BMW secured an historic 1-2 at the 2026 World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with the No.20 car securing the win after a chaotic six hours.
The sister No.15 BMW was one of the race’s most prominent movers as Kevin Magnussen went from 10th to fifth in the first 15 minutes.
The former Formula 1 star’s trademark robust defence was one display during a particularly feisty exchange with the No.51 Ferrari at Les Combs.
A coming together with the No.51 Ferrari with less than three hours to go seemed to mark the end of the No.15’s efforts; however, a fortuitous safety car just over two hours from the finish aided the team’s efforts.
Having stopped for fuel earlier, the No.20 car was able to capitalise, while the No.15 car benefitted from an additional safety car called five hours in.
Then a heroic defence from Magnussen in the final 30 minutes enabled him to resist the advances of the No.50 Ferrari, the 007 Aston Martin and the No.7 Toyota to take second.
After qualifying a lowly 13th, the No.83 Ferrari completed a credible recovery drive to sixth, while the No.17 Genesis ran largely trouble-free and benefited from the chaos ahead to take both its and the team’s first points-scoring finish in the WEC with eighth.
Initially, the No.12 Cadillac looked like a contender for the outright win, passing the pole-sitting Peugeot for the lead on the opening lap.
However, a five-second penalty, coupled with the multiple late-race safety cars, laid waste to Cadillac’s chances, as the decision to fit the No.12 with soft tyres with less than an hour to go did not pay dividends.
Having qualified only 16th, the decision was made to pit No.8 Toyota after just 15 laps and opt for an offset strategy; ultimately, this did not pay off, and the team was forced to settle for 10th.
The No. 36 Alpine took 11th ahead of the sister car. The No.35 car’s good race pace and tyre wear meant it was a legitimate contender for the podium for much of the race, that was until Ferdinand Habsburg crashed out at the top of Radillon at the final safety car restart, relegating them to 12th.
The No.19 Genesis was hindered by reliability issues but took the chequered flag in 13th ahead of the 009 Aston Martin and No.15 Ferrari, which was unable to recover after its collision with the No.15 BMW at Les Combes.
A catalogue of degradation and gearbox issues scuppered the No.38 Cadillac’s hopes and led to its eventual retirement.
In contrast to yesterday, when the team secured its first pole since 1992, the No.94 Peugeot suffered a trying race.
After losing out to the No.12 Cadillac off the start and later falling behind the No.35 Alpine, Malthe Jakobsen was left with nowhere to go at Les Combes and collided with the spinning No.79 Mercedes. The collision caused significant damage to the front of the car and forced it out of the race.
Unexpected LMGT3 victory
In LMGT3, the No.10 McLaren claimed an unexpected win, having failed to make Hyperpole on Friday. And it did so without even finishing first on the road.
It was the No.21 AF Corse Ferrari that was the first LMGT3 car to cross the line, but a five-second penalty demoted the car to fourth at the end of the race, enabling Garage59 to secure its first ever WEC victory.
The No.27 Aston Martin took second ahead of the No.92 Porsche, which recovered from an early skirmish with the No.38 Cadillac to take third.
Elsewhere, the No.77 Mustang took an early lead only to spin into the gravel before Stavelot, the sister No.88 Mustang finished 12th in class ahead of the second No.23 Aston Martin.
This race marks the final dress rehearsal before Le Mans next month, where BMW will hope to capitalise on their strong showing here.
BMW secured an historic 1-2 at the 2026 World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with the No.20 car securing the win after a chaotic six hours.
The sister No.15 BMW was one of the race’s most prominent movers as Kevin Magnussen went from 10th to fifth in the first 15 minutes.
The former Formula 1 star’s trademark robust defence was one display during a particularly feisty exchange with the No.51 Ferrari at Les Combs.
A coming together with the No.51 Ferrari with less than three hours to go seemed to mark the end of the No.15’s efforts; however, a fortuitous safety car just over two hours from the finish aided the team’s efforts.
Having stopped for fuel earlier, the No.20 car was able to capitalise, while the No.15 car benefitted from an additional safety car called five hours in.
Then a heroic defence from Magnussen in the final 30 minutes enabled him to resist the advances of the No.50 Ferrari, the 007 Aston Martin and the No.7 Toyota to take second.
After qualifying a lowly 13th, the No.83 Ferrari completed a credible recovery drive to sixth, while the No.17 Genesis ran largely trouble-free and benefited from the chaos ahead to take both its and the team’s first points-scoring finish in the WEC with eighth.
Initially, the No.12 Cadillac looked like a contender for the outright win, passing the pole-sitting Peugeot for the lead on the opening lap.
However, a five-second penalty, coupled with the multiple late-race safety cars, laid waste to Cadillac’s chances, as the decision to fit the No.12 with soft tyres with less than an hour to go did not pay dividends.
Having qualified only 16th, the decision was made to pit No.8 Toyota after just 15 laps and opt for an offset strategy; ultimately, this did not pay off, and the team was forced to settle for 10th.
The No. 36 Alpine took 11th ahead of the sister car. The No.35 car’s good race pace and tyre wear meant it was a legitimate contender for the podium for much of the race, that was until Ferdinand Habsburg crashed out at the top of Radillon at the final safety car restart, relegating them to 12th.
The No.19 Genesis was hindered by reliability issues but took the chequered flag in 13th ahead of the 009 Aston Martin and No.15 Ferrari, which was unable to recover after its collision with the No.15 BMW at Les Combes.
A catalogue of degradation and gearbox issues scuppered the No.38 Cadillac’s hopes and led to its eventual retirement.
In contrast to yesterday, when the team secured its first pole since 1992, the No.94 Peugeot suffered a trying race.
After losing out to the No.12 Cadillac off the start and later falling behind the No.35 Alpine, Malthe Jakobsen was left with nowhere to go at Les Combes and collided with the spinning No.79 Mercedes. The collision caused significant damage to the front of the car and forced it out of the race.
Unexpected LMGT3 victory
In LMGT3, the No.10 McLaren claimed an unexpected win, having failed to make Hyperpole on Friday. And it did so without even finishing first on the road.
It was the No.21 AF Corse Ferrari that was the first LMGT3 car to cross the line, but a five-second penalty demoted the car to fourth at the end of the race, enabling Garage59 to secure its first ever WEC victory.
The No.27 Aston Martin took second ahead of the No.92 Porsche, which recovered from an early skirmish with the No.38 Cadillac to take third.
Elsewhere, the No.77 Mustang took an early lead only to spin into the gravel before Stavelot, the sister No.88 Mustang finished 12th in class ahead of the second No.23 Aston Martin.
This race marks the final dress rehearsal before Le Mans next month, where BMW will hope to capitalise on their strong showing here.
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