Ten more years for the WEC, and the FIA gets the final word on the rules

The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have extended their agreement on the FIA World Endurance Championship by ten years. The new deal runs from the end of 2027, when the current agreement expires, to the end of 2037, and it gives the FIA a firmer grip on the rules: every regulation will need the final approval of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

The two organisations announced the deal on 30 September. It is the fourth long-term agreement for an FIA world championship since July 2025, according to the FIA WEC.

The World Motor Sport Council gets the last word

Under the extended partnership, all regulatory processes will be overseen by FIA working groups and the FIA Endurance Commission, and will require final approval from the World Motor Sport Council. The homologation process has also been streamlined, with the FIA and the ACO jointly overseeing the homologation of every car in the Hypercar class.

The FIA also gets considerably more visibility. Its branding will feature more prominently in parc fermé, on the podium, on the Safety Cars and in the broadcast coverage.

One Hypercar rulebook with IMSA from 2030

The most concrete technical promise is a more unified framework for top-level Hypercars competing in both the FIA WEC and IMSA in North America, to be introduced from 2030. According to the announcement it should make it cheaper for manufacturers to race in endurance championships around the world.

The agreement also sets out a framework for hydrogen powertrains in competition, without naming a date for a first hydrogen class.

Eight manufacturers now, Ford and McLaren in 2027

The championship backs the deal with its own growth figures. The trackside audience has grown 8 percent so far in 2026, 44 percent of this year’s spectators are 34 or younger, and 40 percent attended an FIA WEC event for the first time. Eight manufacturers currently race in Hypercar, and with the LMGT3 class added in 2024 the grid counts 14 marques in total. Ford and McLaren are due to join the Hypercar class in 2027.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem called it “a deal built for the future, a deal of the century, one that strengthens the collaboration between the FIA and ACO”. ACO President Pierre Fillon said the agreement reinforces “the strong and long-standing relationship that has been at the heart of the FIA World Endurance Championship since its creation in 2012.”

Frédéric Lequien, CEO of championship promoter Le Mans Endurance Management, said the agreement “comes at an exciting time for the FIA World Endurance Championship”.

Our view

The headline figure is ten years, but the real change is in the small print. The ACO built this championship around Le Mans, and the World Motor Sport Council having the final say on every regulation moves the centre of gravity towards Paris. That does not have to be a problem: the IMSA convergence from 2030 is exactly the kind of cross-series project that needs one body signing off on the rules, and it is what manufacturers such as Ford and McLaren want before they commit for a decade. The question is whether balance of performance, the eternal source of complaints in Hypercar, becomes any less political with an extra layer of approval.

Will a single Hypercar rulebook for WEC and IMSA from 2030 bring even more manufacturers to endurance racing? Tell us in the comments.

What comes next

Toyota won its home race at Fuji last weekend. Read our Fuji race report, check the FIA WEC standings 2026, or find out how the performance of different cars is equalised in our balance of performance explainer.