Sebring on the 2018-2019 calendar

The ACO revealed, as part of the 6 Hours of Mexico, the calendar for the coming season. In accordance with what we announced to you in preview this week (see Ah n°2129), the program will take place over two calendar years. A format that the thinking heads of the Manceau club have been working on since the rebirth of the WEC in 2012 and which will, of course, be retained thereafter.

The next financial year (see below), transitional, will therefore begin at the beginning of May 2018 and end in June 2019. It will include two editions of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for a total of eight rounds.

The other big news comes from the return to the calendar of the 12 Hours of Sebring. In reality, spectators present at the Florida circuit in mid-March 2019 will be entitled to two twelve-hour races. The 12 Hours of Sebring version IMSA, from 10 a.m. to 22 p.m. on Saturday, and the 12 Hours of Sebring WEC version, from midnight to 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Note that the Prologue, which is returning to Paul-Ricard, will offer competitors the opportunity to complete a 36-hour simulation.

WEC 2018-2019 Calendar:
April 5-6, 2018: Prologue, Circuit Paul Ricard (France)
May 4-5, 2018: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
June 16-17, 2018: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)
October 13-14, 2018: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
November 3-4, 2018: 6 Hours of Shanghai (China)
February 2019: Country and race to be confirmed
March 15-16, 2019: 12 Hours of Sebring (United States)
May 3-4, 2019: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
June 15-16, 2019: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)

Subsequently, the 2019-2010 campaign will begin during the last quarter of 2019 and end at the 24 2020 Hours of Le Mans and will consist of seven rounds.

« I am delighted with the new calendar and the changes made to the WEC championship which will allow this great motorsport discipline to make a new start. » says Jean Todt, president of the FIA.

This revised calendar allows a reduction in costs for the stables as well as the implementation of new logistics, with shipping by boat rather than by plane, resulting in transport costs divided by three.

And Pierre Fillon, president of the ACO, concluded: “ We would like to sincerely thank Jean Todt, President of the FIA, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, President of the Commission Endurance, as well as all its members for their support. All these decisions, essential for the future of the WEC, were taken in record time. With the support of all the friends and partners of the WEC within IMSA, an agreement has been reached to return to Sebring and bring the 12 Hours of Sebring back into the WEC calendar, and we are delighted. Thanks to all these decisions, we are confident that we will see a complete and very competitive field on track. We are already in discussions with several manufacturers and private teams who are seriously studying their entry into LMP1 from 2018-2019, while taking into consideration the fact that the LMP2 and GTE fields are already important, with a very high level of commitment. for the future. »