WEC confident Sebring opener will go ahead despite COVID concerns
The FIA World Endurance Championship has no concerns that the opening round of this year's series at Sebring in March will have to be postponed or cancelled.

WEC boss Frederic Lequien is confident the 1000-mile fixture in Florida set for 18 March, the day before the Sebring 12 Hours IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round, will take place for the first time since 2019.
His expression of confidence comes despite a surge in COVID-19 cases in Florida since December.
"There is no reason to panic: we are confident that Sebring will go ahead," said Lequien.
"We have no specific warnings, only some small delays in transportation - which is the same all over the world - but nothing that can put the Sebring event in danger."
Lequien contrasted the situation to this time last year when the WEC was forced to abandon the Sebring 1000 Miles for the second consecutive year.
"One year ago, it was easy to take a decision because with the US border closed it was almost impossible to go there: now we have the green light," he explained, referring to the full opening of USA borders in November.
"Compared with last year there is no reason to be worried, except if the US government decides in one month that everything is closed."

Start action
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Lequien's comments come after the release of the 2022 WEC entry list on Wednesday, which will be followed by the departure of the teams' cars and equipment to the USA by sea freight early next week.
The inaugural Sebring 1000 Miles took place in March 2019 and the second edition was scheduled as the sixth round of the 2019/20 series, only to be cancelled a week in advance of the event as the COVID pandemic escalated.
Sebring was originally listed as the 2021 season opener, but was removed from the calendar in late January.
The 12-hour IMSA fixture was postponed until November in 2020, but took place in its traditional late-March calendar slot last year.
The current Sebring WEC fixture was originally planned as a second 12-hour event beginning in darkness within hours of the finish of the IMSA race of the same duration. The race then became a 1500-mile event, before the distance was cut to 1000 miles and the race moved to the Friday before the IMSA 12-hour race.
Related video

Peugeot must race at Sebring or Spa for Le Mans 24 Hours entry
New Porsche LMDh prototype for WEC & IMSA makes test debut

Latest news
Diriyah E-Prix: Wehrlein defeats Dennis to complete double win
Pascal Wehrlein completed a Diriyah E-Prix clean sweep, sharing a 1-2 with Jake Dennis once again to take the Formula E championship lead.
Johnson on Button running NASCAR Cup races: "I think I can talk him into it"
2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button will get his first taste of NASCAR with the Garage 56 entry at Le Mans, but it may not be his last.
Jenson Button joins NASCAR Garage 56 Le Mans 24 driver lineup
Jenson Button has been revealed as part of the driver lineup for the Garage 56 entry that brings NASCAR back to the Le Mans 24 Hours for its centenary race in June.
Ex-F1 driver Mazepin to make race return in Asian Le Mans Series
Former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin will return to racing for the first time in over a year when he joins the Asian Le Mans Series next month.
Why the WEC should make space for modern garagistes in 2023
OPINION: There is plenty of excitement over the glut of manufacturers tackling the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship this season. The selection committee is set to face headaches over who it decides to admit and who gets turned away from the 2023 entry list, but history tells us that the smaller entrants have a place
Motorsport.com writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022.
Is Qatar the price motorsport fans have to pay?
OPINION: Fresh from hosting a controversial 2022 football World Cup, Qatar has added its name to the 2024 World Endurance Championship calendar. Although questions may be asked about its presence on the calendar, is it simply the price to pay for having a healthy racing championship?
How Toyota defeated Alpine for the 2022 WEC title
Toyota #8 trio Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa outscored their rivals in the last season before the World Endurance Championship’s top class gets ultra-competitive. Here's how their Hypercar battle with Alpine and the remaining class tussles played out in LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing's new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved - both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects...
How Porsche's Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, are arguably the greatest sportscars of all time.
Why BMW shouldn't be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won't be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad.
The history lessons Peugeot should have learned on its return
The Peugeot 9X8 will make its FIA World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend. The French manufacturer has gone radical and will be hoping it doesn’t need to overhaul its contender, as it did with its first Le Mans challenger…
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.