The 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the second season of the FIA World Endurance Championship

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

series, co-organized by the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

(FIA) and the

Automobile Club de l'Ouest The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the orga ...

(ACO). The series was open to

Le Mans Prototypes A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

and

grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wh ...

-style racing cars meeting four ACO categories. World Championships were awarded to drivers and to LMP1 category manufacturers, and several World Cups and Endurance Trophies were awarded for the series' other categories. The eight race championship began in April at the Silverstone Circuit and ended in November at the

Bahrain International Circuit The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrain ...

. The season was marred by the death of Allan Simonsen in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

Calendar

An initial calendar was published by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on 28 September 2012. Seven of the eight races on the schedule are carried over from 2012, although several events have had their dates changed. The

6 Hours of Silverstone The 4 Hours of Silverstone (formerly the 1000 km of Silverstone and 6 Hours of Silverstone) is an endurance sports car race held at Silverstone Circuit near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. First run in 1976 ...

now begins the season in April before Spa in May and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. In order to save costs and utilize shipping by sea instead of air, the non-European events have all been grouped at the end of the season. São Paulo remains as the first post-European event, while the new

6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas The Lone Star Le Mans (previously known as 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas) is an endurance race for Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style cars held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Its first running was on 22 September ...

replaces the 12 Hours of Sebring as the American round of the series. Fuji and Shanghai are moved forward on the calendar, leaving Bahrain to now close the season in November, allowing cooler temperatures than its September date in 2012. The Silverstone race weekend was shared with the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

, while the Austin weekend was held in conjunction with the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

, although unlike the

2012 12 Hours of Sebring The 60th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring was the 60th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, an auto race held at the Sebring International Raceway from 15–17 March 2012. The race served as the opening round for both the inaugural FIA W ...

, both series ran separate races.

Regulation changes

An additional World Cup was awarded for the 2013 season, with drivers in both LMGTE categories having a unified championship. Further, the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories had FIA Endurance Trophies awarded for their drivers. The qualifying format of the race weekend was also changed, with teams requiring two drivers each to set two timed laps. The qualifying results were determined based on an average of the four total laps. The new qualifying format has been met with much criticism from drivers. The pre-race warm-up session has also been eliminated from the series, except in instances where extra practice may be necessary. The LMP2 category saw several rule changes in order to lower costs, including the issuing of balance of performance updates during the course of the season. A limit was also set on the price of upgrade kits for 2012 cars for teams not purchasing 2013 chassis, while the number of engines and tyres they can utilize over the course of the season have been restricted.

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s were allowed in the LMP2 category for the first time. Limits on tyres were also set in the LMGTE Am category.

Entries

The World Endurance Championship received entries in four classes, including Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance — Professional (LMGTE Pro) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance — Amateur (LMGTE Am). The entry list for the 2013 season was released by the

on 1 February, and included six LMP1 and twelve LMP2 cars, six LMGTE Pro entries, and eight LMGTE Am cars, bringing the full grid up to thirty-two entrants. Two LMP2 teams, Starworks Motorsport and HVM Status GP later withdrew their full-season entries citing a lack of funding.

LMP1

LMP2

LMGTE Pro

LMGTE Am

Results and standings

Race results

The highest finishing competitor entered in the World Endurance Championship is listed below. Invitational entries may have finished ahead of WEC competitors in individual races. Entries are required to complete the timed race as well as to complete 70% of the overall winning car's race distance in order to earn championship points. A single bonus point is awarded to the team and all drivers of the pole position car for each category in qualifying. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race result points allocation was doubled. Due to the 6 Hours of Fuji not completing 75% of the race time, half points were awarded in all championships.

Drivers Championships

Four titles are awarded to drivers in the 2013 season. A World Championship is reserved for LMP1 and LMP2 drivers. A World Cup is available for drivers in the LMGTE categories. Further, two FIA Endurance Trophies are also awarded to drivers in the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories.

FIA World Endurance Championship — Drivers

Allan McNish Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a British former racing driver, commentator, and journalist from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2013, as well as a three-time winner of the American Le Ma ...

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

and Loïc Duval won the Championship at the

6 Hours of Shanghai The 4 Hours of Shanghai (previously 6 Hours of Shanghai) is a sports car race that is held at the Shanghai International Circuit in Jiading District of Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. It was created for the FIA World Endurance Champion ...

FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers

Gianmaria Bruni Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni (born 30 May 1981) is an Italian Porsche factory auto racing driver who drove in the 2004 Formula One World Championship for Minardi. He is a GP2 Series race winner and is now racing in the FIA World Endurance Championsh ...

won the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers at the

6 Hours of Bahrain The 8 Hours of Bahrain (previously 6 Hours of Bahrain) (بطولة ست ساعات في البحرين) is a sports car race that is held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was created for the FIA World Endurance Champ ...

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers

Bertrand Baguette, Martin Plowman and Ricardo González earned the Trophy for LMP2 Drivers at the

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers

Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall secured the Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers at the

Manufacturers' Championships

Two manufacturers' championships are held in the FIA WEC, one for

sports prototype A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest-level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are n ...

s and one for

s. The World Manufacturers' Championship is only open to manufacturer entries in the LMP1 category, and points are only awarded to the highest scoring entry from each manufacturer for each event. The World Cup for GT Manufacturers allows entries from both LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am to participate, and allows the top two finishing cars from each manufacturer to earn points toward their total.

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

secured their second consecutive World Manufacturers' Championship at the

6 Hours of Fuji The 6 Hours of Fuji (formerly the Fuji 1000 Kilometres) is a sports car race held at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan. The race was held for the first time in 1967, and in 1977 became part of the new Fuji Long Distance Series. In 1982 a sec ...

. Ferrari won their second consecutive World Cup at the

FIA World Endurance Championship — Manufacturers

FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers

Teams Championships

Teams in each of the four FIA WEC categories are eligible for their own FIA Endurance Trophies. Each car is scored separately, unlike 2012 in which team results were combined.

FIA Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams

The FIA Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams was open only to private teams competing in LMP1 without manufacturer support. Following Strakka Racing's withdrawal mid-season,

Rebellion Racing Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an association ...

were the only team to complete the championship.

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams

The Trophy for LMP2 Teams was won by the No. 35 car of OAK Racing at the

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams

The Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams was won by the No. 51 car of AF Corse at the

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams

The No. 81 car of 8 Star Motorsports won the Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams at the

References

External links

*
2013 FIA World Endurance Championship Sporting Regulations (www.fia.com); archived at www.webcitation.org on 2 August 2013

2013 FIA World Endurance Championship Classifications (www.fia.com); archived at www.webcitation.org on 16 December 2013
{{Automobile Club de l'Ouest World Endurance Championship FIA World Endurance Championship seasons