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Red Bull Ring Date Swap with Nürburgring Possible

Red Bull Ring ELMS round could swap dates with Nurburgring WEC…

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

FIA World Endurance Championship boss Gerard Neveu has admitted that the date for next year’s European Le Mans Series round at the Red Bull Ring will change if their plan to move the WEC event at Nürburgring one week forward is accomplished. (En Français)

The proposed date swap for the German WEC round, which is currently scheduled for July 23, would be to eliminate a clash with the FIA Formula E Championship, which has a double-header round in New York City that same weekend.

A gentlemen’s agreement had been established between Neveu and Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag to avoid clashes due to a large number of drivers competing in both series.

The change would set off a domino effect, as the third round of the ELMS season is currently scheduled for July 16, which would then directly clash with the Nürburgring WEC race.

“We’ll have to make a decision [soon] because the Nürburgring needs to know what date we will choose,” Neveu told Endurance-Info.

The WEC’s current holdup, ACO President Pierre Fillon says, is the possibility of the German Grand Prix being held on the same weekend as the WEC race, which Fillon said could not happen.

The FIA currently lists the Hockenheim F1 race for July 30, but with the date still to-be-confirmed.

“The two locations are very close to each other and [we wouldn’t have enough staff for] the extraction teams and [event] officials,” Fillon explained.

Neveu, who also manages the ELMS, said a final decision on both championship’s calendars will have to come prior to the next World Motor Sport Council meeting in December.

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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