– The 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC) will conclude in Europe: The planned events in the Middle East are expected to be replaced by new races in Barcelona and Monza.
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Update: The calendar changes have now been confirmed by the WEC. Both European races will only last six hours, meaning the season outside of Le Mans will now consist exclusively of races over the standard distance. Here is our original report from July 23, 2026:
After the appearances in Austin and Fuji in September, the championship was actually supposed to travel to the Persian Gulf in the fall. The 1,812-kilometer race in Qatar, postponed to October 24, was to be followed on November 7 by the traditional finale in Bahrain.
However, the ceasefire agreed between Iran and the USA and Israel collapsed this month. Both sides have resumed attacks in the region, and merchant ships continue to avoid the Strait of Hormuz out of fear of missile strikes. The situation posed a major challenge especially for the WEC, as it relies heavily on sea freight for transporting its equipment.
Premiere for the WEC in Barcelona
For this reason, the series organizers FIA and Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) will soon decide to forgo the financially lucrative Middle East races. Instead, the season is to be concluded closer to the series’ core European audience.
As part of an updated calendar, the WEC will make its debut in Spain this year: The 6 Hours of Barcelona is scheduled for October 18 – one week before the now canceled 1,812 kilometers of Qatar. The ten-hour race at the Lusail International Circuit had already been moved from March to October due to the outbreak of the Iran war, which forced the WEC to postpone the season start.
Photo gallery: All championship cars in the WEC since 2012
The 2026 season will now conclude in Italy. The 6-hour race in Monza is scheduled for November 7 – the same date originally planned for the finale in Bahrain. The rookie test will follow there on November 8.
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Calendar change affects points allocation
Monza was already the venue for three WEC races between 2021 and 2023 before Imola took over as the Italian round of the championship.
A crucial point: Both in Barcelona and Monza, the race winner can earn a maximum of 25 points, which corresponds to the standard points system for 6-hour races. If the calendar had remained unchanged, the winning crew would have been entitled to 38 points under the bonus points system for longer races.
This will make it more difficult for teams to make up ground in the title fight. The calendar change is also likely to have a negative impact on Toyota – the Japanese had been unbeaten in Bahrain for nine years.
The last WEC season to conclude in Europe was the “super season” 2018/19, which included two editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this article, the cancellation of the Middle East races was announced as already officially decided. However, this was an error based on a misunderstanding. We apologize for this.
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