WEC - Ready to Race: Revs rise as season speeds into view

A high-calibre field has been assembled for the upcoming eight rounds, with 18 cars in each category – Hypercar and LMGT3 – and an impressive 13 major global automotive brands represented across the grid, as the world’s premier endurance racing series continues to go from strength-to-strength.

In evidence of that, alongside returning Hypercar manufacturers Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota, Aston Martin is also throwing its hat into the ring in the championship’s headlining division in 2025, with a pair of eagerly-anticipated Valkyries.

At LMGT3 level, meanwhile, joining Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, McLaren and Porsche will be Mercedes-AMG. The renowned German marque will be making its FIA WEC debut, as it prepares to tackle – for the first time in more than two-and-a-half decades – the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race it won outright in both 1952 and 1989.

The entry list for the Qatar curtain-raiser later this month is now complete – and amongst the 108 drivers getting set for battle, there are a number of heavy-hitters. Former Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button teams up with four-time Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais at the rebaptised Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA outfit.

Fellow grand prix-winner Robert Kubica returns in AF Corse’s privately-run Ferrari 499P, as Kevin Magnussen swaps single-seaters for prototypes with BMW M Team WRT. Two other sons of ex-F1 heroes will take to the track in the shape of Mick Schumacher and Eduardo Barrichello, while seven-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi continues his endurance racing apprenticeship with Team WRT in LMGT3.

View the opening round entry list :

The action will get underway with the Qatar 1812km on 26-28 February, preceded by the customary ‘Prologue’ group test at the same circuit on 21-22 February. The Middle Eastern encounter will be the first of eight races on the schedule – varying in duration from six hours to 24 – as the calendar mirrors the successful format used in 2024.

Like the Qatari contest, round two – the 6 Hours of Imola at the iconic Italian circuit – popularly debuted in the championship last year, while Spa-Francorchamps is an FIA WEC staple and the 24 Hours of Le Mans needs no introduction.

Interlagos in Brazil and Austin’s Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Texas add an American flavour to proceedings mid-season, before the campaign concludes with outings at Fuji in Japan – in the shadow of the famous mountain that lends the circuit its name – and the traditional finale in Bahrain, taking competitors to five global regions once again.

2025 FIA WEC Calendar

February 21-22 Official Prologue (QAT)

February 26-28 Qatar 1812km (QAT)

April 18-20 6 Hours of Imola (ITA)

May 8-10 TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)

June 11-15 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)

July 11-13 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo (BRA)

September 5-7 Lone Star Le Mans (USA)

September 26-28 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN)

November 6-8 Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain (BAH)