The ACO, FIA and the WEC have announced that the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be postponed amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The event will now take place on 19-20 September.
“As a result of the ongoing coronavirus health situation and current restrictions in France and around the world, the organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, together with the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), have decided to postpone the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, originally scheduled for 13/14th June 2020,” the WEC wrote in a statement.
The decision to postpone the French endurance classic has come much earlier than expected, as ACO President Pierre Fillon stated earlier this week that the decision surrounding the race would not be made until April 15th.
“Postponing the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2020, originally scheduled for 13/14th June, is the appropriate solution in face of the exceptional health circumstances that we are all going through today,” Fillon commented on the latest developments.”It goes without saying that we will make every effort to ensure the safety and quality of our events.
“First of all, I want to ask everyone to take no risk for themselves, their families and others. Today it is a question of stopping the spread of this virus. I would also like to spare warm thoughts for all the medical personnel working to protect our health.
“We are more than ever working as one team together with our competitors, partners, fans, media, medical services, organisation teams and marshals.”
The postponement of what was to be the final round of the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship season will have a knock-on effect for the calendar of the following season, which was due to start in Silverstone on the first weekend of September, but the WEC has said further information on the revisions for the WEC calendar as well as that of the European Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup and Ligier European Series ‘will be released in due course.’
It is the right decision to delay in light of the current situation,” added Gerard Neveu, WEC CEO. “We are now working on revising our WEC, ELMS, Michelin Le Mans Cup and Ligier European Series calendars for the remainder of this season, and for the WEC’s Season 9 which was due to start in September 2020.
We will come back to you in the coming days with more news for both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series.”