Thank You for a Great 2012 Season
The final round of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship took place in Shanghai and saw Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer crowned as World Driver’s Champions. After eight races in eight countries on four continents, the first season of the FIA WEC has attracted over 800,000 spectators at the circuits and many, many more watching from home on the TV or the live streaming.
Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO, and Gerard Neveu, CEO of the FIA WEC, said: “The first season of the FIA WEC has been hugely successful and has provided us with a firm foundation on which to build and improve for the 2013 season and beyond. We’d like to congratulate all our champions – Ferrari, Rebellion Racing, Starworks Motorsports, AF Corse, Larbre Competition and of course our new World Champions Audi and Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer.
“Of course it is not just about the winners, it is about all the teams, drivers and the mechanics who participated in the 2012 championship and we would like to thank each and everyone of them for providing such a great spectacle and entertainment throughout the year.
“Special thanks go to our partners, Audi, Rolex and Michelin, for their continuing support and participation in this new world championship. We also would like to thank and congratulate the promoters at each of the rounds who provided us with some fantastic facilities and support and some of the best circuits in the world. A great thanks to everyone at Spa-Francorchamps, Sebring International Raceway, Le Mans, Silverstone, Interlagos, Bahrain International Circuit, Fuji International Speedway and Shanghai International Circuit. We also worked with some of the most famous names in motorsport, with Emerson Fittipaldi promoting the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo and we are already working with him for an even bigger event in Brazil in 2013. I would also like to thank Sheik Salman al Khalifa for the warm welcome in Bahrain, Tsutsumi San for the amazing event in Fuji and our friends at the American Le Mans Series, Don Panoz and Scott Atherton, for the great opening race at Sebring last March and we are looking forward to working with them for our new event at Austin in Texas next September.
“Thanks go to all our suppliers and support staff who also are an important part of the FIAWEC, as are all the international media who have followed the first year of the championship with interest and this has been reflected in the number of articles we have seen since we announced the WEC in 2011 at Le Mans. We must also include the many thousands of fans who travelled to the events and the millions who watched the races around the world on TV and on the internet.
“The World Endurance Championship is a partnership between the ACO and the FIA and we would like to thank all of the officials from both sides, who demonstrated a great team spirit throughout the season. There is also the work of the FIA World Endurance Commission headed by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones and thank Sir Lindsay for his enthusiasm and tireless work.
“And finally we would like to specially thank the FIA President Jean Todt who has been instrumental in bringing the World Endurance Championship into reality. As the President of the ACO it is a pleasure to work alongside him and we will both continue to champion and support endurance racing around the world.
“Thank you to everyone for their support in 2012 and we look forward to seeing you at Silverstone on the 14th April 2013.”
Jeff Carter