The 6 Hours of Mexico, the fifth round of the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC), takes place at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this coming weekend. It is the first time the event has featured on the WEC calendar.

The first time? Well, yes and no! If we are talking about the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in its current format, then yes. However, if we are referring to previous incarnations of the world endurance championship, then no, this is not a first because the world sportscar championship held a round at the Mexican circuit three times between 1989 and 1992. Sauber-Mercedes triumphed at the 1989 and 1990 races, first with the C9 driven by Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jochen Mass, victorious at Le Mans in the same car in 1989, then with the C11, again raced by Mass supported by a certain Michael Schumacher! Given the German’s F1 career and his seven world titles, we tend to forget his two major endurance victories – one in Mexico and one at the Autopolis in Japan, both with Sauber-Mercedes. The final top-flight endurance race held in Mexico in 1992 was won by Keke Rosberg, 1982 world Formula One champion, and Yannick Dalmas, four-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, at the wheel of the Peugeot 905.

 The Mexican circuit is named after brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodríguez. While their list of F1 achievements is certainly not as long as Schumacher’s, it is still worthy of note. In fact, Ricardo became the youngest driver to start an a F1 race (19 years 208 days) in 1961, a record that would only be broken in 2016 by Max Verstappen, son of Jos Verstappen (LM P2 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008), when he started from the front of the grid at Spa-Francorchamps aged just 18.

Ricardo Rodríguez looked destined for a glittering career but tragically lost his life at the age of 20 during the practice session for the 1962 F1 Grand Prix at his home circuit, which was immediately renamed in his honour. His brother Pedro (two Grand Prix wins to his name) was also killed while racing. He was aged 31 when he died at the Norisring circuit near Nuremberg, three years after his 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in a Ford GT40 with teammate Lucien Bianchi.

Next Saturday, 3 September at 13:30 local time (18:30 UTC), another pair of Mexican brothers, Ricardo and Roberto González, will feature on the grid of the 6 Hours of Mexico at the Rodríguez brothers circuit.

Entry list

Schedule

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