WEC cancels Sebring visit due to travel restrictions [UPDATED]

The FIA World Endurance Championship will not travel to Sebring next week for its portion of the SuperSebring event it shares with IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The WEC's cancellation comes in response to a 30-day travel ban announced as a coronavirus containment measure by President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, which prohibits residents of more than 20 European countries from entry to the United States.

“This decision was not made lightly,” said WEC CEO Gerard Neveu. “Our teams and officials place great value on racing at Sebring in front of its enthusiastic and knowledgeable fans. While this cancellation has been forced upon us because of the travel restrictions from Europe to USA, WEC remains committed at all times to the health and welfare of its teams, officials and race fans. Further, the quality of every aspect of a WEC race event is at the heart of everything that we do and will never be compromised.”

It’s unclear how the WEC’s absence at Sebring will affect IMSA’s plans to hold the 68th running of the Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Additionally, with the WEC’s leadership no longer planning to attend Sebring, the joint press conference with IMSA, where technical regulations for next-generation IMSA LMDh and WEC Hypercar prototypes were set to be revealed, has also been tabled at the famed Floridian road course.

IMSA’s intent to cancel or reschedule its Sebring race, along with revised distribution plans for the technical rules behind prototype convergence, are the next steps awaiting confirmation by sports car fans and participants.