Lequien: ELMS Success a Boost to Silverstone’s WEC Hopes

The success of the European Le Mans Series’ return to Silverstone has come a boost to the British circuit’s hopes of landing a slot on the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar in 2027, series CEO Frederic Lequien has suggested.

Last month’s 4 Hours of Silverstone marked the first time any ACO-run series had hosted a race at Silverstone, a former staple of both the ELMS and the FIA World Endurance Championship schedules, since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was a major success, with organizers claiming a fan attendance of 110,000.

It comes as the WEC considers a potential expansion to a nine-round schedule for the 2027 season, having opted for stability since 2024, when the addition of the Qatar 1812km bumped the calendar up to its current level of eight races.

Silverstone has always been deemed to be a leading contender to host a ninth race, having been absent since the COVID-disrupted 2019/20 season, and Lequien described the ELMS race as a “positive signal” for the circuit’s chances.

“What the ELMS event proved is that the appetite for sports car racing is huge in the U.K.,” Lequien told Sportscar365 at Fuji last weekend.

“It’s one more positive signal to think about a return for the WEC. We are working on it. Nothing is done, but it would be stupid not to consider to race again at Silverstone.”

Lequien wouldn’t be drawn on exactly where a revived Silverstone fixture could fit on the 2027 schedule, saying only: “We will see.”

It’s understood that the most likely scenario is that Silverstone would be added to the swing of European races held prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Were this to be the case, the Imola and Spa races could both be moved forward in order to make room for a potential Silverstone fixture in mid-May.

A date after Le Mans appears unlikely as Silverstone hosts two of its largest events, the Formula 1 British Grand Prix and Silverstone Classic, in July and August respectively, although the latter’s traditional August Bank Holiday slot is to be occupied by ‘CarFest’ as part of a change in the event’s format next year.

Having been on the inaugural season’s calendar in 2012 as the fourth round in August, Silverstone served as the WEC season opener from 2013-17, hosting its race in April, before returning to a summer date for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons.

A post Le Mans-date would not fit in well with the championship’s current sequence of flyway races that begins with Sao Paulo in July and continues with visits to the Circuit of The Americas and Fuji in September.

It has already been confirmed that Silverstone will remain on the ELMS calendar for 2026 as part of a broadly unchanged schedule for the series.