Asian LMS: New 2019/2020 schedule presented

A trip to Australia, night racing in Malaysia, and a return to China and Thailand; that's the new Asian Le Mans Series calendar in a nutshell.  The 4 hour race format will be kept for the upcoming season, but there's a few significant changes to look forward to next winter. 

The 2018/2019 season has been a great success so far for the series with a grid that has grown strongly in depth and quality, and a significant increased audience as well on track as online.  The Asian Le Mans Series is cementing its position not only in Asia, but now also globally. As from next season the current LMP2 prototypes will also be eligible to race in the series which might attract more (new) teams to the winter series.  

Just as it did this season, the 2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series will feature four races each of four hours in length, and will start in China again on the final weekend of November at the Shanghai International Circuit. The opening race will continue to be run in conjunction with the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC).

As previously announced, 2020 will see the Series’ first visit to Australia. The second round of the Championship will be held on the 12th of January 2020 at The Bend. The Bend is Australia’s newest permanent circuit and is located approximately 100 km from Adelaide in South Australia. The Asian Le Mans Series will be the first series to use the full 7.77km configuration of the circuit, which is - apart from Le Mans - the longest track in any ACO supported series.

In a change to their traditional season ending date, the third round of the Championship will be held at the Sepang International Circuit. The race will be held on Saturday the 15th February in 2020.  Also new is that the 4 Hours of Sepang will finish into the night, with the second half of the race to be run after sunset. 

The final round of the 2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series will be held at the Buriram International Circuit on the 23rd of February 2020. Moving away from the traditional mid January date on Children's day, the Thai circuit will instead host the final 4 hour race of the Championship.

The 2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series calendar has been designed to ensure it avoids clashes with other Asian series and major events in the region, whilst also allowing for transport times for those teams from around the world wishing join the Series. The opening round at the end of November now also gives (more) teams who race in the European Le Mans Series the time to prepare for the Asian series.

2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series Calendar details

Round 1: Shanghai International Circuit, China • 22 – 24 November 2019

Round 2: The Bend, South Australia • 10 – 12 January 2020

Round 3: Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia • 14 – 15 February 2020

Round 4: Buriram Chang International Circuit, Thailand • 21 – 23 February 2020

Asian Le Mans Series goes Down under !

2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series to feature a round at The Bend!

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest and the Asian Le Mans Series today announced their first trip to Australia in 2020, bringing the thrill of international endurance racing to the South Australian public at Australia's newest track: The Bend. 

Located approximately 100km from Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, The Bend is Australia’s newest permanent circuit. The Asian Le Mans Series will be the first series to use the full 7.77 km configuration. This configuration makes it the second longest permanent race track in the world, second only to the Nordschleife, Nurburgring. With tight, technical corners, fast flowing sections, and a rise and fall of 85 metres, exciting racing is guaranteed.

With a top speed of 343.4 km/h recorded in the LMP2 class in the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, it is safe to say the lap record at The Bend will be broken. Outside the Formula 1 cars, the LMP2 cars at the front of the Asian Le Mans Series will be the fastest to compete in Australia in 2020.

The Asian Le Mans Series is run during the Australian summer (November to February), outside the normal Australian motorsport season. This will allow teams and drivers to compete in both the domestic championships and the Asian Le Mans Series if they wish. 

South Australia had a taste of prototype racing when American Le Mans Series teams participated in the once-off Race of a Thousand Years on the Adelaide street circuit on 31st December 2000. This time, 20 years later, the event will be a part of an international Championship, and it promises to deliver thrilling racing. 

Cyrille Taesch Wahlen, Managing Director of the Asian Le Mans Series:   

“We had been considering an expansion into Australia for quite some time, but we needed to find the right opportunity. I visited the Bend last year and was blown away by the high standard of the track and the facilities. This, along with the enthusiasm being shown by the circuit management team, made it an easy decision. 

“The feedback from our teams and drivers about the possibility of a trip to Australia was also widely positive - we already have many drivers, engineers and other support crews from Australia!  Not only it is a very exciting project, it also has the potential to be a really great event and it will be a very nice addition to the Asian Le Mans Series calendar.’’

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest: 

“Australia has an exceptional reputation for delivering world class motorsport events, so we are really looking forward to visiting The Bend with the Asian Le Mans Series. We are used to seeing Australian drivers such as Mark Webber race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Racing with the Asian Le Mans Series will give Australian drivers and teams the opportunity to progress to the highest level in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"The ACO endurance racing formula, combined with what is rapidly becoming one of the top race tracks in the region, should be an exciting prospect for both professional and amateur drivers, as well as the Australian audience.”

Sam Shahin, Managing Director of The Bend Motorsport Park:

“The Asian Le Mans Series is the pinnacle of international endurance racing, and we are very excited and proud to bring the event to Australia and to continue to showcase Tailem Bend and the surrounding region to the world. The vision for The Bend Motorsport Park, is to be a world-class facility which hosts international standard events of the highest calibre. Last year with 40,000+ fans attending the inaugural Supercars event, we took a big step forward in establishing our credentials. To be hosting this event in our third year of operation is a testament to the project, and an indication that our ambition has no boundaries.” 

