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Qatar to Host World Endurance Championship Prologue and Season Opener Following Le Mans 2026 Calendar Reveal

Qatar to Host World Endurance Championship Prologue and Season Opener Following Le Mans 2026 Calendar Reveal

Qatar Living15-06-2025
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) announced the 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC) calendar in Le Mans on 13 June, confirming Qatar's continued role in launching the new season with both the Prologue testing sessions and the opening championship round March 22-28 , making it one of the 8 circuits around to world to host WEC in 2026.
For the third time, Lusail International Circuit (LIC) will welcome the premier endurance racing series with the Prologue sessions scheduled from March 22-23, allowing teams and drivers to fine-tune their Hypercars and LMGT3 machines ahead of the competitive season.
The official championship action will commence shortly afterwards with the Qatar 1812 KM race being held from March 26-28. Named in honour of Qatar's National Day, this endurance contest will once again test competitors as they race from daylight into darkness, a maximum of ten hours across the 5.38km, 16-turn circuit.
The circuit's characteristics – featuring a flat, high-speed layout with minimal elevation changes and maximum grip – continue to provide an ideal proving ground for the sport's most advanced prototypes and production-based GT cars. The 16 turns combined with the kilometre-long main straight demand peak performance from both machinery and drivers.
Following success in 2024 and 2025, the Qatar rounds have established themselves as unmissable fixtures on the WEC calendar, attracting the world's leading automotive manufacturers including Porsche, Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, Aston Martin, Peugeot, Alpine, and BMW in the premier Hypercar category.
The LMGT3 class will feature equally fierce competition among marques such as Corvette, Lexus, Ferrari, BMW, and Mercedes-AMG. Stay tuned for further ticketing information.
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