The enforced relocation of the end of season FIA WEC races has seen an unprecedented level of collaboration between WEC promoters LMEM and GT World Challenge organisers SRO.
The dates for the Qatar-replacing Barcelona round of the FIA WEC briefly saw a clash with the season finale of GT World Challenge Europe at Portimao.
With a significant number of drivers affected, SRO’s response was to rapidly move the proposed Sunday endurance race at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve to a Saturday evening slot to allow the WEC race to take place on Sunday.
Seemingly in response, LMEM, after assessing which drivers would likely be involved in both events, have made significant and unprecedented changes to their own Saturday timetable, in part achieved because there is set to be no support race for the Spanish event.
In a move aimed primarily at trackside spectators, there will be two class-specific Free Practice 3 sessions with LMGT3 taking an early morning 60 minute slot starting at 08:50 local time.
Two hours later at 11:50 there will be LMGT3 Qualifying, followed immediately by LMGT3 Hyperpole, which is set to be completed by 12:20.
That would then release any Bronze and/ or Silver drivers affected to travel to Portimao ahead of the 5pm start of the three hour GT World Challenge race.
No Hypercar drivers are understood now to be directly affected by the clash after BMW made clear that Raffaelle Marciello would focus on WEC, Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon are now released from their potential clash for Verstappen Racing, and both Nicklas Nielsen and Marco Sorensen are understood too to be committed to WEC.
The timing of the Hypercar sessions are less of an issue than might otherwise have been the case.
Hypercar FP3 is set to get underway at 12:40 local for the regular 60 minutes with Qualifying and Hyperpole to follow starting from 15:40 local.
All of the Saturday sessions are set to be broadcast on WECTV+ with the full broadcast crew on-site as always. Martin Haven, Anthony Davidson and DSC Ed in Chief Graham Goodwin will man the booth with Bruce Jouanny and Shea Adam patrolling pit lane.
