WEC: Interlagos Round Cancelled, Replaced by COTA

The World Endurance Championship’s scheduled race at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, in February has been cancelled due to issues with the local promoter.

It will be replaced on the calendar by a six hour race at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on February 22-23, two weeks later than the original date for the Brazilian race. The championship has previously raced at the premier American road racing circuit five times in the previous seven years, so the track is well-known to teams, drivers and officials alike.

The race at Interlagos at been reportedly under threat for sometime, with the WEC trying in vain to come to acceptable terms with the promoter over the last few weeks. It had previously mentioned a race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez near Mexico City was also under consideration but clearly came to the conclusion that Circuit of The Americas was the more suitable venue. A race at Kyalami in South Africa had been ruled out, although the series is interested in racing there in the future following the successful 9 Hour IGTC GT3 race in November.

Circuit of The Americas will be resurfaced over the winter following Formula 1 Grand Prix in October, where drivers including six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton complained about the bumpy nature of the track. The resurfacing should be complete by the time the WEC circus arrives in mid-February.

Gérard Neveu, CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship, commented:

“Firstly we must thank Bobby Epstein and the Circuit of The Americas for accommodating us at relatively short notice. It is an excellent venue, and our fans, competitors and media are now assured of excellent racing in North America not once, but twice in two months.

“Of course, it is very unfortunate to find ourselves in this position. The WEC very much regrets this situation and feels very sad for the City of São Paulo and the many thousands of Brazilian motorsport fans. Our main concern was our competitors and partners, and we have worked very hard to find a solution which offered the least disruption possible.”