World endurance racing has been missing from the UK for far too long now. Yes, there’s the British Endurance Championship, and the European Le Mans Series is also racing at the Northamptonshire based circuit, but there’s been a real need for Silverstone to return to the world stage of endurance racing.
Any motorsport fan knows just how important Silverstone and the UK is to the motorsport industry.
The UK has often been billed as the home of motorsport given the fact that so many teams are based in the country and due to the fact there’s been so many races and championships in the country since racing began.
You only have to look at Formula 1 to see how big a fanbase motorsport has in the UK. If there’s engines, wheels and great action, UK fans will flock to the far corners of the country to watch racing.
It’s a gap that has been missing on the WEC’s calendar for far too long, and the time is right to set that record straight.
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And there’s no doubt that a UK round on the WEC’s calendar will be a success.
Those that question the demand for endurance racing in the UK only have to look at how popular the ELMS was last year when it rocked up to Silverstone. Over 110,000 people descended onto the circuit to watch the LMP2 and GT3 machines thunder through Maggotts and Becketts.
So if people get that excited over lower powered prototype machinery, just imagine how enthusiastic the British fans will be to witness Hypercar machinery racing around Silverstone for the very first time.
It’s not just a win for the British fans either. It’s also a win for the WEC itself.
Over the last few years the WEC has built up a strong foundation when it comes to its fanbase.
The Hypercar era is clearly a golden age for the championship, with a level of popularity not really seen since the Group C era.
At the end of the LMP1 era, audience figures for the WEC were low. Competition on track was far from ideal, manufacturers were walking away left, right and centre, and so it was no surprise the championship was struggling to portray itself as an exciting series.
But now that’s all changed. More manufacturers are coming to the table, and in 2027 both McLaren and Ford will join the Hypercar party, taking the level of excitement to a whole new level.
All of this is bringing in new fans the world over, but in order to keep building upon that you need tracks on your calendar that can draw in big crowds, whether they are hardcore endurance racing fans or not.
And Silverstone is one of those circuits.
You can guarantee that come April next year, there will not only be endurance racing die hards queuing at the gate, but casual fans - ones who mostly follow F1 will also be there. That’s because the British fans just love racing, and right now the WEC is offering some of the most competitive racing there is in the world.
Look at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even in the final hours there were four teams vying for victory. Four teams after over 20 hours of racing.
You barely get that level of competition in F1, in a race that’s done and dusted in just over an hour and a half.
That’s how great the racing in the WEC is right now, and the UK fans will lap it all up.
Silverstone is a great location for racing, with plenty of places enabling drivers to have the potential to overtake. And so it would be no surprise to see an out-and-out battle for the win for the entire six hours next year.
The WEC and ACO could have been slightly more adventurous with its calendar. It could have added at least one more race to the bill, but if one was the only option, then it made the perfect decision including Silverstone.
The WEC is still on a period of growth, and coming back to the home of motorsport will only amplify that growth even further.
Welcome back Silverstone. We can’t wait to get going again.
So the World Endurance Championship is finally returning to the UK in 2027.
Announced on the eve of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest announced that next year’s WEC would be heading back to Silverstone for the first time since 2019.
World endurance racing has been missing from the UK for far too long now. Yes, there’s the British Endurance Championship, and the European Le Mans Series is also racing at the Northamptonshire based circuit, but there’s been a real need for Silverstone to return to the world stage of endurance racing.
Any motorsport fan knows just how important Silverstone and the UK is to the motorsport industry.
The UK has often been billed as the home of motorsport given the fact that so many teams are based in the country and due to the fact there’s been so many races and championships in the country since racing began.
You only have to look at Formula 1 to see how big a fanbase motorsport has in the UK. If there’s engines, wheels and great action, UK fans will flock to the far corners of the country to watch racing.
It’s a gap that has been missing on the WEC’s calendar for far too long, and the time is right to set that record straight.
Sign up for The Pit Stop Endurance
Incredible stories from across the world of endurance racing
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
And there’s no doubt that a UK round on the WEC’s calendar will be a success.
Those that question the demand for endurance racing in the UK only have to look at how popular the ELMS was last year when it rocked up to Silverstone. Over 110,000 people descended onto the circuit to watch the LMP2 and GT3 machines thunder through Maggotts and Becketts.
So if people get that excited over lower powered prototype machinery, just imagine how enthusiastic the British fans will be to witness Hypercar machinery racing around Silverstone for the very first time.
It’s not just a win for the British fans either. It’s also a win for the WEC itself.
Over the last few years the WEC has built up a strong foundation when it comes to its fanbase.
The Hypercar era is clearly a golden age for the championship, with a level of popularity not really seen since the Group C era.
At the end of the LMP1 era, audience figures for the WEC were low. Competition on track was far from ideal, manufacturers were walking away left, right and centre, and so it was no surprise the championship was struggling to portray itself as an exciting series.
But now that’s all changed. More manufacturers are coming to the table, and in 2027 both McLaren and Ford will join the Hypercar party, taking the level of excitement to a whole new level.
All of this is bringing in new fans the world over, but in order to keep building upon that you need tracks on your calendar that can draw in big crowds, whether they are hardcore endurance racing fans or not.
And Silverstone is one of those circuits.
You can guarantee that come April next year, there will not only be endurance racing die hards queuing at the gate, but casual fans - ones who mostly follow F1 will also be there. That’s because the British fans just love racing, and right now the WEC is offering some of the most competitive racing there is in the world.
Look at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even in the final hours there were four teams vying for victory. Four teams after over 20 hours of racing.
You barely get that level of competition in F1, in a race that’s done and dusted in just over an hour and a half.
That’s how great the racing in the WEC is right now, and the UK fans will lap it all up.
Silverstone is a great location for racing, with plenty of places enabling drivers to have the potential to overtake. And so it would be no surprise to see an out-and-out battle for the win for the entire six hours next year.
The WEC and ACO could have been slightly more adventurous with its calendar. It could have added at least one more race to the bill, but if one was the only option, then it made the perfect decision including Silverstone.
The WEC is still on a period of growth, and coming back to the home of motorsport will only amplify that growth even further.
Welcome back Silverstone. We can’t wait to get going again.
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