The 2017 calendar for the FIA World Endurance Championship has been officially announced, comprising of nine rounds.
There’s an unchanged schedule for the sixth season of the WEC, with the series visiting the same tracks and venues as it did in 2016.
Of the nine races, the change in weekend is the Nurburgring round being moved forward by one week. It will now take place on the 16 July.
Meanwhile the Mexico City race, which debuted in 2016, has been shuffled from a Saturday event to a Sunday one.
All of the events will last six hours, other than the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is from the 17-18 June.
It has been presented by the WEC to the FIA Endurance Commission and will need to be approved by the World Motor Sport Council at next week’s meeting.
The two-day pre-season test event will take place at the Monza circuit in Italy from the 24-25 March.
“The opportunity to start our season at Monza is one we are sure will please competitors, fans and media alike,” said Gérard Neveu, CEO of the WEC.
“We hope that our calendar not only meets the expectations and requirements of all our partners and competitors, and makes economic and logistical sense, but also that it fits in with the increasing number of events that each venue hosts.
“The WEC continues to offer fans access to the most technologically relevant, competitive, and open championship possible, as well as offering our manufacturers Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Ford, Porsche and Toyota the perfect showcase for their products on and off track.”
2017 provisional WEC calendar:
The WEC Prologue – Monza: 24/25 March
6 Hours of Silverstone – UK: 16 April
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – Belgium: 6 May
Le Mans 24 Hours – France: 17/18 June
6 Hours of Nurburgring – Germany: 16 July
6 Hours of Mexico – Mexico: 3 September
6 Hours of COTA – USA: 16 September
6 Hours of Fuji – Japan: 15 October
6 Hours of Shanghai – China: 5 November
6 Hours of Bahrain – Bahrain: 18 November
