Penske Still Hopeful For A Future WEC Race At Indianapolis

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske is still hopeful that the FIA World Endurance Championship will visit ‘the Brickyard’ in the future, after plans to stage a race at the circuit in 2024 fell through.

In 2024 the FIA WEC will return to Circuit of The Americas in Texas, following the decision to drop the ‘Super Sebring’ doubleheader with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the schedule.

The move was made in part because there was no longer an appetite to run the 1000-mile WEC race on Friday at Sebring ahead of the IMSA 12-hour race, but also because the new deal with Qatar to host the Prologue and season opener at the Lusail circuit in March meant it no longer worked logistically.

Speaking to select media last weekend at Monza, Penske, whose team also runs the Porsche Hypercar and GTP factory efforts, said there were discussions with the WEC about hosting a race at Indianapolis in September 2024. However, the WEC’s travel schedule in the second half of the season meant it simply wouldn’t be viable for the slot proposed.

“We had good discussions. We were hoping we could run one (a WEC event) in 2024. We would very much like a WEC race there,” he said.

“We were going to do it in September (2024), which is when they are going to CoTA. We were going to do it on the same weekend IMSA was coming and run an event like the doubleheader was at Sebring. But we couldn’t because of TV and the travel for them was going to be impossible.

“It was financial and there was no flexibility for IMSA to change its dates.”

The 2024 FIA WEC calendar features Lone Star Le Mans at CoTA on September 1st, followed by the annual trip to Fuji Speedway for a race on September 15th.

Penske also reiterated that beyond 2024 he would welcome a double-header with IMSA at Indianapolis.

From 2024 onwards the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Indy is expected to become a fifth round for the Michelin Endurance Cup. This would make for an ideal opportunity to showcase the expanded WeatherTech endurance field and the FIA WEC’s grid on the same bill.

“It would be great to have them on the same weekend. We are open to hosting both series, especially as the rules get closer and closer,” he added.

“I’d love to see that (a double-header) at Indianapolis, we want to use the track for big events and international events, which is what the WEC would bring.”

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