WEC eyes winter dates

The World Endurance Championship could become a winter series, climaxing with the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

The bold initiative has been put forward by the WEC organiser and series promoter Automobile Club de l’Ouest as a way of maintaining the appeal of the series over the course of a season and eradicating the long gap between the Le Mans 24 Hours and the end-of-season flyaway rounds. WEC boss Gérard Neveu uses the term “The road to Le Mans” to describe the philosophy behind the idea.

ACO president Pierre Fillon said: “In principle it is something that we would like to do. It is a good idea on paper, but we have to consider all the ramifications and work out how to manage the transition.”

The campaign would start with the current flyaway events, which would likely be spread out through the traditional off-season, before the series returns to Europe for the races ahead of Le Mans.