BMW CLAIMS ITS SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON IN WEC AT SÃO PAULO
BMW celebrated its second victory of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship by winning the 6 Hours of São Paulo at Interlagos. After triumphing at Spa earlier in the season, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 driven by Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen, and Dries Vanthoor delivered another impressive performance to beat Ferrari and Cadillac in a closely fought race.
The winning BMW followed a different strategy from its sister car and took control around the halfway point. Magnussen made a strong start before Marciello completed an outstanding middle stint that built the gap needed for the final hours. Vanthoor then managed the closing stages despite not being at full fitness, holding off the chasing Ferrari as light fog appeared over the circuit during the final minutes.
Ferrari secured second place with the #51 499P of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Antonio Giovinazzi after an excellent strategic gamble. The team switched to an alternative pit strategy midway through the race, allowing the car to avoid traffic and move ahead of several rivals. Despite a small mistake leaving the pits and minor contact during the race, Ferrari crossed the line just 2.254 seconds behind the winning BMW.
Cadillac JOTA completed the podium with the #12 car of Will Stevens and Norman Nato after leading the opening part of the race. However, mistakes and penalties prevented the team from converting its strong qualifying performance into victory. The sister #38 Cadillac finished fourth.
The second BMW, the #20 shared by Robin Frijns, Sheldon van der Linde, and René Rast, looked capable of fighting for the podium before dropping to sixth after late-race contact with the #50 Ferrari. The incident spun Antonio Fuoco’s Ferrari, costing both cars valuable time. The #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Philip Hanson, Yifei Ye, and Robert Kubica benefited from the incident to finish fifth.
The #50 Ferrari eventually finished eighth after serving penalties during the race. Aston Martin claimed seventh and ninth places but never challenged for the podium.
Alpine suffered a frustrating afternoon despite showing strong pace. The #35 crew tried an alternative strategy but dropped to tenth after its final pit stop, while the #36 lost any chance of a strong result after a front-left puncture shortly after its fourth stop forced an extra visit to the pits, leaving it eleventh.
Genesis showed promising speed during the opening stages before penalties dropped both cars down the order. Peugeot also struggled throughout the race, while Toyota endured one of its toughest weekends of the season. The #7 Toyota finished twelfth after lacking the pace to fight near the front, while the #8 lost several laps after suspension damage caused by contact and finished last.
In the LMGT3 class, TF Sport claimed victory with the #34 Corvette driven by Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluç, and Peter Dempsey. A different pit strategy allowed the Corvette to build a comfortable advantage during the final third of the race before Eastwood controlled the closing laps.
BMW WRT finished second with the #69 BMW after another strong recovery drive, while the battle for third produced one of the best fights of the race. The #92 Manthey Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Yasser Shahin held on to complete the podium after a fierce battle with the sister Porsche and the #88 Ford Mustang of Proton Competition, which eventually finished fifth.
The second Manthey Porsche finished fourth ahead of the #88 Ford. Iron Lynx secured sixth with its Mercedes, followed by the #87 Lexus. The championship-leading TF Sport Corvette finished eighth after defending from the #21 AF Corse Ferrari, which recovered to ninth after starting further back. The second Proton Ford completed the top ten after receiving a drive-through penalty for repeated track limits violations.
It was a disappointing race for McLaren Garage 59, with its two cars finishing only eleventh and sixteenth. Aston Martin also struggled, ending the race in thirteenth and eighteenth, while the #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes lost ground because of penalties and incidents. AF Corse’s #54 Ferrari endured another difficult event and finished seventeenth.
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