The FIA World Endurance Championship is the pinnacle of endurance racing and is host to the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, renowned as one motorsport's toughest tests.
Dates
The 2026 WEC campaign takes place across a nine-month period from the first race on the 28th March in Qatar to the season finale in Bahrain on the 7th November.
Races and circuits
The 2026 WEC season consists of eight different races across the world at varying distances and durations.
The most notable is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is one of the most prestigious races in the world.
Race | Circuit |
Qatar 1812km | Lusail International Circuit, Qatar |
6 Hours of Imola | Imola Circuit, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium |
24 Hours of Le Mans | Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France |
6 Hours of Sao Paulo | Autódromo de Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil |
Lone Star Le Mans (6 hours) | Circuit of the Americas, Austin, USA |
6 Hours of Fuji | Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan |
8 Hours of Bahrain | Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain |
Categories
The WEC consists of different categories of car which compete on the track at the same time.
Hypercar
Hypercar is the top-tier class which features prototype race cars and represents the pinnacle of endurance racing.
Commonly developed by the large automotive brands such as Porsche, Ferrari and Cadillac, cars in the Hypercar category are extremely powerful, aerodynamically complex and feature an innovative hybrid system.
WEC hypercars are built abiding to strict regulations that require manufacturers to use advanced technologies which maximise performance and efficiency.
LMP2
Slightly slower than the hypercar class, the LMP2 category is still frighteningly quick.
A more affordable entry level, LMP2 tends to consist of teams who are independent from manufacturers or engine suppliers and delivers a highly competitive field.
LMP2 cars are required to adhere to a series of controlled specifications, including the use of a spec chassis, and must weigh a minimum of 930kg.
LMGT3
LMGT3 includes some of the most luxurious road cars which have been transformed into endurance racing cars.
Featuring a field which consists of a Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 GT3 and Ferrari 296 GT3, the GTE-Am class often sees professional drivers compete against amateurs and, in comparison to the other classes, attracts a greater variety of manufacturers.
Manufacturers
The 2025 World Endurance Championship features 36 different cars from 13 major manufacturers split between the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes.
Hypercar
- Alpine
- Aston Martin
- BMW
- Cadillac
- Ferrari
- Peugeot
- Porsche
- Toyota
LMGT3
- Aston Martin
- BMW
- Corvette
- Ferrari
- Ford
- Lexus
- Mercedes-AMG
- McLaren
- Porsche
Race weekend format
A race weekend in the World Endurance Championship typically spans three days and consists of practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself.
The pinnacle of the WEC season, Le Mans, is extended across four days to factor in the duration of the race.
Drivers will participate in three separate Free Practice sessions before Qualifying, which uses a two-stage process. The first stage involves all cars in a class participating in a qualifying session, with the fastest cars in each class advancing to a second session called "Hyperpole". The Hyperpole session determines the top starting positions within each class.
In the race, each team rotates between two to three drivers per car, depending on the length of the race they're competing in.
