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Silverstone Opener, Mixed Format Races in 2019-20

Silverstone to kick off 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship season…

Photo: MPS Agency

Silverstone will serve as the kickoff round of the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship season, which features revisions to the duration of several races for its first full ‘winter’ season.

The eight-round provisional calendar, released on Friday, features the return of Bahrain, as an eight-hour race in December 2019 and confirmation of the previously announced trip to Interlagos, which is now set for February 2020.

Additionally, races at Silverstone and Shanghai have been reduced to four hours in length, as part of a more diverse calendar based on fan feedback from the 2017 WEC fan survey.

As is the case this season, the Fuji date, scheduled for Oct. 13, will clash with the Motul Petit Le Mans, with the Six Hours of Sao Paulo expected to fall on the traditional date of the Bathurst 12 Hour, a round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

“Our fans spoke, we listened and have reacted,” said WEC CEO Gerard Neveu.

“Naturally we have had a period of consultation with our partners and competitors, and we believe that this new calendar will meet their expectations and requirements as well as please the fans who are so important to us all.”

Neveu said they hope to introduce an additional race to the 2020-21 calendar so there is “more or less” one event each month in order to “help maintain interest.”

The calendar is subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, which meets on Oct. 12.

2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship Schedule:

Sept. 1 — Four Hours of Silverstone
Oct. 13 — Six Hours of Fuji
Nov. 17 — Four Hours of Shanghai
Dec. 14 — Eight Hours of Bahrain
Feb. 1 — Six Hours of Sao Paulo
March — 1000 Miles of Sebring*
May 3 — Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
June 13-14 — 24 Hours of Le Mans

*To be confirmed

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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