The new FIM 2019-2020 Endurance World Championship season will get underway with the Bol d’Or 24-Hour race on September 21st at the Le Castellet circuit in France. Fifteen-times World Champions, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team riders Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Gregg Black are currently preparing for the test there aboard the GSX-R1000, after the final 2018-2019 race at Suzuka, Japan at the end of July. The 2019-2020 series will also feature a new 8-hour race on the calendar at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, with the first edition to be held in mid-December.
The second round of the championship is a new winter race in Southeast Asia, initiated as part of a calendar reform by championship promoter Eurosport Events. The inaugural edition of the 8 Hours of Sepang, which results from a strong collaboration between FIM, Eurosport Events, Sepang International Circuit and Mobilityland, will be a qualifying round for the 2020 Suzuka 8 Hours. Its innovative format lays the foundation for the first-ever double-header event in Asian motorsport, with two major car and motorcycle races taking place over a single weekend: the 8 Hours of Sepang on Saturday December 14th and the season finale of the FIA WTCR/ OSCARO on Sunday December 15th.
The 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos, traditionally held at Le Mans in mid-April, and the 8 Hours of Oschersleben on the first weekend of June will take place midway through the FIM EWC calendar. The Suzuka 8 Hours round, the grand finale of the FIM Endurance World Championship, will be brought forward to July 19th, on a one-off basis, for the first time in its history.
“The Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race has a long 42-year history,” said Kaoru Tanaka, the new President of Mobilityland. “It has recently been established as the final round of the FIM Endurance World Championship and is traditionally held on the last Sunday of July. For 2020, we decided to bring the event forward, so it precedes the fanfare of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Now scheduled for July 19th, the Suzuka 8 Hours race will have the eyes of the world on Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Come join us for a sizzling season final in July 2020.”
Provisional 2019-2020 FIM EWC calendar:
21/22 September 2019: Bol d’Or (24h-race) / Le Castellet, France.
14 December 2019: 8 Hours of Sepang, Malaysia. *
18/19 April 2020: 24 Heures Motos / Le Mans, France.
6 June 2020: 8 Hours of Oschersleben, Germany. *
19 July 2020: Suzuka 8 Hours, Japan.
