WEC paddock reacts to 'Super Season' move

It's a seismic change for the series, which in its five years has grown in stature and popularity, but is it a good one? RACER spoke to a number of personalities to find out where they stand.

For the amateur drivers in the field – who are key to the survival of the LMP2 and GTE Am classes – this change has been met with overriding positivity. Less travel, more desirable races and a larger gap between the rounds, across the board appears to makes the series more viable for those for whom racing is a hobby, and has to be managed alongside business commitments and often, family time.

"My first reaction was shock," TDS Racing (pictured above) driver Francois Perrodo told RACER, who explained that it may have swayed him from looking elsewhere going forward. "I thought it was a bit odd. If the ultimate goal is to make it a winter championship with Le Mans as a finale, they had two solutions – a long 18-month championship, or Le Mans as a standalone and start again after, which I thought they would do. It's just as exciting to have two Le Mans in the same championship year, though.

"It's my fifth WEC season, and if you'd have asked me last week, I would have said I probably won't continue and concentrate on racing in Europe, because of all the traveling. But, thinking about it, there's less travel, I want to do it again; this could be the answer. I need to think about it more, obviously, but that could well make me come back."

Perrodo's comments are similar to that of the majority of amateur drivers on the grid on the WEC, who see this as a positive change going forward.

"Think about it," added Rebellion Racing's David Heinemeier Hansson. "I don't want to race in Bahrain [or] Mexico, I get to go to Spa twice, and Le Mans twice, and then do Sebring too."

The addition of Sebring appears to be a major plus for the WEC's competitors, who will relish the chance to visit Florida early in the 2019 leg of the 2019-20 season to race alongside IMSA in a double-header, for the first time since the WEC's inaugural season in 2012.

"As returning champion, I'd love to do it again," commented G-Drive Racing's Alex Lynn. "To be honest, all of the races on there seem quite cool. But obviously the race at Sebring is great – I'd love to do that. I could do both 12 Hours too, though I'd be really tired!"

CEFC Manor TRS Racing's team principal Graeme Lowdon, too, feels that for teams it's a really good change.

"There's obviously going to be challenges with Sebring and a calendar change like this, but it's a real positive. From a fan point of view, it will be a really cool weekend of racing. You want to be involved with races with heritage.

"As a team, we think that it's easy to understand for commercial partners, and fans, to see a build-up to Le Mans as a big finale that includes races like Sebring. They understand these events."

On the other hand, though, there are a few notable issues which could arise from the event. A major one being: which Sebring 12 Hours gets the most prominence? IMSA's or the WEC's? And, whether or not it's feasible to run the WEC race just two hours after the conclusion of IMSA's?

There are also concerns about the condition of the circuit after two back-to-back endurance races.

"Going back to Sebring is fantastic," said Clearwater Racing and Ferrari Competizione driver Matt Griffin. "Running the race from midnight though, isn't great at all.

"What they should have done is run a six-hour race on the Sunday. It would be an amazing event for spectators, who see the Sebring 12 Hours on Saturday, and then stay on Sunday for a normal WEC six-hour race.

"I think that it'll be 24 hours of racing and it'll be very different for us coming from Europe, to race at midnight to midday, because of the jet-lag. It's the wrong way. We'll be coming from Europe, and we'll get acclimatized to the time zone, and then have to run through the night again. We'll get tired. I don't know how long the night is too, but running at night at Sebring is so tough, and if you have half the race in darkness, so I'm not sure what that'll be like for Ams.

"I don't know why they didn't make it a six-hour race on Sunday?"

On the business side of things, there's a lot to consider, with the extended season bringing with it challenges stemming from the gaps between races, and the inclusion of three longer races in the single season.

For tire suppliers though, despite there being fewer races, and therefore fewer tires sold, it could be a positive, as Michelin explained.

"For us it's not about selling tires, it's about developing technology and exposure, and if we go to Le Mans twice, and Sebring, that's better than having a season with fewer races and less exposure," said Michelin Motorsport director Pascal Couasnon in conversation with RACER.

"There will be challenges with the way that the freighting works, but that will be different for us, we will have to use a bit of air freight, because you don't know too far in advance how many tires you'll need."

Griffin also pointed out, that as an aspirant GTE Pro driver it could be a positive, as it may give him more of a chance to get a seat. But, he is weary that the longer races, and the structure could inflate budgets and turn teams away.

"They say it'll drop budgets, but it hasn't really because you have an 18-month calendar which will cost 25% more than a normal season," he said. "Then what do you do after the second Le Mans? Do the WEC again two months later? It's expensive. If you're going to continue doing it after that, you need to cram a program into one season, then another straight after."

Alex Brundle (pictured above), driver for Jackie Chan DC Racing, feels that teams will have to work extremely hard to ensure that partners, backers and sponsors all buy into such a radical change.

"It's two seasons in one, but with enough races for just one, and that will give a headache for some of the teams in terms of generating financial backing. Going and presenting one and a half seasons to a sponsor is going to be difficult to explain," he said.

"We've got very clever people here, though, and motorsport survives. We know that people are passionate and will do whatever it takes to make programs happen. From a pure driving side, it's mega. If you have a calendar with two Le Mans 24 Hours, a Sebring, it's awesome."

"We know what's going on in advance, so at least the grid has time – almost too much! You've got several races, a big gap, then several races and another massive gap. If you're keeping guys on full-time, what are they going to do between June and October?

"Everyone is talking about the drivers, and clashes, but we'll be all right; the guys that I'm thinking of are the mechanics, and if there's going to be enough work for them. Will they have to be weekend warriors?

"I just hope that there are a lot of very committed, enthusiastic and hard-working privateers, and that the payback comes. If they float the boat to 2020 and it's mega, I hope the WEC doesn't take off without them. Will they reward the loyalty? The jury is out.

"They'll have to remember the moment of compromise when all of the privateer teams went away and found two years-worth of budget to keep the series going. And if not, someone will have to remind them."