# WEC Details Announced: Sebring Will Be Only ALMS Race



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

*Presentation of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship*
This morning Jean-Claude Plassart (ACO President), Pierre Fillon (ACO Vice President) and Gérard Neveu (FIA World Endurance Championship Manager) presented the calendar and logo of the brand new 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC); the new championship was created with the goal of bringing Le Mans-type racing and endurance values to audiences and participants around the globe.

This brand new championship will include eight races in eight different countries, travelling over three continents. The full season will run from March - November 2012.

*Tentative 2012 Calendar*
17 March: 12 Hours of Sebring (USA)
5 May: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)
3 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans test day (FRA)
16/17 June: 80th Anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)
25 August: 6 Hours of Silverstone (GBR)
16 September: 6 Hours of Sao Paulo TBC (BRA)
30 September: 6 Hours of Mount Fuji (JPN)
20 October: 6 Hours of Bahrain (BAH)
11 or 18 November: 6 Hours of TBA (CHN)
Entries for the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be announced on 2 February 2012, after deliberation by the Selection Committee. All FIA WEC entrants will receive an automatic invitation for the 2012 80th Anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Race categories are the same as those currently in place for the ILMC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans: LMP1, LMP2, LM GTE Pro and LM GTE Am.

*The Titles to be awarded at the end of the WEC are as follows:*
- LMP1 Manufacturer Endurance World Champion
- Driver Endurance World Champion
- LM GTE Manufacturer World Cup (including Pro and Am)
- FIA Endurance Trophies for LMP2, LM GTE Am, LM GTE Pro & best private LMP1

Rules and regulations will be adapted as per the agreement between the ACO and the FIA. These will be published by the FIA following the World Council meeting in December 2011. For further details about the 2012 FIA WEC, please click here. 

*Hear it from… Rolex Testimonee Tom Kristensen*
“I think overall we can say that it has been an incredibly competitive ILMC season,” said Kristensen. “We seem to have the edge on Peugeot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, whereas they seem to have the edge over the whole ILMC season this year and have been really strong. We lost some races early in the season mainly due to incidents, which can happen in this kind of highly competitive field. All the ILMC races had some 50 cars on the track and now we are here for the final race in Zhuhai, where we are about 30 cars, but that is still a lot of traffic.”

“Overall, we won what we came to win,” continued Kristensen, “which is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Of course we would have liked to win more races in the ILMC series and we will certainly try hard in Zhuhai to win tomorrow’s final. But nevertheless, I think we had a fantastic season full of excitement for teams drivers and fans because the races have been so close.”

“One could say that [the new FIA World Endurance Championship] is a nod to the heyday of world sports car racing. This clearly ups the seriousness of the competition and helps extend everything that the 24 Hours of Le Mans represents well beyond the Le Mans Series and the ILMC. To have the status of a World Championship puts our racing on level with Formula 1, and that is some serious branding, one that the championship deserves. It bodes well for the future and is why I think that everyone is excited about the potential in this evolution. In addition, this official sanction makes it easier to open the series to the world outside of motorsport, across the globe- I mean, here we are sitting in China! All in all, I believe that in 2012 we’ll see a season of important races that are highly valued for the fans, drivers, media, and the general public.”

*Qualifying Results for 6 Hours of Zhuhai, ILMC Finale*
Qualifying for the 6 Hours of Zhuhai took place today and saw Peugeot taking pole position in the LPM1 category. The #7 Peugeot Sport Total car, driven by Anthony Davidson (GBR), set pole with a qualifying time of 1:21.796. Second on the start grid, and separated from its sister car by only 7 hundredths of a second, will be the #8 Peugeot with French drivers Sarrazin/Montagny, followed by the #2 Audi driven by Rolex Testimonee Tom Kristensen (DEN) and Scotsman Allan McNish.

In LMP2, the #26 Signatech Nissan had the fastest qualifying time, 1:27.929, as set by French driver Franck Mailleux, and will start the race from 9th position on the grid.

In the LM GTE Pro category, Frédéric Makowiecki (FRA) set the fastest time in the #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari F458 Italia, followed by the #51 AF Corse Ferrari and the #55 BMW respectively. LM GTE Am saw CRS Racing’s Tim Mullen (GBR) set a fastest time of 1:35.229 in the #62 Ferrari F430, while Proton Competition’s #63 Porsche and Krohn Racing’s #57 Ferrari followed to round out the top three of the pack.

The 6 Hours of Zhuhai will run tomorrow, 13 November at 11:00 local time.

*How To Follow The 6 Hours Of Zhuhai*
Fans can watch the ILMC finale live online at lemans.org and on Audi.tv. The broadcast from Zhuhai will start at 11:00 local time (04:00 CET) on November 13 and can be accessed at http://microsites.audi.com/lemans. The entire race will also be broadcast live on Peugeot’s Web TV in French, English and Chinese. Coverage starts on Sunday at 10:30 local time at www.peugeot.com.cn and at 03:30 in France for the French and English versions at www.peugeot-sport.com.

Eurosport will also broadcast the final stages of the race live from 08:30 to 10:00 (CET).

It will also be possible for fans in China to track the race on the following television channels:
- Guangdong Sport Channel: 6 hours of coverage, 13 November, including 5 hours of the race
- CCTV 5: providing regular coverage in news and short programmes as of 12 November
- Guangxi Satellite Channel: 80-minute race highlight programme, 14 November
- ESPN Star: pan-Asian broadcaster, 3 hours live coverage in South-East Asia

For more information about the 6 Hours of Zhuhai or to download free, high-resolution images for editorial purposes, please register online at www.caracingnews.com.

*Rolex and motor sports *
Rolex is the Official Watch and Timekeeper for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Rolex has been Official Timekeeper for 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2001 and Title Sponsor of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in North America since 1992. In 1965, Rolex added the name Daytona to the dial of its Cosmograph line in tribute to this great race at the International Speedway. The presence of the Rolex brand in automobile racing has grown steadily ever since.

Rolex supports the tradition of auto racing through events that celebrate design, speed and passion including the Goodwood Revival (UK), the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (USA), the Pebble Beach Tour D’Elegance, the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance presented by Rolex (USA) and The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering (USA).

Rolex affiliation also extends to two key figures in the sport: Sir Jackie Stewart from Scotland, one of the greatest drivers of his generation, and Danish driver Tom Kristensen, record eight-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.


----------

