The Nurburgring undoubtedly has a place on the World Endurance Championship calendar for historic reasons alone. The 'Ring was part of the old world sportscar series through nearly all of its 40-year existence, but the congratulatory mood among the WEC bosses on the announcement of an August 30 date for the German track next year was surely misplaced.
Sure, it reduced the ridiculous three-month gap between the two legs of the championship that has blighted this year's series after Interlagos was put back from late August to the end of the season. But WEC boss Gerard Neveu and series promoter the Automobile Club de l'Ouest needed to go further.
A gap of three months, two months or perhaps even one month after the most important race on the calendar at Le Mans is too long. The WEC needs to build on the momentum of the 24 Hours rather than letting it ebb away over a lengthy summer break.