Barcelona to Open 2020 Season

Circuit Paul Ricard and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya have swapped dates in the only significant change to the 2020 European Le Mans Series calendar.

The round at Barcelona will move to a season-opening date of April 3-5, while a pre-season test will also be held at the Spanish venue on the preceding Monday and Tuesday.

Paul Ricard has subsequently been moved to a later slot, with the French circuit holding its four-hour race on July 17-19 as the first event after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Paul Ricard has been the season-opener for the past two seasons and has hosted the pre-season test event on both occasions, as well as from 2013 to 2016.

All other tracks on the 2019 ELMS schedule have been retained for 2020, with Silverstone, Algarve International Circuit, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps all returning.

Monza will again be the second round, hosting a race on May 8-10, while Silverstone will be the fourth round of the season on the first Saturday in September.

This suggests an early September date for the UK round of the 2020-21 FIA World Endurance Championship – and possibly the first race for the new Hypercar class – if the WEC and ELMS share the event again as in previous years.

The season will continue to finish with a September round at Spa followed by a trip to the Algarve circuit in Portugal in late October.

“We are very pleased to announce the 2020 calendar for the European Le Mans Series,” said championship CEO Gerard Neveu.

“This calendar gives us a solid base on which to continue the successful growth of the series, which began in 2013.

“We are also happy to be going back to Barcelona after the success of the first event in July, not only for the first race of the 2020 season but also for the two-day official test.”

2020 European Le Mans Series:

Mar. 30-31 – Barcelona pre-season test
Apr. 3-5 – 4H Barcelona
May. 8-10 – 4H Monza
Jul. 17-19 – 4H Le Castellet
Sep. 4-5 – 4H Silverstone
Sep. 18-20 – 4H Spa-Francorchamps
Oct. 23-25 – 4H Portimao