Sebring dropped from WEC

Sebring dropped from WEC

Next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship will begin at Silverstone following the disappearance of the Sebring 12 Hours from the calendar. Sebring, which kicked off the revived WEC in 2012 and was the first round of last year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, has been replaced on the WEC schedule by the new home of the US Grand Prix, the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. The US fixture

has been moved from Sebring’s March date to September for logistical reasons. That means the 2013 WEC will now begin in Europe. The Silverstone Six Hours, which took place in August this year, has been moved ahead of the Spa round in May to become the opening race on April 14. It will be a double-header weekend with a round of the European Le Mans Series occurring on the Saturday. WEC boss Gerard Neveu explained that there were a number of reasons for the disappearance of the historic Sebring fixture

from the series. Accommodating both the WEC and the ALMS grids on the former airfield circuit — which has room in the pits for 64 cars — would be difficult, he said.

Neveu added that it was important for the WEC has its own identity. He also explained that a desire to save on transportation costs had resulted in a calendar reshuffle with all the races outside Europe taking place in the second half of the season.