Recent announcements have clarified how the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will sequence their seasons, with subtle but important shifts to track lineups and class footprints. The 2024 WEC calendar leaned into new and returning destinations while consolidating its eight-round format, and IMSA continued to balance its long‑distance pillars with key sprints. As organizers set their 2025 intentions, the throughline is stability—keeping logistics workable as Hypercar/GTP grids swell and GT regulations bed in across both series.
For 2024, WEC retained an eight-event world tour built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a European spring core. Lusail’s Qatar 1812km opened the season under lights, Imola stepped in for Monza during upgrades, and Spa again served as the pre‑Le Mans form guide. After June, Interlagos returned to the calendar, followed by a North American stop at Circuit of the Americas, then the traditional Asian and Middle East finale at Fuji and Bahrain. The net result was a geographically broader schedule compared to 2023, without the Sebring fly‑away that previously paired WEC with IMSA.
Looking ahead as outlined through late 2024, the WEC promoter has signaled continuity: an eight‑round template anchored by Spa, Le Mans, Fuji and Bahrain, with Qatar’s season‑opener now established. Imola’s cameo was linked to Monza’s works, with the Italian slot expected to settle once the venue’s availability normalizes, while Interlagos and COTA underpinned the Americas footprint this year. Class structure remains stable after LMGT3 replaced GTE Am for 2024, and LMP2 continues as a Le Mans‑only category in the world championship. The emphasis is on venue capacity and pit infrastructure to house a Hypercar field regularly cresting the high teens.
IMSA, meanwhile, kept its bedrock intact for 2024 and confirmed similar contours for 2025 during late‑summer releases. The Michelin Endurance Cup now spans five long races—Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans—after Indianapolis’ six‑hour returned last September and was retained. Sprint fixtures such as Long Beach and Laguna Seca continue to serve the West Coast, while Detroit, Lime Rock and VIR remain GT‑only showcases. CTMP and Road America stay in their customary summer windows, preserving the series’ cadence around Le Mans to ease trans‑Atlantic commitments for dual‑program teams.
Track lineups mirror where the cars are. WEC’s Hypercar grid grew again in 2024 with full‑season programs from BMW, Alpine and Lamborghini joining Ferrari, Toyota, Peugeot and Porsche, while boutique LMH efforts from prior years fell away, prompting the series to favor circuits with robust paddock capacity. LMGT3 broadened the manufacturer mix compared to GTE, and the class has quickly settled into reliable 18‑plus car fields. In IMSA, GTP is anchored by the four LMDh marques—Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche—while GTD Pro/GTD absorbed new‑for‑2024 machinery like the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Mustang GT3.
The calendar choices on both sides reflect that growth: fewer ad‑hoc venue swaps, more predictable logistics, and back‑to‑back stretches designed to manage freight and testing without choking the competitive rhythm.