ELMS: 2018 schedule announced at Spa-Francorchamps

The 2018 European Le Mans Series calendar has been unveiled this morning.  No change in venues for the 2018 season, with a return to all 6 current track which are on this years schedule. There's a few tweaks though on the order in which the races will be held. 

The official pre-season test will move back to Le Castellet in April instead of Monza, with the French venue also hosting the opening round of the series just five days later.  Silverstone, which has been the traditional season opener since 2013, will swap with Le Castellet and move to a summer date in August.  The race in Silverstone will still be a double header with the FIA WEC race during the weekend of August 18th. 

The other four-hour races will still be held in Monza (Italy) in May, Red Bull Ring (Austria) in July, Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) in September and the season finale in Portugal returns to Portimão in October for the second successive season.

After a highly successful 2017 season, the Michelin Le Mans Cup will continue to follow the European Le Mans Series all year long, with the exception of Silverstone as the series will have its flagship event, the Road to Le Mans, at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

ELMS 2018 schedule:

• 09-10 April: Prologue - Paul Ricard (France)
• 14-15 April: 4 Hours of Le Castellet (France)
• 12-13 May: 4 Hours of Monza (Italy)
• 21-22 July: 4 Hours of the Red Bull Ring (Austria)
• 17-18 August: 4 Hours of Silverstone (UK)
• 22-23 September: 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
• 27-28 October: 4 Hours of Portimao (Portugal) 

The 2018 season will once again give the competitors the opportunity to race at the best European motor sport venues and the fans to enjoy great racing all around Europe.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest: “It’s important for the ACO, promoter of the ELMS, to guarantee the best calendar possible for this high-quality championship. We do not forget most of the teams participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans come from the ELMS. We find in this championship values that the endurance community and the ACO consider as very important.”

Gérard Neveu, European Le Mans Series CEO: “The European Le Mans Series and the Michelin Le Mans Cup are two championships that give us complete satisfaction. We are making sure that the budgets are reasonable and are trying to keep our high-quality competitors that are running both championships satisfied. With this 2018 calendar we have chosen to emphasise cost efficiency, stability and quality.”

Kristof Vermeulen. 

FIA WEC: FIA World Motor Sport Council confirms 2018/2019 schedule

Yesterday, the FIA held its latest World Motor Sport Council in Paris and confirmed the 2018/2019 schedule for the FIA World Endurance Championship. No real suprises there compared to the earlier announced schedule, with the addition of Silverstone, except the confirmation that the race at Sebring will be a "1500 mile" race instead of 12 hours (although 1500 miles will take the drivers about 12 hours to complete). 

Picture; Erik Junius/www.image-ine.net

The World Motor Sport Council also offered its full support for the FIA Endurance Commission in its efforts to further strengthen and promote the FIA World Endurance Championship; one of the FIA’s most important assets.

The unique and extended provisional calendar spanning both 2018 and 2019 for the FIA World Endurance Championship has now been confirmed as follows:

5 May, 2018: WEC 6 Hours of Spa (Belgium)
16-17 June, 2018: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)
19 August, 2018: 6 Hours of Silverstone (United Kingdom)
21 October, 2018: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
18 November, 2018: 6 Hours of Shanghai (China)
16-17 March, 2019: 1500 Miles of Sebring (USA)
4 May, 2019: WEC 6 Hours of Spa (Belgium)
15-16 June, 2019: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)

The FIA Endurance Commission was also encouraged to pursue a number of exciting and innovative proposals that it is currently working on, with the aim of enticing new manufacturers to the Championship.

The World Motor Sport Council also agreed to a number of Technical Regulation amendments for 2018 and 2019.

From 2018, incorporation of the LMP1 Non-Hybrid cars into a single classification with the LMP1 Hybrid cars (while maintaining the current specific technical regulations).

• It is proposed to equalise the lap performances of the best LMP1 Non-Hybrid and Hybrid cars by adjusting the instantaneous fuel flow and fuel consumption per lap for the Non-Hybrid cars. A fuel range advantage for Hybrid cars (one extra lap at Le Mans) will be enforced.
• A technological coefficient between naturally aspirated engines and turbo engines will be implemented in order to open up the field of possible engines for LMP1 Non-Hybrid cars.
• From 2019, a ban on fluidic switches and energy brought to the general aerodynamics of the car – this is in anticipation of potential complex and expensive developments in this area.

Kristof Vermeulen.

FIA WEC: Silverstone added to the 2018/19 "super season" schedule

The FIA WEC announced its final calendar for the 2018/2019 Super Season, which will kick off with the Prologue at Paul Ricard (France) in April 2018 and finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2019.  The major change compared to the original schedule is the removal of the race in February 2019 and the return of Silverstone. The original date for the 6 Hours of Fuji has alse been changed to avoid the clash with Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

When President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), Pierre Fillon, and CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Gérard Neveu, outlined the pathway to the new-look championship two weeks ago, they outlined several pivotal philosophies around which all decisions would be made. Among these was that the major focus for the WEC remained the competitors – both major manufacturers and privateer entrants, the product in terms of the sporting competition delivered at every event, and the fans.

