FIA and ACO will seek an eighth appointment for the WEC 2024 calendar after incorporating Portimao to the 2023 program. The promoter of the series has different options, but Qatar wins integers to host this eighth round.
FIA and ACO have published the calendar for the 2023 WEC season and, as planned, the championship will feature one more event than this year. The 6 Hours of Portimao are integrated into the World Endurance Championship program in the first campaign in which LMH and LMDh prototypes will be able to compete together in the premier class of the championship. However, andhe expansionist spirit of the championship does not end there.
Within the goal of recover the schedule of eight tests that the event has had in the past, the inclusion of an appointment in Portimao is only the first step. The second will arrive in 2024, since the idea of the FIA and ACO is to add another event to reach these eight desired rounds. Naturally, the question is what test the WEC promoter has in mind and where to fit it.
«There is a real interest in taking the World Endurance Championship to Losail, the reference circuit in the country»
Those responsible for the World Cup handle, on paper, two different options. The first of them involves including a new European appointment to create a solid block of five tests in the old continent. Portimao and Spa ahead of Le Mans, with Monza and a new event to be defined after the crowning event of the championship. The final stretch of the calendar would continue unchanged with trips to Japan and Bahrain.
From this option there are different interests crossed. The manufacturers involved in the WEC they would welcome having a test in Germany -Nürburgring or Hockenheim-, but it is not ruled out either a return of the 6 Hours of Silverstone. However, there are other very interesting markets far from Europe that can tip the balance towards the second option managed by ACO
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Are you Qatari?
As of 2023 calendar, it doesn’t seem very difficult to have another round away from Europe in the second half of the calendar, either before Japan or between the appointment in Fuji and the end of the championship in Bahrain. In this sense, postponing the end of the calendar to place another race in the Middle East does not seem unreasonable. And Qatar is pushing hard to be part of the World Cup.
Although there is no history or direct relationship between Qatar and the WEC, there is real interest in bringing Losail to the World Endurance Championship, reference circuit of the country. Beyond the intrinsic aspects of the proposal, it must be recognized that Losail is a first-class circuit that fits perfectly with the type of track that seems to prevail on the championship schedule.
Other options
In the strategy of opening Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern giant has a great weapon in motor sports. Formula 1, Formula E, Dakar, Extreme E and WRC -in 2023- visit the country and the World Endurance Championship could be the perfect finishing touch. Possibilities like South Africa are more residualas they are of less interest to WEC players.
However, there is a market that is in the focus of the brands, especially Peugeot. That market is China, a country that has been linked to the WEC in the past thanks to the 6 Hours of Shanghai. Nevertheless, It is difficult today to anticipate the opening conditions of the country for 2024 within its strict health policy.
Photos: FIA WEC