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FIA World Endurance Championship

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Not to be confused with FIM Endurance World Championship, World Enduro Championship, or World Sportscar Championship.

FIA World Endurance Championship
CategoryEndurance racing
CountryInternational
RegionWorldwide
Inaugural season2012
Prototype ClassesHypercar
GT ClassesLMGT3
Teams17
Tyre suppliersMichelin, Goodyear
Drivers' champion
Makes' champion
Teams' champion
Official websitefiawec.com
Current season

The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercontinental Le Mans Cup which began in 2010 and is the first endurance series of world championship status since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992. The World Endurance Championship name was previously used by the FIA from 1981 to 1985.

The series features multiple classes of cars competing in endurance races, with sports prototypes competing in the Hypercar class (LMH or LMDh), and production-based grand tourers competing in the LM GT3 category. World champion titles are awarded to the top-scoring drivers and manufacturers over the season,[1][2] while other cups and trophies will be awarded for drivers and private teams.[3]

History

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The World Endurance Championship was first run in 2012 as a replacement for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup,[4] following much of the same format and featuring eight endurance races across the world, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[2] There were four categories: LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes along with GTE grand tourers, divided into GTE Pro for teams with professional driver line-ups, and GTE Am for teams featuring a mixture of amateur drivers.

Faced with declining manufacturer interest in the LMP1 class after the 2017 season, the FIA commissioned a study into the future regulations of the championship's top category. Known as the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), the proposal called for a move away from Le Mans Prototype entries and less reliance on hybrid technologies. The proposal was designed to make the championship more appealing to car manufacturers, and cited flagship models such as the Aston Martin Vulcan and McLaren Senna GTR as examples of the cars the new regulations were hoping to attract.[5][6] The Hypercar class first appeared in the 2021 season, with LMH entries from Alpine, Glickenhaus and Toyota.[7] From 2023, LMDh entries will also be able to compete full-time in the Hypercar class alongside LMH.[8]

In 2021, the ACO announced that the series would move away from its two LMGTE categories, following a rapid decline in manufacturer interest. The 2022 season will be the last for the LMGTE Pro class, and from 2024, LMGTE Am will be replaced by a GT3-based category, described as a "GT3 Premium" featuring a cost-capped body kit conversion from standard GT3 machinery.[9][10] According to the president of the FIA Endurance Commission Richard Mille, the FIA are aiming at a customer-focused category where the manufacturers cannot enter officially.[11]

In the year 2024, it will officially mark the first season in the category's history since the inaugural season in 2012 that the LMP2 class would not be on the grid in the FIA WEC due to increased demand in grid sizes in the Hypercar & Incoming GT3-Spec based LMGT3 classes for full season entries. However it will still take part appearing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

Format

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Five titles are to be decided and awarded in the current season (as of 2024) based on total point tally, with two being deemed world championships: Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship and Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship.[12] The points system is similar to that used in the FIA's other world championships, awarding points to the top ten finishers on a sliding point margin scale from first to tenth. Cars finishing the race but classified eleventh or further are awarded a half point. For 8 and 10-hour races, points are worth roughly 1.5x as much (i.e. 25 points for a win is worth 38 points at these races). For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, points are worth roughly 2x as much.[13]

Races

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Current races (2024)

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Race Circuit Seasons
Qatar 1812 km Qatar Lusail International Circuit 2024
6 Hours of Imola Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 2024
6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 2012–present
24 Hours of Le Mans France Circuit de la Sarthe 2012–present
6 Hours of São Paulo Brazil Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace 2012–2014, 2024
Lone Star Le Mans United States Circuit of the Americas 2013–2017, 2020, 2024
6 Hours of Fuji Japan Fuji Speedway 2012–2019, 2022–present
8 Hours of Bahrain Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit 2012–2017, 2019–present
(2 races in 2021)

Former races

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Race Circuit Seasons
4 Hours of Shanghai China Shanghai International Circuit 2012–2019
4 Hours of Silverstone United Kingdom Silverstone Circuit 2012–2019
6 Hours of Mexico Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 2016–2017
6 Hours of Monza Italy Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 2021–2023
6 Hours of Nürburgring Germany Nürburgring 2015–2017
6 Hours of Portimão Portugal Algarve International Circuit 2021, 2023
1000 Miles of Sebring United States Sebring International Raceway 2019, 2022–2023
12 Hours of Sebring United States Sebring International Raceway 2012

Champions

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Main article: List of FIA World Endurance champions

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2012 FIA World Endurance Championship". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b "World Motor Sport Council". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  3. ^ "The FIA World Endurance Championship is unveiled!". lemans.org. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  4. ^ "FIA announces World Endurance Championship". Planetlemans.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. ^ "FIA gives green light to WEC's 'hypercar' LMP1 prototype successor". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  6. ^ "FIA announces 'hypercar' rules for 2020/21 WEC season". speedcafe.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  7. ^ "The 2021 WEC season entry list in full". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Classes – FIA World Endurance Championship". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  9. ^ "GT3 cars to replace GTE class at Le Mans from 2024". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. ^ "WEC drops GTE Pro class for 2023". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  11. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "ACO's Future GT Class Set to Prohibit Factory Entries – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Trophies & cups – FIA World Endurance Championship". www.fiawec.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Points – FIA World Endurance Championship". www.fiawec.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
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