The 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship was the eighth season of the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...
, an
auto racing series co-organised by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(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 organ ...
(ACO). The series is open to
Le Mans Prototypes
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian ...
and
grand tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with ...
-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles were awarded for LMP drivers, LMP1 teams, GTE drivers and GTE manufacturers. With the new winter scheduling format, the series began at
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...
in September 2019 and ended with the 2020
8 Hours of Bahrain in November 2020.
Schedule
The FIA and ACO announced a provisional schedule during the
2018 6 Hours of Silverstone which feature eight events over ten months. All events from the previous season were carried over, as well as the return of
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
which was not on the 2018–2019 calendar, and
Interlagos
Interlagos is a neighborhood located in the district of Socorro (district of São Paulo), Socorro in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Its name comes from the fact that the region is located between two large reservoirs, Guarapiranga and Billings ...
which last held a WEC event in
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
. However, the length of the majority of events was altered, moving away from the traditional six-hour format used in previous seasons. Bahrain in an eight-hour race and Silverstone and Shanghai were shortened to four-hour events.
After
Formula 1
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
announced their provisional 2019 schedule, the
WEC moved the Fuji round forward one week to 6 October to avoid a conflict with the
Japanese Grand Prix
The Japanese Grand Prix () is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-de ...
. This also avoided a date conflict with the scheduled date for the
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
season finale,
Petit Le Mans
Petit Le Mans (French language, French for ''Little Le Mans'') is a sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a durat ...
. Moving the Fuji round forward also allowed the Shanghai round to be moved forward one week to 10 November, which avoided a conflict with the traditional date for the
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...
.
On 2 December 2019, it was announced that due to the failure of the promoter for
6 Hours of São Paulo to fulfill its contractual obligations to the championship, the round would be canceled, and instead replaced by the
6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas. The FIA also moved the date back three weeks to avoid a clashing with
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...
and the
Mexico City ePrix.
The
1000 Miles of Sebring
The 1,000 Miles of Sebring is a Sports car racing, sports car race that is held at the Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II Air Base, in Sebring, Florida, Sebring, Florida, United States. ...
was scheduled for 20 March 2020, but was cancelled due to a travel ban to the U.S. from mainland Europe in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
The
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
was postponed to September due to the coronavirus. The
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
History
The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races f ...
was postponed on 16 March. On 3 April 2020, a new revised calendar for the 2019–20 season was released, with the Spa race moved to 15 August and another 8 Hours of Bahrain event, on 21 November 2020, replacing the cancelled 1000 Miles of Sebring. The final round at Bahrain in November was moved up a week as a result of
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
scheduling a double header event at that venue for the end of the month.
Teams and drivers
LMP1
Note* The #3 Rebellion R13 entry only appeared at the first and seventh rounds of the season and was not classified as a full season entry not receiving points in the World Endurance LMP Drivers & World Endurance LMP1 Championship standings.
Note* The #4 ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01 entry only appeared at the sixth and seventh rounds of the season and was not classified as a full season entry not receiving points in the World Endurance LMP Drivers & World Endurance LMP1 Championship standings.
[
]
LMP2
In accordance with the Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...
LMP2 regulations all cars used the Gibson 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 were offered to drivers, two with world championship status. The LMP World Endurance Drivers' Championship was reserved for LMP1 and LMP2 drivers while the GTE World Endurance Drivers' Championship was available for drivers in the LMGTE categories. FIA Endurance Trophies were 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 ra ...
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 GTE Am Drivers
Manufacturers' and teams' championships
A world championship was awarded for LMGTE manufacturers and for LMP1 teams. FIA Endurance Trophies were awarded for LMP2 and LMGTE Am teams.[
]
World Endurance LMP1 Championship
Points were awarded only for the highest finishing competitor from each team.[
]
World Endurance GTE Manufacturers' Championship
The two highest finishing competitors from each manufacturer were awarded points.[
]
Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams
Endurance Trophy for GTE Am Teams
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship
FIA World Endurance Championship seasons
World Endurance Championship
World Endurance Championship