Start, World Endurance Championship, Losail International Circuit, 2024

The World Endurance Championship has called off its season-opening race in Qatar after the country was hit by missile strikes.

The 2026 season was due to begin at the Losail International Circuit on March 28th.

WEC said in a statement its Qatar race has been “postponed”, but did not indicate when it will go ahead. It now expects to begin its season with the Six Hours of Imola in Italy on April 19th, which was originally the second round of the championship.

Iran has aimed missile and drone strikes at Qatar and other Middle East countries in recent days. It follows strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel which began on Saturday.

The Qatar defence ministry said power plants and other energy facilities have been targeted. QatarEnergy has halted exports of liquefied natural gas from the country.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the sport’s governing body “will work closely with all involved to reschedule the race for later in the 2026 season.”

“The FIA continues to monitor developments across the region and our thoughts remain with all those affected by these recent events as we hope for calm, safety and a return to stability,” he added.

Pierre Fillon, the president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said: “First and foremost, I must stress that our primary thoughts are with the victims of this terrible conflict. At times like these, sporting interests are clearly secondary, which is why a decision has been quickly taken that the event cannot proceed at the present time.”

Formula 1 is not due to visit Qatar until November. However Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which have also been targeted by Iran, are due to host F1 races on April 12th and 19th respectively.

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine