COTA gaining 24H race, losing World Endurance Championship 6H race?

[AustinF1]

Signs not pointing to a WEC return to COTA next year...I guess. There have also been rumors of WEC moving to Indy, with WEC officials having been there during the 500 talking to Indy officials and touring the facility.

Hankook 24H COTA Confirmed on 2017 24H Series Schedule - Sportscar365 http://sportscar365.com/gt/24hseries/24h-cota-confirmed-on-2017-24h-series-schedule/

 

the 24H Series powered by Hankook will make its North American debut next year, with Creventic confirming the Hankook 24 Hours of COTA on its 2017 schedule, which was released in Friday.

The non-championship event for GT and touring cars will take place on Nov. 9-11, 2017 at Circuit of The Americas, marking only the second professional level 24-hour race in America outside of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Meanwhile, Sportscar365 says a potential WEC-PWC Austin 2017 pairing has been ruled out: Mexico City Thursday Notebook: http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/mexico-city-thursday-notebook/

 

"Neveu downplayed talk of a new event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has been rumored to replace Circuit of The Americas. What’s known is that the joint IMSA/WEC weekend will not continue at COTA, with IMSA having moved to a feature event in early May. The Pirelli World Challenge weekend at COTA on Sept. 1-3, 2017 will also not feature WEC, which leaves its only option as a standalone event at the Texas circuit."

Anyone here know much about this series? Looks like it may replace WEC at COTA.

There have also been rumors of WEC moving to Indy, with WEC officials having been there during the 500 talking to Indy officials and touring the facility.

http://www.racer.com/more/racer-blog/item/130239-wec-series-evaluating-indy-round-after-500-visit?showall=1&limitstart=

 

"As you know, Le Mans is always looking for innovating for the fans, for the technical rules, for the competitors. And that is the idea [behind this trip]. Enjoy, first, I have to say, but just to feel the spirit, to understand. The third idea is maybe is why not one day bring the WEC here? It makes sense."

...

"I think there's a lot of ideas to take here, but [saturday] when I come inside the track, you know you have something – there is a feeling," Fillon said. "It is the same at Le Mans. You can feel the story, you can feel the soul and it was my first impression with everything we saw.

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Despite increasing efforts from Neveu's team and the management of Circuit of The Americas to grow the size and popularity of the WEC's lone visit to the USA each year, the series could be on the lookout for a new venue after this year's race. It makes the upcoming return to Indy to discuss an event on the fast and smooth IMS road course more a subject of necessity than curiosity – but there could be a significant hurdle to clear before sportscar fans begin booking travel to Indiana in 2017.

As a new circuit, COTA was eager to attract big international series and spent freely to sign Formula 1, the WEC, MotoGP, and even V8 Supercars after the circuit opened a few years ago. But with COTA's diminished annual budget, and lukewarm local response to the most innovative racecars on the planet, the relationship with the WEC has seemed destined for a conclusion.

Where potential complications lie is in the series' search for a new American home after growing accustomed to COTA's spending habits. Based on background chatter at the Speedway, the sanction fee requested by the WEC would need to come down from the unrealistic figure made available by COTA.

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If the financials are right, and the WEC can bring a bigger crowd to Indy than COTA has produced in three tries since 2013, the event could make sense. With Chevrolet and Ford located 250 miles north in Michigan, and American corporate headquarters for Audi, Porsche, and other WEC staples within a reasonable distance to the Speedway, the marriage of IMS and Neveu's manufacturer-driven series could be a fantastic fit.

"The very common point we can feel since the beginning of the weekend here is that I think the people from Indy and the people from Le Mans, we have exactly the same concern about the fans," Neveu said of wanting to create a bigger and better spectacle.

"The idea we are searching for is how can we make them happy because all the things we're doing is for the fans. We love the way they do it [here]. It is amazing."