FIA World Endurance Championship
 | |
| Category | Endurance racing |
|---|---|
| Region | International |
| Inaugural season | 2012 |
| Prototype Classes | LMP1, LMP2 |
| GT Classes | LMGTE Pro, LMGTE Am |
| Teams | About 20 |
| Tyre suppliers | Michelin, Dunlop |
| Drivers' champion |
|
| Teams' champion |
|
| Makes' champion | Porsche |
| Official website | fiawec.com |
 Current season | |
The FIA World Endurance Championship 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 Le Mans Prototype categories, and production-based grand tourers competing in the LM GTE categories. World champion titles are awarded to the top scoring manufacturers and drivers over the season,[1][2] while other cups and trophies will be awarded for drivers and private teams.[3]
Contents
1 Format
2 Future
3 Races
3.1 Current races
3.2 Returning races
3.3 Former races
4 Champions
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Format
The World Endurance Championship was first run in 2012 as a replacement for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.[4]
The World Endurance Championship follows much of the format of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and features nine endurance races across the world, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with all races being at least six hours in duration.[2] The calendar includes four races in Europe, two in the Americas, two in Asia and one in the Middle East,[5] with a possible future expansion.[6] There are four categories: LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes and the GTE category, divided into GTE Pro for teams with professional driver line-ups, and GTE Am for teams featuring a mixture of amateur drivers.
Six titles are awarded each season based on total point tally, with two being deemed world championships: Manufacturers' World Endurance Champion and Drivers' World Champion. The GTE Pro class champion are awarded a World Cup, while the leaders in LMP2 and GTE Am are awarded a Trophy. The final Trophy is awarded to the best privateer team amongst all four classes.[3] 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 the 24 Hours of Le Mans points are worth roughly 1.5x as much (i.e. 25 points for a win is worth 38 points at Le Mans).[7]
Future
Faced with declining manufacturer interest, the FIA commissioned a study into the future regulations of the category. Known as "Hypercar", the proposal called for 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 category was hoping to attract.[8][9]
Races
Current races
| Race | Circuit |
|---|---|
6 Hours of Silverstone |  Silverstone Circuit |
WEC 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps |  Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps |
24 Heures du Mans |  Circuit de la Sarthe |
1000 Miles of Sebring |  Sebring International Raceway |
6 Hours of Fuji |  Fuji Speedway |
6 Hours of Shanghai |  Shanghai International Circuit |
Returning races
| Race | Circuit | Former seasons | Returning season |
|---|---|---|---|
6 Hours of São Paulo |  Autódromo José Carlos Pace | 2012 to 2014 | 2019-20 |
6 Hours of Bahrain |  Bahrain International Circuit | 2012 to 2017 | 2019-20 |
Former races
| Race | Circuit | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
12 Hours of Sebring | Sebring International Raceway | Only 2012 |
6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas | Circuit of the Americas | 2013 to 2017 |
6 Hours of Nürburgring |  Nürburgring | 2015 to 2017 |
6 Hours of Mexico |  Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez | 2016 & 2017 |
Champions
See also
 |
|
- WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
- European Le Mans Series
- Asian Le Mans Series
- FIA GT1 World Championship
References
^ "2012 FIA World Endurance Championship". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-06-03. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-04..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab "World Motor Sport Council". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2011-06-03. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
^ ab "The FIA World Endurance Championship is unveiled!". lemans.org. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 2011-06-09. Archived from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
^ ten Caat, Marcel (3 June 2011). "FIA announces World Endurance Championship". Planetlemans.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
^ "Calendar, FIA World Endurance Championship". Archived from the original on 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
^ Marcel ten Caat (2011-06-09). "Le Mans Press Conference: 2012 and further". planetlemans.com. Planet Le Mans. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
^ "Points - FIA World Endurance Championship". www.fiawec.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-18.
^ Watkins, Gary (7 June 2018). "FIA gives green light to WEC's 'hypercar' LMP1 prototype successor". autosport.com. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
^ Coch, Mat (8 June 2018). "FIA announces 'hypercar' rules for 2020/21 WEC season". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIA World Endurance Championship. |
FIA World Endurance Championship (in English) (in French)
- Automobile Club de l'Ouest
- Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
