The FIA World Endurance Championship is all about cutting-edge technology, and evidently wants to stay on the leading edge of social trends, too. WEC chief executive Gerard Neveu announced this week that the series, which opens with next weekend's 6 Hours of Silverstone, would dispense with a widespread motorsports tradition – grid girls.

"From Silverstone next week, you will see that for any race we will do – no grid girls like in the past," Neveu said. "For me that is the past. The condition of women is a little bit different now."

IMSA and Formula 1, among many other series, continue to, er, "embrace" the concept of having female models – often scantily clad – on their grids to stand by cars with flags or placards displaying drivers' numbers, while IndyCar had the Tampa Buccaneers Cheerleaders on its grid for last weekend's St. Petersburg opener (LEFT).

Toyota WEC driver Anthony Davidson said he agreed with the WEC's decision.

"I talk about this with my wife quite a lot, and we both agree it's actually pretty backward," he told the Reuters news agency. "It's old school to have such a concept as grid girls. Surely the world's moved on? And motor racing should follow quite closely what the rest of the world's doing in that respect.

"I think that's a really nice touch, a modern touch as well, from the WEC to take that aspect of racing away. It is a bit sexist."

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