WEC to run alongside IMSA at Sebring 12 Hour weekend (Update)

Toyota LMP1 car to blister Sebring next March

UPDATE In addition to the WEC’s calendar changes for 2018/19 announced today at CoTA, FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu also gave an update on the FIA WEC’s Sebring race in 2019 as part of the IMSA-WEC double-header. Neveu stressed that it will go ahead as planned, despite some concerns being expressed over the logistical challenges involved in running back-to-back endurance races on the Floridian circuit.

The plan announced during the 6 Hours of Mexico weekend was to host a 12-hour WEC race at the Sebring circuit, starting two hours after IMSA’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. The idea to host two 12 Hours of Sebrings on the same weekend, raised questions from numerous members of the WEC paddock regarding the condition of the track, the race start time (midnight) and the ability to wrap up the IMSA race quickly enough to get the WEC race underway on schedule.

However, Neveu made it clear today that despite the logistical challenges that the WEC faces that weekend, that he is confident that it can be done. However, he did reveal that the WEC is considering making the race a different length to original 12 hours previously announced.

"We are looking at the name of the race and that might inform the eventual length of race that we hold at Sebring," said Neveu at the Circuit of the Americas today. “It will definitely be longer than a six-hour race, perhaps 10, or eight or a race measured by distance."

In addition to that, he said that a ‘spectacular entertainment program’ is also being organized for the fans for the gap between the two races.

To progress the plans for the 2019 race, Sebring Raceway’s president and general manager Wayne Estes is in attendance at Circuit of The Americas this weekend to discuss the event further with the WEC’s organisation and various members of the paddock. dailysporstcar.com

The powerful LMP1 cars are coming to Sebring

09/02/17 The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) announced today that Sebring International Raceway will host not one, but two, world-class endurance sports car events in 2019.

The March 15-16 weekend will now feature IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida followed by a 12-hour WEC race.

“Today’s ACO announcement of IMSA and WEC races at Sebring over a two-day period in 2019 is a win for everyone involved, but most for especially the sports car racing fans here and around the world" IMSA president Scott Atherton said. “We look forward to providing details about the event at Sebring and what promises to be an unforgettable weekend of racing."

ACO President Pierre Fillon and WEC CEO Gerard Neveu unveiled the details of the weekend as part of a wider announcement regarding the future of the WEC. The Sebring event will be the seventh race on the 2018-2019 WEC calendar as part of a transitional season for the series.

The Twelve Hours of Sebring is now scheduled to begin approximately at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with a 12-hour WEC race going green shortly after the checkered flag of the IMSA event at approximately midnight Sunday.

More details on this multi-race weekend will be released at a later date.

Sebring hosted the first WEC race in 2012, and was also the site of the first FIA sanctioned Sports Car Manufacturers World Championship race in 1953. The WeatherTech Championship and WEC last shared a weekend at Circuit of The Americas in 2016.

Sebring hosts the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17, 2018.