[WEC] FIA WEC calendar

[NaBUru38]

Frederic Lequien says they want to add a 7th race in 2023 (in Europe) and an 8th race in 2024, if logistics allow.


https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...race-calendar/


So a potential second race in North America could appear in 2024 at the earliest.

[canaglia]

silverstone is back? Or maybe nurburgring? To keep all manufacturers happy?
ferrari -> monza
peugeot -> LM
toyota -> fuji
porsche -> nurburgring
GM -> sebring
none asked -> bahrain

[Mike E]

I'll take Kyalami over Bahrain, thanks. Get in before F1 does.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by canaglia

silverstone is back? Or maybe nurburgring? To keep all manufacturers happy?
ferrari -> monza
peugeot -> LM
toyota -> fuji
porsche -> nurburgring
GM -> sebring
none asked -> bahrain

Not in this decade. Brexit did no favours in this regard, but Silverstone would have been dropped regardless.

You've more or less nailed it otherwise. Every manufacturer gets a race to show off.

[Tique]

Originally Posted by canaglia

silverstone is back? Or maybe nurburgring? To keep all manufacturers happy?
ferrari -> monza
peugeot -> LM
toyota -> fuji
porsche -> nurburgring
GM -> sebring
none asked -> bahrain

I bet on the Nurburgring

[Akrapovic]

We can't have Silverstone back. It was overwhelmingly popular in the fan poll. Why would they listen to that?

[Coach Ep]

For that same reason, we'll probably see a double-header on back-to-back weekends at Bahrain. More money for the blue blazers and easier logistics than anywhere else.

[canaglia]

a calendar made of:


sebring
spa
LM
monza
nurburgring
fuji
bahrain

+a possible indianapolis for 2024, at the end is not that bad considering how WEC struggled to survive after 2017

[Simmi]

I wonder whether China will come back into play for '24 and beyond? With all those manufacturers it always used to be a desirable one. F1 will be back there again from next year.

[Mike E]

Originally Posted by Simmi

I wonder whether China will come back into play for '24 and beyond? With all those manufacturers it always used to be a desirable one. F1 will be back there again from next year.

COVID still seems like it will have the final say

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by Mike E

COVID still seems like it will have the final say

more than covid itself is the chinese government easy instant whole metropolies lockdown attitude that is putting on risk international events hosted in china.

[joeb]

I missed this earlier in the week but WEC looking to add another pre Le Mans round, possibly in Portugal.

https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/...ndar/10337572/

sent during haircut

[gert]

IMO they should have moved Fuji before Le Mans, or as the season starter.
(The WSPC season used to have Suzuka as a season opener in the early 90s)

That would put an end to all those teams that will "definitely do the full season", only to skip Fuji and Bahrain after they've been to Le Mans.


No Fuji = No Le Mans.

[Simmi]

Damn, that would be so perfect for Silverstone! Shame it won't happen and we'll get a barren Portimao or similar instead.

[Adam43]

I bet they’ll be no Anglesey again. It was upgrade well in advance of WEC starting, but again it is ignored.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by gert

IMO they should have moved Fuji before Le Mans, or as the season starter.
(The WSPC season used to have Suzuka as a season opener in the early 90s)

That would put an end to all those teams that will "definitely do the full season", only to skip Fuji and Bahrain after they've been to Le Mans.


No Fuji = No Le Mans.

I'm not sure the ACO are willing to call those team's bluffs ... yet.

There would also be sea freight issues. We know that the series goes "the wrong way" for Fuji -> Bahrain (and we know the ACO is paid handsomely for it), but criss-crossing Eurasia or crossing the Pacific will be major headaches to organise, especially in the shorter time frame from Sebring to Le Mans.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Damn, that would be so perfect for Silverstone! Shame it won't happen and we'll get a barren Portimao or similar instead.

At least Portimao has good elevation.

[tux]

I expect it will be Paul Ricard with the full Mistral. Double header with ELMS. If they have it at the opening round they can do the pre season tests and some night practice too. Boring choice but an obvious choice.

Obviously i wish it was Silverstone, id even pre order a ticket THIS time thats how much i want to attend

[Adam43]

Anglesey. Anything else is a joke.

[NaBUru38]

I don't see the point of adding races with empty grandstands.

[Adam43]

Anglesey would be packed.

[Akrapovic]

I get Adams joke about Anglesey, but I'm going to add to the echo chamber anyway.

The ACO did a fan survey of what people wanted. People answered. And what we got was the opposite. Silverstone was listed as the third most popular event after LM and Spa. Bahrain didn't even feature on the results. And what did we get? No Silverstone and Bahrain got its race time extended.

If you ask what people want, and then do the opposite of what people say, don't be surprised when people keep saying "Yeah but we still want that thing we told you about when you asked us".

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

I get Adams joke about Anglesey, but I'm going to add to the echo chamber anyway.

The ACO did a fan survey of what people wanted. People answered. And what we got was the opposite. Silverstone was listed as the third most popular event after LM and Spa. Bahrain didn't even feature on the results. And what did we get? No Silverstone and Bahrain got its race time extended.

If you ask what people want, and then do the opposite of what people say, don't be surprised when people keep saying "Yeah but we still want that thing we told you about when you asked us".

From a UK perspective, losing two world championship events within a year in the WEC round and Rally GB was just brutal.

As far as I'm aware Bahrain are paying good money for the presence on the calendar. So it's going absolutely nowhere and got renewed until 2027 last month.

I'm sure the manufacturers will start to have increased say over the calendar so it will be interesting to see how that plays out. It does need to re-expand slightly just to build some momentum back into the championship. The events are so distanced you just forget about it at the moment.

And I've already said in another thread they need to do a bit of work to make the other rounds feel like bigger events within themselves.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

The ACO did a fan survey of what people wanted. People answered. And what we got was the opposite. Silverstone was listed as the third most popular event after LM and Spa. Bahrain didn't even feature on the results. And what did we get? No Silverstone and Bahrain got its race time extended.

That isn’t the only factor. There’s also cost. And what the teams want. And what the sponsors want. Silverstone has lost multiple events in recent years and I’m willing to bet that asking too much money (or not offering to pay enough) is a big factor in them all. And as I have said ad nauseam on this forum - Silverstone is a soulless industrial park, hard for non-UK teams to get to even before Brexit. I’d much rather WEC went to Portimao despite living less than an hour’s drive from Silverstone.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

That isn’t the only factor. There’s also cost. And what the teams want. And what the sponsors want. Silverstone has lost multiple events in recent years and I’m willing to bet that asking too much money (or not offering to pay enough) is a big factor in them all. And as I have said ad nauseam on this forum - Silverstone is a soulless industrial park, hard for non-UK teams to get to even before Brexit. I’d much rather WEC went to Portimao despite living less than an hour’s drive from Silverstone.

We're all aware of this. But this is a thread full of fans. So I'm not sure what people expect from these threads.

ACO ask what people want.
Fans say they want Silverstone
ACO pick circuits that aren't Silverstone (for some valid reasons)
Thread pops up about calendar changes
Fans still want Silverstone

Lets be reasonable here. Nobody sits and says "Well I'd prefer Silverstone by understand that the Crown Prince of Bahrain has decided that he wants another play thing, so I'm happy with Bahrain".

Or to put it another way - don't be surprised people keep asking for the same thing after you do a survey of what they want, and then decide that what they want isn't your priority.