WEC 2019 Sebring race to be 1,500-mile event

Monday, 18 September 2017


By Graham Goodwin / Image by Michael Levitt/LAT


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The FIA World Endurance Championship is set to announce that its 2019 race at Sebring International Raceway, set to follow on directly after the 12 Hours of Sebring, will be run as the "1500 Miles of Sebring."
Multiple sources have now confirmed that the WEC race, part of the championship's transitional 2018/2019 "Super Season" as the series shifts to a winter-based calendar, will still begin at midnight, as originally announced, with just a two-hour gap after the checkered flag for the IMSA event.
FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu has also confirmed that a "spectacular entertainment program" will bridge the gap between races as the pitlane and circuit are prepared for the WEC race start.
"The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is the 12 Hours of Sebring. The WEC initially said a 12-hour race, to see what the reaction would be be," Wayne Estes, president and general manager of Sebring International Raceway told RACER at COTA this past weekend for the WEC's Lone Star Le Mans. "But we need to keep the identity of the 12 Hours of Sebring. So I think they're going to go with a distance or timed race."
Sources have now confirmed that the plan is for a 1,500-mile event for the WEC, with the race likely to last through to around midday.

 

[h=2]Sebring's IMSA-WEC doubleheader challenge[/h] Thursday, 21 September 2017


By Stephen Kilbey / Images by Dole, May/JEP, Levitt/LAT


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The WEC's announcement of a return to Sebring in 2019 came as quite the reveal – and perhaps no one was as surprised as Sebring International Raceway general manager Wayne Estes.
But even though Estes feels that the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring and World Endurance Championship doubleheader has "more questions than answers," holding back-to-back endurance events should be sustainable for the future.
In conversation with RACER, Estes said that Sebring's place on the 2019 WEC calendar was revealed to him following meetings between FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu, ACO president Pierre Fillon and IMSA head Scott Atherton prior to the WEC's trip to Mexico.
"Let me tell you something," Estes said. "The announcement was made on the Friday at Mexico. Prior to that Gerard and Pierre had a meeting in Miami. I was at Sebring, unaware of it. I got a call on the Thursday evening from Scott Atherton, who said that the WEC is coming to Sebring. So it was as big of a surprise to all of us at Sebring as it was to everyone else.
"Scott met them in Miami, and the WEC liked the idea to run a race roughly the equivalent to the 12 Hours of Sebring, after the 12 Hours of Sebring. My father had this idea back in the 60s, running the Sebring 12 Hours back to back. So it's strange that it's come full circle.
"Our first reaction was 'Holy cow! Really?' It was a little overwhelming, but it's a terrific idea, very exciting for all of us.
"I've been at Sebring for two years, and since the day I got there, the running joke has been when are we going to see the WEC cars, and bring them back to Sebring? Sebring fans have grown accustomed to seeing those cars, so it's going to be terrific. There are far more questions than there are answers now, but it's going to be a joy, working everything out."
Estes made the trip to the WEC's weekend at COTA last weekend, and felt an overall positive vibe after meeting with the WEC and its teams and drivers over the course of the event.
"Everybody has questions based on where their interest lie," he said. "The competitors in the paddock have been expressing their needs to us, which I get a kick out of. How much of what they 'need' is just a 'want?'

"I talked to competitors, they have embraced this. There's a lot of young drivers too, who see Sebring as a magical place to race. There's older folks who have done Sebring, but for a lot of the younger drivers, it'll be special."
With the change from a 12-hour race to a 1,500-mile contest, Estes still feels there's plenty to be worked out, mainly the logistics of finishing the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring and getting the circuit ready for the WEC race just two hours later.
"Some things are going to have to be massaged," he acknowledged. "I can't imagine the challenges, like swapping the pits, getting all the IMSA cars away from the track for the WEC cars!
"The podium is now moved to Turn 17, we have a new winner's circle area, so that will be okay," he said, when asked about how the post-race celebrations for IMSA would work. "Pit lane is going to be the interesting area, just because of the paddock space and the fact that the WEC teams have less than two hours to set up their pits. But we've got 18 months to plan it, and there will be plenty of us involved in the negotiations on how to solve the problems. The WEC and IMSA are working extremely well together on this, they're cooperating.
"The midnight start is one of the more innovative ideas here. Obviously the WEC cars run 24 hours at Le Mans. Now, in two hours, could they get the track clean after the IMSA race, spotless? No, there will be paint out there, rubber, but it will be cleaner than Le Mans after 17 or 18 hours. There will be two hours to work on the circuit, but we have time. We welcome the challenge."

Ensuring that IMSA's 12 Hours of Sebring retains its status is also going to be key, as Estes explained that it's still the main endurance race at the Floridian circuit. He also revealed to that running with a combined grid again like the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2012, with the WEC and ALMS, was not a major factor in the original discussions.
"To win the 12 Hours of Sebring, you'll have to win the IMSA WeatherTech race. The Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring is the 12 Hours of Sebring. I think the WEC were initially saying 12 and 12, partly because they wanted to see what the reaction would be.
"But we need to be careful and keep the identity of the 12 Hours of Sebring. I think the WEC are going to go with a distance or timed race. These changes are the massages that are happening.
"I have asked if [combined grids] were a consideration, but I haven't been told a great deal about those meetings between the WEC and IMSA. What I have been told is that they were always negotiating with the aim of maintaining the reputation and stature of both series. They didn't want to have a field combined; that prevents people from having the opportunity to effectively race in both series, separately."