Penske has disclosed that his plans to host the North American leg of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, initially proposed in 2022, are still on hold for the next couple of seasons.
“I can’t commit to anything in the next 24 months,” stated Penske, whose team manages the factory Porsche squad in the Hypercar class of the WEC. “While I’m keen on the idea, we haven’t made any concrete arrangements yet.”
Penske cited scheduling conflicts as the primary hurdle, which led to the WEC round in North America being held in Austin for the current season rather than at the venue where the US Formula 1 Grand Prix was held from 2000 to 2007.
“The issue right now is primarily scheduling, aligning Indy’s availability with their calendar,” he explained.
Indianapolis currently has a vacant slot in mid to late September, typically filled by an IMSA SportsCar Championship round, which has evolved into a six-hour enduro this year. However, this coincides with the longstanding Fuji WEC fixture in Japan.
The Fuji 6 Hours race is set for September 15, just one week before the so-called Battle of the Bricks IMSA round at Indy, while Austin is hosting the WEC on September 1.
After the end of a five-year deal to coincide with the Sebring 12 Hours IMSA race, the WEC has renewed its partnership with the Circuit of the Americas in Austin for 2024.
Austin, it seems, has committed to a single-year contract while negotiations with Penske are ongoing.
Austin had been a regular fixture on the WEC schedule from 2013 to 2017 before returning in 2020 as a stand-in after the cancellation of the Brazilian race at Interlagos.
However, Penske remains steadfast in his ambition to bring the WEC to Indianapolis in the future.
“We’d be delighted to host them at some point,” he remarked. “There’s considerable interest in sportscar racing currently.”
Penske clarified that he wasn’t seeking to displace Austin from the schedule.
“We’re not aiming to push them out,” he affirmed. “If the WEC has a successful event there, they should continue.”
Despite being part of a double-header with IMSA from 2014 to 2016, Austin has faced challenges in attracting substantial crowds to its WEC event.
Thomas Laudenbach, boss of Porsche Motorsport, voiced support for the idea of a “home race” for the Penske Porsche Motorsport team.
“It would be something we’d be keen to see,” he added.
