The Qatar spherical of the World Endurance Championship has been rescheduled to the 22-24 October, making it the brand new penultimate spherical of the 2026 season.
WEC postponed its season opener in Qatar because of the battle within the Center East which created safety considerations, as Iran launched drones and missiles on its neighbours in response to the Gulf nations which host US army bases. The battle escalated right into a disaster after US-Israeli assaults on Iran focused missile infrastructure, army bases and leaders, which noticed Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed.
The 1,812km race, which can be set to a most period of 10 hours, was initially scheduled to happen from 26-28 March, with the pre-season take a look at occasion per week prior, however the choice was made to postpone each the take a look at and the race earlier this month on security grounds and to account for logistical lead instances.
Organisers have now introduced the Qatar spherical will happen on 22-24 October, making it the penultimate spherical of the season earlier than the WEC heads to Bahrain for its finale on 5-7 November. The remainder of the 2026 calendar stays unchanged.
“The protection and safety of rivals, personnel and followers stay of the utmost significance to QMMF, LIC, the FIA and the FIA WEC organisation, and all events will proceed to watch developments throughout the area,” a WEC assertion mentioned.
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ry? Hirakawa
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Pictures
The 2026 WEC season will start with the 6 Hours of Imola on 17-19 April, with the circuit additionally set to host a one-day take a look at on 14 April forward of the race weekend.
Different motorsport occasions within the Center East additionally look set to face postponement or cancellation, with Formulation 1 assessing its choices for the Bahrain GP (10-12 April) and Saudi Arabian GP (17-19 April).
The FIA, F1 and organising our bodies of the occasions are monitoring the battle however face a countdown to make a last choice resulting from logistical necessities.
MotoGP faces the same prospect over its Qatar GP on the 10-12 April, with the spherical more likely to be postponed.
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