Breaking news
WEC
WEC 'superseason' to feature two Le Mans 24 Hours
Two editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours will count towards the next FIA World Endurance Championship in what is being billed as a 'superseason' covering 2018 and the first half of 2019.
Gary Watkins
Edited: Sep 2, 2017, 11:49 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
An eight-race season will climax at Le Mans in 2019 ahead of the start of a new-look WEC that will run across two calendar years, starting in October with the first of seven races and finishing with the French enduro.
Le Mans will no longer be a double-points round, although there will be bonus points for the 24 Hours and Sebring courtesy of their longer duration than the regulation six-hour races.
A 12-hour race at Sebring running on the same weekend as the traditional IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race of the same duration will be part of the WEC “superseason”.
The traditional Sebring 12 Hours IMSA race will begin on Saturday at 10am and two hours after its conclusion, the WEC event will begin at midnight.
The changes are part of a radical package of changes to the WEC put together by series promoter the Automobile Club de l'Ouest in conjunction with the FIA in the wake of Porsche's announcement that it will be leaving the LMP1 division at the end of this season.
The 2018/19 schedule will include a single race at Spa ahead of Le Mans, before the series resumes in October at Fuji. There will be one more race in 2018, in Shanghai in November.
The 2019 leg of the 'superseason' will begin in February with an event that has yet to be determined. Sebring, Spa and Le Mans will then complete the calendar.
WEC boss Gerard Neveu said: "The 2018/19 season will be a season of transition.
"Five years ago, when the WEC was created, we worked on the idea of finishing at Le Mans, but before it was not possible.
"The football World Cup finishes with the final and without Le Mans, there is no WEC, so it makes sense."
Neveu explained that it was important that the 'superseason' does not result in an increase in costs. This will be made possible by the reduction in the number of races from the present five and a reduction in travel costs by shipping the cars only by sea, rather than the current mixture of sea and airfreight.
The technical regulations for LMP1 will remain unchanged for the 'superseason', except for measures designed to give privateers the same chance of victory as the factory hybrids. This mean the end of the separate privateer P1 class.
ACO sporting director Vincent Beaumesnil said: "When we had three OEMs [before Audi's withdrawal at the end of 2016] we made regulations that allowed the privateers opportunities to fight.
"Now there is only one manufacturer [presuming Toyota continues] we are going to try to bring them even closer. This transition period is a good window for privateers to join."
Beaumesnil also revealed that it would be possible for a manufacturer to join the WEC with a non-hybrid car.
Provisional 2018/19 WEC schedule:
Date****Venue April 5-6 
Paul Ricard (Prologue) May 4-5 
Spa-Francorchamps June 16-17 Le Mans October 13-14 
Fuji November 3-4 
Shanghai TBC TBC March 15-16 
Sebring May 3-4 Spa-Francorchamps June 15-16 Le Mans
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Toyota’s WEC future to be decided in October
Next article Mexico WEC: Lotterer tops FP1 for Porsche
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Gary Watkins
Ford steps up WEC preparations with second test car
WEC
WEC
Ford steps up WEC preparations with second test car
Latest news
Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 8 h
Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”
How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
8 h
How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
8 h
Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
15 h
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe