The 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship was the seventh season of the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

, an auto racing series co-organised 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 (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes 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 divided into four categories. The season marked the first move to a winter schedule for the championship, with the season starting at the

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has hel ...

in May 2018 and concluding at 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 ...

in June 2019. World championship titles were awarded for LMP drivers, GTE drivers, LMP1 teams and GTE manufacturers.

Schedule

The series announced a provisional schedule on 1 September 2017 that shifted the season calendar from a spring to autumn layout with the 24 Hours of Le Mans marque event held in the middle of the championship, to one running from the May 2018 and to June 2019, including two runnings of Le Mans. This "super season" of eight races spans across more than a year instead of the usual eight months. This shift in calendar length allows the following 2019–20 season to return to a shorter length by starting in the autumn and concluding at Le Mans in the summer. The schedule does not include the

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States G ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, or the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

which were all part of the 2017 championship. In addition to Le Mans being included in both 2018 and 2019, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is also run twice.

Sebring International Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run ...

returns to the series for the first time since the inaugural season in 2012, although the WEC does not participate in the

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second rou ...

. The WeatherTech series runs their race the day after WEC's 8-hour, 1,000-mile event. The schedule was revised two weeks later with the announcement of the eighth round of the championship, returning to

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...

in the United Kingdom. The unannounced event was originally planned for February 2019, with negotiations taking place over a return to Mexico City. With the Mexico City deal failing to materialize, the event at Silverstone was moved to August 2018 to bridge the gap between Le Mans and the Asian rounds of the series starting in October. Further, the Fuji and Shanghai rounds had their dates changed, however Fuji was later returned to its originally scheduled date.

Teams and drivers

LMP1

LMP2

In accordance with the

Le Mans Prototype 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 cr ...

LMP2 regulations for 2017, all cars use the

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

GK428 4.2 L V8 engine.

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.

Drivers' championships

Four titles are offered to drivers, two with world championship status. The LMP World Endurance Drivers' Championship is reserved for LMP1 and LMP2 drivers while the GTE World Endurance Drivers' Championship is available for drivers in the LMGTE categories. FIA Endurance Trophies are awarded in LMP2 and in LMGTE Am. Entries were 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 was awarded to the team and all drivers of the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

car for each category in qualifying. Furthermore, a race must complete two laps under green flag conditions in order for championship points to be awarded.

World Endurance LMP Drivers' Championship

World Endurance GTE Drivers' Championship

Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers

Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers

Manufacturers' and teams' championships

A world championship for LMGTE manufacturers is awarded, while the former title for manufacturers in LMP1 has been replaced by a world championship for LMP1 teams. FIA Endurance Trophies are awarded for LMP2 and LMGTE Am teams, while the former trophy for LMGTE Pro teams had been eliminated for 2018.

World Endurance LMP1 Championship

Points are awarded only for the highest finishing competitor from each team.

World Endurance GTE Manufacturers' Championship

The two highest finishing competitors from each manufacturer are awarded points.

Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams

Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams

References

External links

*
2018/2019 FIA World Endurance Championship - Sporting Regulations, www.fia.com, as archived at web.archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship FIA World Endurance Championship seasons

World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to: * FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012 * World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985 * Enduran ...