The 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship was the inaugural running of the
World Endurance Championship. It was co-organised by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the
Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series replaced the former
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup held by the ACO from 2010 to 2011.[1] The series was open to
Le Mans Prototypes and
grand tourer-based racing cars meeting four ACO categories. Several championships, cups, and trophies were awarded in the series' four categories following an eight race season, with a World Championship available to the top scoring drivers and LMP1 category manufacturer.
Following a partial-season match-up against newcomers
Toyota,
Audi won the Manufacturers' World Championship, while the company's driver line-up of
André Lotterer of Germany,
Benoît Tréluyer of France, and
Marcel Fässler of Switzerland earned the Drivers' World Championship ahead of their teammates
Allan McNish and
Tom Kristensen. Toyota's
Alexander Wurz and
Nicolas Lapierre were third in the Drivers' Championship standings.
Ferrari defending their two Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMGTE manufacturers title with the Manufacturers' World Cup, outscoring
Porsche and
Corvette. In the four FIA Trophies for the four categories in the championship,
Rebellion Racing won the LMP1 Privateers title, while
Starworks Motorsport secured the LMP2 championship;
AF Corse won the LMGTE Pro category for the second season in a row, as did
Larbre Compétition in LMGTE Am.
Calendar
An initial calendar was announced on 12 November 2011, featuring eight races in eight countries on four continents.[2] Sebring, Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans, and Silverstone are retained from the
2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, while the Chinese round remained undecided between 2011's
Zhuhai International Circuit or the
Shanghai International Circuit.[3] Three new races at the
Autódromo José Carlos Pace,
Bahrain International Circuit, and
Fuji Speedway expand the series to a new continent, replacing the former ILMC round for the
Petit Le Mans.[4] A revised calendar released on 7 December swapped the dates of the events in Bahrain and Fuji,[5] while
ACO confirmed on 2 February that the final round would be hosted in Shanghai, with the date moved to 27 October.[6] All races were timed events. The 12 Hours of Sebring was a joint event with competitors from the
American Le Mans Series sharing half of the race grid, but not scoring points in the World Championship.
The highest finishing competitor entered in the World Endurance Championship is listed below. Invitational entries may have finished ahead of WEC competitors in individual races.
^The LMP2 class winner for Spa-Francorchamps was the No. 38
Jota Sport invitational entry. As it was not a full-season WEC entrant, the points for the win were awarded to the No. 25 ADR-Delta entry.
^The LMGTE Am class winner for Spa-Francorchamps was the No. 67
IMSA Performance Matmut invitational entry. As it was not a full-season WEC entrant, the points for the win were awarded to the No. 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton entry.
Championships
Entries were required to complete the timed race as well as to complete 70% of the overall winning car's race distance in order to earn championship points. A single bonus point was awarded to the team and all drivers of the
pole position car in qualifying in each category. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the points allocation was doubled.[86]
† — Drivers were classified, but did not score as they drove for less than the required minimum time during the race.
Manufacturers' World Championship
The FIA LMP1 Manufacturers' World Endurance Championship was open to full-season manufacturer entries participating in the LMP1 category. Points were only awarded to the highest scoring entry for that manufacturer for each event. Further, only the scores from six events counted towards the championship, Le Mans plus the five best race results over the season.[87]Audi secured the Manufacturers' World Championship at the
6 Hours of Silverstone following four consecutive victories in the first half of the championship.[88]
The LMGTE Manufacturers' World Cup was open to full-season manufacturer entries participating in either of the two LMGTE categories. Results in the LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am categories were combined for the World Cup.[89] Only the two best classified cars of the same manufacturer in an event scored points for the World Cup.
Ferrari secured the Manufacturers' World Cup title at the
6 Hours of Bahrain following four consecutive victories.[90]
The FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Teams was open to full-season
privateer LMP1 entries not designated as manufacturers.[89] Only the best classified car of a team at each event scored points for the Trophy.
Rebellion Racing secured the LMP1 Trophy at the
6 Hours of Fuji, winning five of the first seven races in the season including five races with both team cars on the privateer podium.
The LMGTE Pro Trophy was won by
AF Corse, who secured the championship at the
6 Hours of Bahrain. The team had finished every race of the season in either first or second place with either of their two
Ferraris.
^
abcdO'Leary, Jamie (13 February 2012).
"Franck Mailleux stays with Signatech-Nissan squad for World Endurance Championship". Autosport.
Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 February 2012. Having shared the car with Lucas Ordonez and Soheil Ayari in 2011, Mailleux will have two new co-drivers this year; Olivier Lombard, who took an LMP2 class win with the rival Greaves squad at last year's Le Mans 24 Hours, and Jordan Tresson, who moves up from the Blancpain Endurance Series.
^Mercier, Laurent (7 June 2012).
"Jan Charouz confirmé sur la ORECA 03/ADR-Delta" [Jan Charouz confirmed in the ORECA 03/ADR-Delta.]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from
the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
^"Maxime Jousse en LMP2 chez Gulf" [Maxime Jousse in LMP2 at Gulf]. AUTOhebdo (in French). Groupe Hommell. 23 February 2012. Archived from
the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
^Mercier, Laurent (14 March 2012).
"Jean-Denis Deletraz chez Gulf Racing Middle East" [Jean-Denis Deletraz at Gulf Racing Middle East.]. Endurance-Info (in French). Infomaniak Network SA. Archived from
the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
^Mercier, Laurent (25 October 2012).
"Shanghai: Jan Charouz rejoint Lotus LMP2" [Shanghai: Jan Charouz joins Lotus LMP2]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from
the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
^
abcdMercier, Laurent (19 December 2011).
"Pecom Racing prêt à relever le défi mondial" [Pecom Racing ready to meet the global challenge]. Endurance-Info (in French). Infomaniak Network SA. Archived from
the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
^Mercier, Laurent (6 September 2012).
"Bahrain: Nicolas Minassian rejoint le Pecom Racing" [Bahrain: Nicolias Minassian rejoins Pecom Racing]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from
the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
^
abcMercier, Laurent (9 February 2012).
"Felbermayr-Proton finalise ses équipages" [Felbermayr-Proton finalizes its crews.]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from
the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
^Mercier, Laurent (22 May 2012).
"Niki Cadei dernier homme chez AF Corse au Mans" [Niki Cadei last man for AF Corse at Le Mans]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from
the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2012.