With the FIA WEC settling into its new calendar cycle after Le Mans in 2019, the first full cross-year FIA WEC season will begin in September 2019 and the dates for two important occasions have today been announced to complement the already-published 2019/2020 calendar.

The WEC Prologue will be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th July 2019, a first opportunity for all entrants to test new cars, drivers or components in a competitive setting.

The first race of the season will be the 4 Hours of Silverstone on 1 September 2019, some five weeks later.

Also announced is the 2018-2019 season Rookie test (art 9.1 of the FIA WEC Sporting Regulations) will held at Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday 15th December 2019, the day after the 8 Hours of Bahrain, round 4 of the WEC’s 8th season.

WEC-nominated “Rookie” drivers will be awarded a minimum of 30 laps during the test day, and the five hours of track time is also available to other WEC competitors should they wish to profit from the opportunity to evaluate potential drivers.