The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is celebrating a major milestone this weekend. Under the shadow of Mount Fuji, the series will host its 100th race.
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| Photo: Audi |
WEC in its current form was established in 2012, with the inaugural race being the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring. Since then, a total of 832 racing drivers from 61 different countries have taken part in at least one race. However, only four drivers on the current grid competed in that very first event: Neel Jani, Frédéric Makowiecki, Richard Lietz, and Loïc Duval.
To mark this special occasion, WEC has prepared a unique livery for the safety car, while the trophies for this weekend have been specially designed to resemble the WEC logo.
Frédéric Makowiecki shared his memories of that very first race with sportscar365.com.
“I remember arriving at Sebring and thinking, ‘wow, we are established as a world championship,’ The atmosphere was electric. At that time we had the atmosphere that you find sometimes at Le Mans, where it goes more and more during the week building up to the start of the race.
“To have a race like Le Mans without a championship, it meant everyone just focused on Le Mans. From Sebring, it felt like now there is a proper championship and we can fight all throughout the year, and then in the middle you still have the fantastic part that is Le Mans."
In Japan, WEC faces its penultimate race weekend before the finale, which will take place in Bahrain on November 8.