– The 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC) will conclude in Europe: The planned events in the Middle East will be replaced by new races in Barcelona and Monza.
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After the guest appearances in Austin and Fuji in September, the championship was actually supposed to travel to the Persian Gulf in autumn. The 1,812-kilometer Qatar race, postponed to October 24, was to be followed by the traditional finale in Bahrain on November 7.
However, the ceasefire agreed between Iran, 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 for fear of missile strikes. The situation posed a major challenge for the WEC in particular, as it relies heavily on sea freight for transporting its equipment.
WEC Premiere in Barcelona
For this reason, series organizers FIA and Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) have decided to forgo the financially lucrative Middle East races. Instead, the season will conclude closer to the series’ core European audience.
As part of the updated calendar announced on July 23, the WEC will make its debut in Spain this year: The 6 Hours of Barcelona are scheduled for October 18 – one week before the now-canceled 1,812 kilometers of Qatar. Before the ten-hour race at the Lusail International Circuit was completely canceled, it had already been moved from March to October due to the outbreak of the Iran war, forcing the WEC to postpone the start of the season.
Photo gallery: All championship cars in WEC since 2012
The 2026 season will now conclude in Italy. The 6 Hours of Monza will take place on November 7 – the same date originally planned for the Bahrain finale. The rookie test will follow there on November 8.
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Calendar change affects points allocation
Monza had already hosted three WEC races between 2021 and 2023 before Imola took over as the Italian round of the championship.
A crucial point: In both Barcelona and Monza, the race winner receives a maximum of 25 points, which corresponds to the standard points system for 6-hour races. Had the calendar 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 catch up in the title fight. The calendar change is also likely to negatively affect Toyota – the Japanese had been unbeaten in Bahrain for nine years.
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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.
