2023 World Endurance Championship calendar revealed
Following the release of the 2023 F1 calendar, the World Endurance Championship has now followed suit. Its new calendar for 2023 features a slight expansion from the six rounds seen since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as Portimao returns for a seventh race.
At the season’s core will be the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place on 10th-11th June, its traditional spot. But with the re-addition of Sebring to the calendar in 2021 and now with Portugal joining the series again the twice-round-the-clock test at Le Mans will now be the fourth round of the season, and the fifth official WEC event of 2023.
The year begins with the traditional WEC Prologue test, for next year taking place at Sebring. The Prologue is less than a week before the first race of the season and with teams already in America for the 1,000 miles of Sebring that supports the 12 Hours it makes sense to hold the test there.
After the race at Sebring on 17th March the teams will head back across the Atlantic for a four-race European season that begins with the return to Portimao on 16th April. The now-traditional warm up for Le Mans at Spa has been brought forward out of May and into April as it will take place on the 29th, leaving more than a month between it and the double-points scoring race in France.
After Le Mans the teams have another month’s break before heading to Monza. The Italian circuit joined the championship this year and proved popular with fans and teams and has retained its place.
The final two rounds of the season come after a two-month summer break, with the Japanese race at Fuji taking place on 10th September before the World Endurance Championship heads to Bahrain for its now traditional season ender at Bahrain.
The races at Portimao, Spa, Monza and Fuji will take place over six hours while Sebring runs to distance at 1,000miles and Bahrain finishes the season with a longer eight-hour timed race.
With the calendar now confirmed by the World Motorsport Council it means that the Portimao round is now locked in and will clash with the IndyCar/IMSA double-header at Long Beach. What this means for any teams or manufacturers doing both championships is yet to be seen.
The announcement also means there remains no place for Silverstone on the seven-race calendar, although the ACO, which organises the championship, has already said it wishes to return to an eight race calendar in the future, potentially as soon as 2024. Whether that could mean a return to Silverstone, which had been a staple of the championship from its first season in 2012 through to 2019, is unknown.
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship calendar
|
Race |
Distance |
Date |
|
Sebring |
Prologue test |
11th-12th March |
|
Sebring |
1,000 miles |
17th April |
|
Portimao |
6 hours |
16th April |
|
Spa Francorchamps |
6 hours |
29th April |
|
Le Mans |
24 hours |
10th-11th June |
|
Monza |
6 hours |
9th July |
|
Fuji |
6 hours |
10th September |
|
Bahrain |
8 hours |
4th November |
World Endurance Championship
WEC
Calendar
Sebring
Portimao
Spa Francorchamps
Le Mans
Monza
Fuji
Bahrain
