The WEC formalizes the new version of its 2019-2020 calendar

Since the cancellation of the SuperSebring and then the postponement of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the LMEM and ACO teams – like all the different promoters – have been tearing their hair out to reschedule their postponed rounds and finish the season as best they can.

The coronavirus crisis, combined with the suicide of the project Aston Martin Valkyrie, pushed the governing bodies of the WEC to completely review the schedules for seasons 8 and 9.

« The circumstances of this global health crisis have left us no choice, it is currently impossible to consider organizing an international car race before next summer, underlines the general director of the WEC Gérard Neveu. We have therefore rearranged the calendar accordingly while maintaining the number of events initially planned.

However, we must prepare for big changes for next season because we will have to integrate many parameters, starting with the future economic difficulties which will be inevitable. For now, our first concern is everyone's good health and we hope that everyone will take good care of their loved ones in the weeks to come. »

See also:

• The WEC returns to a classic season system from 2021
• New starting time for the 24 2020 Hours of Le Mans
• Slightly reduced 2020 program for the ELMS

As we revealed to you in preview (see AUTOhebdo n°2260 and here), the 2019-2020 financial year will indeed offer eight rounds and the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (with a new departure time) will not act as a final since there will be a race in August and another in November, two months after the Le Mans classic.

Scheduled for April 25, the 2020 opus of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will be held on the weekend of August 15. It was a moment when Silverstone held the rope to host the final meeting preceding the double clock tower at Le Mans, but for various reasons, the Belgian venue was preferred.

Finally, to close the debates, as we revealed to you yesterday, the final will be held in Bahrain on November 21, with an eight-hour race. A test which digitally replaces the 1000 miles of Sebring and which is also richly endowed with points. It will then be time to press pause… until March 2021, year which will mark the return to seasons with a more classic pattern since they take place over a single calendar year.

2019-2020 WEC Calendar*:

– September 1, 2019: 4 Hours of Silverstone (Great Britain)
– October 6, 2019: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
– November 10, 2019: 4 Hours of Shanghai (China)
– December 14, 2019: 8 Hours of Bahrain 2019
– February 23, 2020: Lone Star Le Mans (USA / Texas)
– August 15, 2020: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
– September 19-20, 2020: 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
– November 21, 2020: 8 Hours of Bahrain 2020

*: It is of course understood that this revised calendar could undergo further modifications depending on the evolution of the current health crisis or the scheduling of other FIA World Championships.