The experiment WEC could revisit to magnify its boom period

This month’s Qatar 1812km season-opener was the longest ‘regular’ race the World Endurance Championship has hosted since the series was relaunched in 2012. That is if you don’t count the time when the WEC field joined what was then known as the American Le Mans Series for the Sebring 12 Hours almost 12 years to this day for its modern-era reboot. Lasting just short of the 10-hour time limit, the Qatar race was considerably longer than the Sebring 1000 Miles fixture it replaced this year, as well as the season-closing eight-hour round in neighbouring Bahrain.

The WEC had previously stuck to standard six-hour races for all events besides its flagship Le Mans 24 Hours spectacle. In recent years, however, the series has diverged from that proven formula with a couple of longer races, increasing the duration of the Bahrain finale to eight hours and adding a 1000-mile race at Sebring on the same weekend as the IMSA SportsCar Championship's 12-hour classic.