The 2026 World Endurance Championship will conclude in Europe, with the planned events in the Middle East replaced by new races in Barcelona and Monza.
Following trips to Austin and Fuji in September, the championship was supposed to head to the Gulf, with the rescheduled Qatar 1812km set for 24 October to be followed by the traditional Bahrain finale on 7 November.
However, the ceasefire agreed between Iran and the US/Israel collapsed this month, with both sides resuming attacks in the region and commercial ships continuing to avoid the Strait of Hormuz over fear of missile strikes. The situation posed a particular challenge for the WEC, which relies heavily on sea freight to transport its equipment.
As a result, series promoters the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have opted to abandon the financially-lucrative Middle East leg in favour of finishing the season closer to the its core European fanbase.
As part of the updated calendar, the WEC will make its maiden visit to Spain this year, with the 6 Hours of Barcelona scheduled on 18 October, a week before the now-cancelled Qatar 1812km.
Before being cancelled outright, the 10-hour fixture at the Losail International Circuit had already been postponed from March to October after the outbreak of the Iran War forced the WEC to delay the start of the season.
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez
Photo by: Alessio Morgese
The 2026 campaign will now conclude in Italy, with the 6-hour Monza event taking place on 7 November – the same date originally earmarked for the Bahrain finale. No mention was made about the rookie test, which traditionally takes place a day after the season finale.
Monza previously hosted three WEC races between 2021-23, before Imola took over as the Italian round of the championship.
Crucially, both Barcelona and Monza will offer a maximum of 25 points to the race winner, as per the standard scoring system for six-hour events.
Had the calendar remained unchanged, the winning crew would have been eligible for 38 points as part of the bonus-point system used for longer races.
This would make it harder for teams to claw back any deficit in the championship fight. The calendar change is also likely to have a detrimental impact on Toyota, which has been unbeaten in Bahrain in the last nine years.
The last WEC campaign to conclude in Europe was the 2018-19 ‘superseason’, which featured two editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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