WEC to visit Imola and Qatar for the first time in 2024

The World Endurance Championship will visit two new venues in 2024, as Imola has been announced as the replacement for Monza and Qatar gets added.

The Losail circuit which will also host Formula 1 races from 2023, will be the season opener in March and will be a 1812km race (or 10 hours) as a tribute to Qatar's national day on 18th December.

The Imola round has been added in due to the requirement to move the Italian WEC race from July to April, to accommodate the extra race outside of Europe.

Monza was unable to host the race in April due to upgrade works, which means Imola slots in between Qatar and Belgium.

Interlagos also returns to the calendar for the first time since 2014, which replaces Portimao on the schedule and takes place in July following the Le Mans 24 Hours in mid-June.

The Circuit of the Americas is back on the calendar after it was recently replaced by Sebring. This is because the contract to run the WEC race alongside the IMSA weekend expired in 2023.

Frédéric Lequien, CEO of WEC, said: "It is always a challenge finding the right balance but with four new venues, two of which are completely new to the WEC, as well as four well-established races, we have created a good mix of old and new.

"Eight races across five different regions will also bring our series to an even greater audience, as well as building momentum throughout the year."

FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, believes the expansion to eight rounds coincides with WEC's growing profile worldwide and the introduction of the Hypercar class.

"For 2024, the calendar expands both in the number of races, and more importantly, geographical diversity, bringing WEC to more people," he said.

"Looking at the bigger picture, the evolution of the calendar coincides with the rise of FIA WEC’s profile, and in particular its premier Hypercar class. This is testament to the reform of the series’ regulatory foundations carried out jointly by the FIA and the ACO, which has attracted new manufacturers.”

View the full calendar below.