WEC Retains Original Nürburgring Date for 2017

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

The Six Hours of Nürburgring will remain on its originally announced date next year, despite an effort to move it back one week to prevent a clash with Formula E, according to FIA World Endurance Championship boss Gerard Neveu.

Neveu said the WEC has retained the July 14-16 date due to not having the assurance when the Formula One German Grand Prix at Hockenheim will occur, an event the series said it would not clash with.

“From our knowledge, this Grand Prix should happen on July 23,” he said. “This is the information we have.

“So we had to take a decision with the Nürburgring, and the decision is that for WEC the race will happen on [July] 16 because we don’t have a choice.

“If we don’t have the guarantee that [July] 23 is available, we keep [July] 16.

“The calendar will stay like this because Nurburgring has already arranged its schedule. They are renting the track for the other weekend. We also have ELMS at the Red Bull Ring [the week after].”

It will mark in the first-ever date clash with Formula E, which will host a double-header round in New York City the same weekend.

Six drivers: Sebastien Buemi, Stephane Sarrazin, Loic Duval, Lucas Di Grassi, Sam Bird and Adam Carroll, currently compete in both championships, although Duval and Di Grassi’s future in WEC remain unclear amid Audi’s withdrawal from LMP1 at the end of the season.

Both Neveu and Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag had a gentlemen’s agreement to prevent date clashes between the two championships, due to its large overlap of drivers.

“I don’t have any other option because there is no other weekend available for Nurburgring,” Neveu said. “What can I do? They’ve rented the other weekend so it’s finished.”

John Dagys

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