry to see Sebring and Monza go, nothing against their replacements, the others just have more character. Good to see Interlagos back though. I wouldn’t miss Losail or Bahrain (the same goes for F1) and I’d like to see a race at Silverstone – ideally not on a grand prix weekend so I can go!
StephenH
9th June 2023, 11:26
Agreed, there needs to be a round in the UK, I reckon It’d sell a lot of tickets.
asd
9th June 2023, 16:08
Agreed. How on earth is the UK not able to lobby for a race is hard for me to understand. Not only is UK the base for most F1 teams, it also has – as I’m convinced – the largest motorsport fanbase in Europe.
some racing fan
9th June 2023, 21:45
Brexit
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th June 2023, 18:58
A British round would definitely sell a lot of tickets – it sold 52,000 last time WEC ran there – but originally it fell off the calender when it shrank in 2018/2019, and then hasn’t been able to get back on. It’s not clear whether getting back on the calendar is lobbying-related, money-related or some other issue.
CD (@clipperdael)
9th June 2023, 11:31
Stoked to see them back at Interlagos! Bit of shame to lose Sebring but there’s still the IMSA 12 Hours so not like there won’t be any endurance racing there next year.
PeterG
9th June 2023, 11:44
There also dropping the LMP2 class from next year.
They had already made it a spec class which was a bit of a shame but dropping it completely is an even bigger shame.
MichaelN
9th June 2023, 19:18
With the growing field of LMH/LMDh cars, it makes sense to relegate LMP2 to the regional series. Especially with LMH/LMDh being a bit slower than LMP1 cars, the LMP2 cars end up being in a bit of an awkward spot.
The ACO and FIA seemingly want privateers to be in the GT category and the manufacturers in the LMH one. Whatever the merits of that idea, I’m sure in a few years time they’ll change that again. It’s the normal sportscars cycle.
PeterG
9th June 2023, 19:41
It’s making the same mistake they have made several times in both the various incarnations of the WEC & F1 in catering to the manufacturer’s they push the privateers out or to the side. And when the manufacturer’s inevitable leave the series end up left in a far worse state than it was to begin with.
You go back a bit over a decade or so & they were constantly going on about how amazing the LMP1-Hy class was & how it allowed them to become a world championship with the influx of manufacturers & then they left & the series ended up with the top class essentially been 1 team (Toyota).
Same will likely happen this time. The new regulations with the Hypercars will garner interest as it’s written for the manufacturers, But they will leave & in 5 or so years they will be crying for LMP2 to be allowed back to fill the field.
They should just leave things as they are as what they have with the Hypercars, LMP2 (Allowing multiple chassis again) & GT works by far the best & creates by far the best racing with multiple points of interest. Cutting back to just Hypercars & GT does nothing but take away a class that typically produces the best prototype action & allows for some very good drivers (Both Pro & Am) opportunities they don’t otherwise get.
The regional & European series that are just LMP2 & GT are cool but they lack the importance of the world championship so just end up feeling less interesting which is probably also why they struggle to draw an audience.
You need a series with all the classes & WEC has been & should remain that so we get the best teams/drivers from each class.
WEC will suffer from this silly decision.
anon
10th June 2023, 7:26
This is being driven by the ACO itself, rather than the manufacturers – mainly because the current head of the ACO has long been adamant that the top class should only be open to manufacturers in order to enhance the prestige of the sport.
To some extent, it appears to be a case of oneupmanship given the ACO has traditionally had a slightly adversarial relationship with the FIA. By having more manufacturers than F1, they see themselves as the more prestigious series – a point they have made in the past – whilst the privateer teams are an inconvenience that don’t fit into their vision.
MichaelN
10th June 2023, 13:32
Absolutely, this is just another chapter in a well known tale. I suppose that sportscar racing in general will be just fine, but the particular forms it takes do indeed vary every now and then.
The Hypercar concept at least tried to address two main issues with other top categories meant to entice manufacturers via the performance limitations and subsequent BoP; so there’s an implicit cost cap and a relatively low chance of embarrassment (see: Aston Martin in LMP1, Honda in F1 for a long while) that manufacturers are keen to avoid.
MichaelN
9th June 2023, 19:15
The double weekend at Sebring was a bit awkward. There’ll still be the IMSA weekend there, so this is a bit of a ‘meh’ announcement. There’ll be plenty of racing there regardless.
Interlagos should never have been dropped; that’s an awesome track.
Shame to lose Algarve, as that’s a pretty cool one too.
some racing fan
9th June 2023, 21:47
Sebring unfortunately was dropped because the WEC didn’t want to hold the race on a Friday. I still wish they could have held it on the Sunday after the 12 Hours. It was a great event- 236,000 people went to it. I was there. COTA’s date is stupid unless they hold it from day to night.
Jon
10th June 2023, 7:56
They should now add , Monza , Sebring, portemo and Silverstone so i can’t ditch F1 and watch this instead