Qatar will join the World Endurance Championship (WEC), for a 6-hour round, from 2024 and for six years, the organizers announced at a press conference on Monday.
The 6 Hours of Qatar “will open the 2024 season”, indicated Frédéric Lequien, the general manager of the WEC promoter, without specifying on what date. The race will be held at the Lusail circuit, north of the capital Doha, currently under construction to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2023, after a first edition in 2021.
The Qatari track has already been the scene of a round of the World Motorcycle Speed Championship since 2004. The arrival of F1 and endurance in the rich gas emirate, eager to diversify its economy, “will place Qatar in a very important sector of sport”, commented Akbar al-Baker, the head of Qatar Tourism, l organization responsible for tourism in the country. “We want to assure our audience that we will be N.1 in motorsport,” added the man who is also the boss of Qatar Airways.
This announcement comes as the small Gulf state hosts the FIFA World Cup, the final of which is scheduled for Sunday. Qatar, keen to become an international sports hub, will host the World Swimming Championships in January 2024 as well as the upcoming Asian Football Cup.
Doha was a candidate to host the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and the country’s sports officials are studying a new campaign for the 2036 edition, using the 2022 World Cup as a springboard.
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