The races in Bahrain and Brazil features in the provisional calendar of the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) superseason.
The season features eight races in five continents with the return to Bahrain and Brazil after a hiatus of one year and five years respectively, at Bahrain International Circuit and Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Interlagos).
With the completion of the 2018/19 superseason in June after the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the 2019/20 superseason will kick-off on August 30 – September 1 with the 4 Hours of Silverstone – a revised run time for the event.
It will be followed by the Asian and Middle Eastern races with 6 Hours of Fuji (October 11-13) in Japan, 4 Hours of Shanghai (November 1-3) in China and 8 Hours of Bahrain (December 12-14) in the Kingdom of Bahrain – all in 2019.
The season will then move to the American leg to start the year 2020 with 6 Hours of Sao Paulo (January 31 – February 1) in Brazil followed by 8 Hours (1000 Miles) of Sebring in the USA to be held in March – the event is yet to be confirmed.
The season will culminate with the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (May 4-6) in Belgium and the Le Mans 24 Hours (June 13-14) in France. The run time of several races has been altered after the findings from the Global Fan Survey.
“We are very happy to be able to present a calendar which not only offers a large degree of stability and familiarity, but also moves with the times and responds to the wishes of its many fans around the world,” said Pierre Fillon, Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s President.
“With the 24 Hours of Le Mans as its cornerstone, the WEC continues to offer access to the most competitive and open championship possible, as well as presenting our automotive manufacturers with the perfect showcase for their products.
“The revisions to the race formats may echo endurance events of the past, but we never stop looking towards the future to ensure a sustainable, relevant and exciting championship. The dawn of the new-look WEC calendar will rise in Silverstone in September 2019 and we can’t wait.”
CEO Gerard Neveu added: “Our fans spoke, we listened and have reacted. Naturally we have had a period of consultation with our partners and competitors, and we believe that this new calendar will meet their expectations and requirements as well as please the fans who are so important to us all.
“Our aim is to introduce an additional round to the 2020-2021 calendar so that there is more or less an event every month to help maintain interest.” The calendar will be submitted to FIA World Motor Sport Council for approval in Paris on October 12.
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