The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship season opener at Portimao has been postponed from April 4 to June 13, due to ongoing COVID-19-related travel restrictions in Portugal.

The ninth season of the FIA WEC will now start behind closed doors at Spa-Francorchamps on May 1, with a Prologue test set for April 26-27.

Round 2 will now be the 6 Hours of Monza, which will remain in mid-July with Portimao now the last race before the rescheduled Le Mans 24 Hours on August 21-22 (with the test day on August 15), after race organizers the Automobile Club de l’Ouest announced yesterday that the 24 Hours would move from June to offer a higher chance that spectators will be permitted to attend.

The final two rounds of WEC Season 9, which will take place in Fuji (Japan) and Bahrain remain unchanged.