The home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been announced as a replacement for the Monza WEC round, alongside the confirmation of the return of Austin and Interlagos to the schedule.
Imola’s place on the calendar has been precipitated by the requirement to move the Italian round of the WEC from the July date Monza has occupied since 2021.
The shift is required to accommodate an extra race outside Europe as the series moves from seven races back to the eight rounds it had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monza was unable to host the WEC in April because the track will be undergoing scheduled works at that time.
Imola’s six-hour fixture fits into the calendar on 21 April between the Qatar season-opener in March, announced late last year, and the WEC's traditional Spa fixture, which moves back to the second weekend of May.
The Italian track is well known to Le Mans Endurance Management, the company wholly-owned by WEC promoter the Automobile Club de l’Ouest that runs the series.
Imola hosted a round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup that was the forerunner of the WEC in 2011 and was on the European Le Mans Series calendar in 2013-16.
It was scheduled to host an ELMS round in May of this year, but the race was cancelled as a result of ongoing building works in the paddock.
Source: Autosport