The WEC management has listened intently to both its competitors and fans in the weeks since the announcement in Mexico City, and is now in a position to issue a final calendar for the 2018/19 ‘Super Season’ which will begin in April next year.

The final calendar for the WEC’s transitional 2018/19 season will see a return of the 6 Hours of Silverstone, on 18/19 August. This replaces the 2019 February TBC date previously announced, and will undoubtedly delight British manufacturer Aston Martin Racing, the many UK-based teams and drivers, and thousands of passionate Anglophile fans of endurance racing.

The Silverstone event will be run in conjunction with a round of the European Le Mans Series, the full calendar for which will be announced in Spa, Belgium next week.

In view of the WEC’s partnership with IMSA, it was regrettable to have had a clash between Petit Le Mans, one of the key dates in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship calendar, and the 6 Hours of Fuji.  Thanks now to the flexibility and graciousness of Fuji International Speedway, the WEC is now pleased to announce that the date for the Japanese round of the championship has been changed to 20/21 October to avoid the clash. 

This date change has also affected the date of the Shanghai round due to the time required to transport the freight from Japan to China and the 6 Hours of Shanghai will take place on 17/18 November.

2018/19 Calendar : 

6 & 7 April:  The Prologue, Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA)                         

5 May: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)

16 & 17 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)

19 August: 6 Hours of Silverstone (GBR)

21 October: 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN)

18 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai (CHN)

16 & 17 March 2019: 2 Hours of Sebring (USA)

4 May 2019: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)

15 &16 June 2019: 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)

At this time, the race in Sebring is still scheduled to run from midnight to 12h on Sunday, starting 2 hours after the IMSA Sebring 12 Hours. It is believed that this still might be up for discussion. 

Kristof Vermeulen. 

FIA WEC: New completely revised 2018/2019 calendar announced

At a highly anticipated press conference in Mexico City today, ACO president Pierre Fillion and FIA WEC & LMEM CEO Gérard Neveu announced some major changes for the FIA World Endurance Championship in the near future. 

Announcements were made both on a completely revised schedule and some major changes in the LMP1 technical and sporting regulations. 

Let's look at the revised schedule first. The new schedule for the 2018/19 season has been announced as a "Super Season" and will run from Spa 2018 to Le Mans 2019, including 2 races on the iconic Belgian track and a doubleheader at Le Mans. It will lose however the season opening race at Silverstone and the 6 hours of the Nürburgring, Mexico, COTA and Bahrain.

The return of Sebring to the new schedule will be highly anticipated in the USA though, after running the opening race of the World Endurance Championship there in 2012 in front of a huge crowd. The 12 Hours of Sebring will be a combined event with the IMSA WeatherTech Championship but two separate races will be held.  The IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring will be run on Saturday from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm. The FIA WEC 12 Hours of Sebring will be run from Sunday midnight to Sunday 12 noon.  Racing into the light instead of racing into the dark, this will be very exciting ! 

One race is still to be announced, scheduled for February 2019. 

This transition season will include the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps twice and, even better, a double header of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the new format of calendar, the number of races will be reduced from 9 in 2017 to 8 in 2018/2019 (over 18 months) then to 7 in 2019/2020 which is expected to be the ‘cruising speed’ for the WEC into the future.

This is the provisional schedule for the 2018/2019 season: 

April 05-06 2018: The Prologue, Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA)               

May 04-05 2018: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)

Juni 16-17 2018: 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)

October 13-14 2018: 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN)

November 03-04 2018: 6 Hours of Shanghai (CHN)

February 2019:  and event TBC

March 15-16 2019: 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) 

May 3-4 2019: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)

June 15-16 2019: 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)

After 1 year in Monza, the prologue returns to Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet (France), but also in a tweaked format.  It will offer teams the opportunity to complete 36-hour endurance testing in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The provisional 2018/2019 calendar, which remains subject to validation by the FIA World Motors Sport Council, will see four races taking place in 2018 and four in 2019 as part of an 18-month “Super Season” - for the same budget as in 2017. 

According to provisional calculations, in 2019/2020 an LMP2 team will run in the WEC with a budget similar to 2016; meaning 20% less than now. With the new format of calendar, the number of races will be reduced from 9 in 2017 to 8 in 2018/2019 (over 18 months) then to 7 in 2019/2020 which is expected to be the ‘cruising speed’ for the WEC into the future.

This reduction automatically results in a cost reduction for the teams (entry fees, running costs, consumables etc) but also allows for new logistics to be used: using shipping rather than flying freight meaning that transportation costs are divided by three.

More announcements have been made about the future LMP1 regulations in the FIA World Endurance Racing. We'll report on those separately.


Kristof Vermeulen.