BMW takes commanding win at the 2026 6 Hours of São Paulo
BMW won its second race in the last three World Endurance Championship events
For the second time this season, BMW is victorious, having won the World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.
Having played the role of the dutiful number two in Spa, the No.15 car of Dries Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen, and Raffaele Marciello took victory for the first time this season at the Interlagos circuit.
A successful wheel-to-wheel dice with the No.36 Alpine in the early stages of the race proved decisive. BMW’s metronomic form meant the team was a constant threat throughout and eventually took victory by just over two seconds.
BMW took the win through pace and strategy. Image: DPPI / WEC
After the team’s troubles in practice and qualifying, second on race day will likely be considered a commendable recovery drive by Ferrari.
The No.51 car of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi steadily made up for their qualifying woes to take second, despite a wad of tape obscuring their front left headlamp for the latter half of the race. Third went to the No.12 Cadillac of Will Stevens and Norman Nato.
Despite setting the pace for much of the weekend, a slow pit stop and subsequent traffic hindered the team’s progress. Jack Aitken in the No.38 Cadillac took fourth to cap off a disappointing weekend for the American-British outfit.
Having started only 10th, the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari crew completed a valiant recovery drive to fifth ahead of the No.20 BMW of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde.
Despite not quite living up to the team’s early promise in qualifying, the No.007 Aston Martin took seventh, reinforcing the team’s insistence that it is a consistent points-scoring entity. The No.50 Ferrari finished eighth after encountering its fair share of traffic during the race.
The No.009 Aston Martin was finally able to get on the scoresheet with ninth ahead of the No.35 Alpine. Despite being a model of consistency all weekend and opting for an offset fuel strategy in the race, the decision to bank on a safety car did not pay dividends for Alpine.
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The leading No.35 car ended up a disappointing tenth, ahead of the sister No.36 entrant. In contrast to its Le Mans triumph, the No.7 Toyota could only manage 12th ahead of the No.19 and 17 Genesis, neither of which could capitalise on their one lap pace and ended the race 13th and 15th respectively.
Despite the lack of points, promising qualifying form and solid reliability mean Genesis Magma Racing have plenty of positives to take from this weekend. As was the case in Le Mans, Peugeot was a largely anonymous entry in São Paulo.
The two cars finished 14th and 16th respectively, having never come close to challenging the front runners. After an early skirmish and further mechanical issues, the No.8 Toyota’s race was reduced to a veritable test session. Sebastien Buemi took the flag last of the classified runners, 12 laps off the lead.
Racing Team Turkey victorious in LMGT3
In LMGT3, there were incidents aplenty, Lexus, Ford, Mercedes and Chevrolet and BMW were involved in a thrilling five-way fight for the lead. The two Proton Competition Mustangs collided at turn one, turn two, 90 minutes in.
Corvette, TF Sport and Racing Team Turkey took LMGT3 honours. Image: DPPI / WEC
The two eventually finished fifth and tenth, respectively, well behind the triumphant No.34 Corvette, which found a fresh burst of pace in the colder evening conditions. Having set the pace throughout free practice and qualifying, Lexus and Mercedes will likely be disappointed with their performances in the race.
Having previously prevailed at the somewhat attritional 6 Hours of Spa, BMW has underlined its position as a bona fide championship contender.
For the second time this season, BMW is victorious, having won the World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.
Having played the role of the dutiful number two in Spa, the No.15 car of Dries Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen, and Raffaele Marciello took victory for the first time this season at the Interlagos circuit.
A successful wheel-to-wheel dice with the No.36 Alpine in the early stages of the race proved decisive. BMW’s metronomic form meant the team was a constant threat throughout and eventually took victory by just over two seconds.
After the team’s troubles in practice and qualifying, second on race day will likely be considered a commendable recovery drive by Ferrari.
The No.51 car of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi steadily made up for their qualifying woes to take second, despite a wad of tape obscuring their front left headlamp for the latter half of the race. Third went to the No.12 Cadillac of Will Stevens and Norman Nato.
Despite setting the pace for much of the weekend, a slow pit stop and subsequent traffic hindered the team’s progress. Jack Aitken in the No.38 Cadillac took fourth to cap off a disappointing weekend for the American-British outfit.
Having started only 10th, the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari crew completed a valiant recovery drive to fifth ahead of the No.20 BMW of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde.
Despite not quite living up to the team’s early promise in qualifying, the No.007 Aston Martin took seventh, reinforcing the team’s insistence that it is a consistent points-scoring entity. The No.50 Ferrari finished eighth after encountering its fair share of traffic during the race.
The No.009 Aston Martin was finally able to get on the scoresheet with ninth ahead of the No.35 Alpine. Despite being a model of consistency all weekend and opting for an offset fuel strategy in the race, the decision to bank on a safety car did not pay dividends for Alpine.
Sign up for The Pit Stop Endurance
Incredible stories from across the world of endurance racing
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The leading No.35 car ended up a disappointing tenth, ahead of the sister No.36 entrant. In contrast to its Le Mans triumph, the No.7 Toyota could only manage 12th ahead of the No.19 and 17 Genesis, neither of which could capitalise on their one lap pace and ended the race 13th and 15th respectively.
Despite the lack of points, promising qualifying form and solid reliability mean Genesis Magma Racing have plenty of positives to take from this weekend. As was the case in Le Mans, Peugeot was a largely anonymous entry in São Paulo.
The two cars finished 14th and 16th respectively, having never come close to challenging the front runners. After an early skirmish and further mechanical issues, the No.8 Toyota’s race was reduced to a veritable test session. Sebastien Buemi took the flag last of the classified runners, 12 laps off the lead.
Racing Team Turkey victorious in LMGT3
In LMGT3, there were incidents aplenty, Lexus, Ford, Mercedes and Chevrolet and BMW were involved in a thrilling five-way fight for the lead. The two Proton Competition Mustangs collided at turn one, turn two, 90 minutes in.
The two eventually finished fifth and tenth, respectively, well behind the triumphant No.34 Corvette, which found a fresh burst of pace in the colder evening conditions. Having set the pace throughout free practice and qualifying, Lexus and Mercedes will likely be disappointed with their performances in the race.
Having previously prevailed at the somewhat attritional 6 Hours of Spa, BMW has underlined its position as a bona fide championship contender.
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