Next season's Le Mans Series will again feature five races, as a a second-tier adjunct to the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will include the 24 Hours of Le Mans itself.
The season will kick off at Paul Ricard on April 1, following an official two-day test a month earlier. All the races will be six-hour events. Donington Park will host Britain's round of the Le Mans Series next year, taking over Silverstone's spot as the championship's British round. (The Silverstone event will become a WRC round next year.)
As expected, LMP1 machines will not be permitted in the series, top billing instead going to the smaller LMP2 prototypes. The Formula Le Mans, GTE Pro and GTE Am categories have been retained, alongside the new GTC class.
Silverstone's six Hours has been a permanent fixture on the LMS calendar since 2007, but is moving to form part of FIA World Endurance Championship next year instead.
2012 Le Mans Series calendar
March 30-April 1 Paul Ricard (F)
May 18-20 Zolder (B)
July 13-15 Donington Park (UK)
Sept. 7-9 Brno(Czech Republic)
Nov. 2-4 Algarve (P)