2021 WEC Calendar – six races for first Hypercar season

For the first time since 2017, the World Endurance Championship will start and end in the same year. The last few years have been ‘Super Seasons’, spanning about 13 months apiece and two Le Mans 24 Hours, a response to Porsche and Audi’s departure from LMP1. Now a move to a single year season has been made to make life easier on the teams and businesses that support the WEC. “We listened to our manufacturers, teams and partners,” said Gérard Neveu, CEO of the WEC, “and responded with a calendar featuring fewer events than in the past to allow them all time to deal with the current economic crisis.”

There are six races, the first the 1,000 Miles of Sebring in March 2021, a few days after a two-day pre-season test at the same venue. The Six Hours of Spa will follow on 1^st May with the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours on 12^th-13^th June after that. Race number four is new to the calendar, the Six Hours of Monza on 18^th July, with the Six Hours of Fuji on 26^th September and the Six Hours of Bahrain on 20^th November rounding out the season.

2021 World Endurance Championship Calendar

Which tracks are missing from the 2021 WEC Calendar?

The sad news for British motorsport fans is that there is no race at Silverstone in 2021. Formerly the Six Hours of Silverstone and then the Four Hours of Silverstone for 2020, the race appears to have been dropped entirely. There’s also no race in Shanghai, China, and nothing at the Circuit of the Americas, USA.

Le Mans Hypercar regulations

The 2021 WEC season will see the introduction of the Le Mans Hypercar regulations, and with them the end the current Le Mans Prototype rules that have governed the fastest prototype racers at Le Mans for nearly 20 years. The aim is to simplify the fastest cars on track and make it easier for lower budget teams to compete against the likes of Toyota – in fact the new rules should make it more appealing for any manufacturer to enter the series, which is why Toyota will race its new ‘Super Sport’ from 2021 with Peugeot set to join in 2022. The hybrid system will come solely from Williams Advanced Engineering, combined peak power cannot exceed 500kW (680PS) and every car must have a minimum weight of at least 1,030kg.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.