Iran war forces major WEC calendar change as uncertainty for other series continues

The FIA World Endurance Championship has had to scrap its planned races in the Middle East entirely amid the ongoing US/Israel war with Iran.

The war that broke out in February between Iran, the United States and Israel has affected all major motorsport championships.

The WEC was due to kick off its season with a round in Qatar, but was forced to postpone that to later in the year as a back-to-back with Bahrain.

However, the ongoing conflict, which escalated in recent weeks as peace talks between the US and Iran broke down, has forced the WEC into a drastic calendar reshuffle.

The penultimate round will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya on the weekend of 18 October, which is a week earlier than the planned Qatar round.

The season finale will then take place on the weekend of 8 November at Monza. Both races will be run over six hours.

It will mark the WEC’s first visit to Barcelona, and its first to Monza since 2023.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “I am incredibly proud of the collaboration that will enable Barcelona and Monza to host FIA World Endurance Championship rounds later this year.

“The FIA has worked closely with our partners in Qatar and Bahrain in recent months to explore every option to preserve both events this season, but due to the ongoing situation in the region, the safety of our teams, colleagues and motorsport fans remains our highest priority.

“These are never easy decisions, but protecting the wellbeing of our motorsport community will always come first.

“My thanks to all of our Member Clubs who have helped to make these updates possible, Lusail International Circuit, Bahrain International Circuit and our championship colleagues whose partnership and support throughout this process reflects the very best of our sport.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by the situation in the region, and we look forward to returning when circumstances allow.”

WEC’s decision to abandon its Middle East races comes as it faces logistical hurdles in getting its freight from its Fuji round in Japan at the end of September amid the continued conflict.

F1 calendar faces its own headaches

The WEC news comes just days after Formula 1 announced that its Bahrain Grand Prix would be held in Malaysia on the weekend of 4 October.

F1 originally cancelled its Bahrain and Saudi races from their April slots due to the Iran war, but it had long been rumoured that Bahrain would be rescheduled for 4 October.

While the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead, it will be hosted at the Sepang International Circuit, some 6000km away in Malaysia.

It is unclear yet what will happen to F1’s visits to Qatar and it season finale in Abu Dhabi, with rumours suggesting potential replacements at Portimao and Imola.

Qatar and Abu Dhabi are due to run back-to-back on 27-29 November and 4-6 December.

MotoGP’s Qatar GP faces similar hurdle

MotoGP postponed its Qatar Grand Prix from April to the weekend of 6-8 November (the same date as the WEC finale was due to be held in Bahrain).

In doing so, it also forced the Portuguese and Valencia rounds to be moved back a week.

There has been no news on what MotoGP will do with its Qatar Grand Prix. In theory, it wouldn’t need to replace it, as a 21-round calendar instead of 22 would likely satisfy contractual obligations to broadcasters.

It also comes at an awkward point in the season, as it is paired back-to-back with Sepang the week before.

MotoGP is no stranger to hosting races at the same circuit twice in the post-COVID era, having done so in 2024 when Kazakhstan, Argentina and India had to be cancelled.

There have also been suggestions that a planned return to Qatar for the season-opener in 2027 could be put on hold, with Thailand likely to host the opening round again instead.