Paris (AFP)

Priority to spectators: the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled for June 12-13, are postponed to August 21-22 to "give themselves every opportunity to welcome the public" in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, announced the organizers Thursday.

"This decision, although difficult to take, is the most appropriate. We cannot imagine organizing the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second year in a row without spectators", explains Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. (ACO), in a press release.

"It is therefore our duty to do everything possible to achieve this essential objective while guaranteeing competitors visibility throughout the season," he continues.

This is why "the ACO wished to take this decision early in the season, in order to give the maximum visibility to the competitors, partners and spectators, as well as to keep the current calendar" of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) , of which the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the flagship event, say the organizers.

"The dates of the other races and events scheduled on the sports calendar of the Le Mans circuit remain unchanged to this day," they add.

But "the ACO is working with the organizers of the various events potentially impacted by this change of dates."

Information relating to ticketing and the format of the postponed event will be communicated at the end of April, while the entry list is due to be announced on Tuesday.

- Second change after Sebring -

The 1000 Miles of Sebring (Florida, United States), which was to open the season on March 19, had previously been canceled and replaced by the 8 Hours of Portimao (Portugal) on April 4, after the tests of March 30 and 31 on this same circuit.

In full reconfiguration, the WEC and its piece of bravery at Le Mans see the arrival in 2021 of a new premier category, those of Hypercars, derived from super-sports cars.

This year, in France, it is the second major motorsport event to see its calendar affected by the pandemic, after the Paris Formula E ePrix, usually contested in April, which will not take place in 2021. , not more than in 2020.

The 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans, on April 17 and 18, will be contested behind closed doors.

The French Motorcycle Grand Prix at Le Mans is still scheduled for May 16 and the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Le Castellet on June 27.

Internationally, F1 (postponement of the Australian and Chinese GPs, start of the season in Bahrain on March 28) and MotoGP (postponement of the Argentinian and Americas GPs, two races in Qatar on March 28 and 4 April to start the season) have also changed their calendars.

The calendar of the World Automobile Endurance Championship (WEC):

March 30-31: prologue (Portimao, Portugal)

April 4: 8 Hours of Portimao (Portugal)

May 1: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)

August 21-22: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)

July 18: 6 Hours of Monza (Italy)

September 26: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)

November 20: 8 Hours of Bahrain

© 2021 AFP