Silverstone returns to WEC calendar in 2027

The grid taking the start of the 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone, the last time the series raced in the UK | Credit: Toyota Racing

Silverstone will return to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2027 as the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) revealed next years calendar in Friday's annual press conference at Le Mans.

The 6 hour event will take place from 23rd to 25th April, slotting in between Imola and Spa in the calendar.

The rest of the WEC calendar remains the same with the year being opened up in Qatar, followed by Imola. The new race in Silverstone comes before Spa, then the big one in Le Mans will be on the 12th to 13th June, before the fly-away rounds in Brazil, COTA and Fuji. The season ends with the traditional finale in Bahrain on 6th November.

Silverstone started it's WEC journey back in 2010, in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) under the name 1000km of Silverstone. The name changed to the 6 Hours of Silverstone in 2011, before the ILMC became the WEC in 2012.

It was a mainstay on the calendar from 2012-2019 (the 2019 edition of the race was ran to four hours), before the Covid-19 pandemic took it off the calendar for 2020. Since 2024, the 4 Hours of Silverstone has taken place in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and has been a hit with the fans. On its return, the race will last six hours, in the usual WEC format.

Since the WEC's inception in 2012, Audi (2012, 2013 & 2015) and Toyota (2014, 2017 & 2019) are tied as the manufacturers with the most wins at the track, with Porsche (2016) and Rebellion (2018) each having one.

CEO of the WEC, Frédéric Lequien said: "Silverstone is a venue steeped in motorsport history and boasts a long legacy of top-flight endurance racing, including eight hugely successful FIA WEC events from 2012 to 2019. It is a circuit beloved by competitors, and from a driving and engineering point-of-view, it presents a tremendous challenge.

"Not only that, but British fans are famously enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the sport, and we are delighted that they will once again be able to enjoy the indescribable thrill of a World Championship round up close on home soil.”

The 2027 WEC calendar:

March 21st - 22nd: Official Prologue

March 27th: Qatar 1812km

April 11th: 6 Hours of Imola

April 25th: 6 Hours of Silverstone

May 15th: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

June 12th - 13th: 24 Hours of Le Mans

July 11th: 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

September 12th: Lone Star Le Mans (6 Hours of COTA)

September 26th: 6 Hours of Fuji

November 6th: 6 Hours of Bahrain