Toyota returned to the summit of endurance racing in 2026 after defeating BMW and Cadillac in a gripping 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Kamui Kobayashi brought the No. 7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid home just 10.913 seconds ahead of Robin Frijns in the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8. The result produced the closest outright finish in FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) history.
Meanwhile, the No. 8 Toyota secured third place, while the No. 12 Cadillac completed a leading quartet that crossed the line within 32 seconds. The relentless contest rewarded a record-breaking crowd of 350,105 spectators with one of the most competitive races La Sarthe has staged in recent years.
Toyota celebrates an emotional return to victory
Toyota entered the race from a difficult starting position, with its two Hypercars occupying 14th and 15th places on the grid. However, the team immediately changed the complexion of the contest through an aggressive strategic decision.
Both cars stopped after only nine laps and moved away from the leading group’s pit cycle. That move placed them in clean air and allowed them to take shorter energy fills during later stops. Consequently, Toyota climbed rapidly through the 18-car Hypercar field and joined BMW and Cadillac at the front.
The victory gave Toyota its sixth Le Mans triumph and its first since 2022. It also marked the manufacturer’s 51st FIA WEC win from 102 starts, restoring its remarkable 50 per cent victory rate.
Mike Conway struggled to contain his emotions after sharing the winning car with Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries.
“It’s hard to put into words,” reflected Conway, as reported by FIAWEC. “To win here is always incredible because it’s such a tough race, and our opposition was super-tough as well. There were moments where every competitor was strong. I think even until the last two or three hours, we didn’t really know what was going to happen.
“Robin [Frijns] made it super-tense for the last 30 minutes and I think Nyck [de Vries] was closing his eyes for the last hour and hiding. I was pacing around in the drivers’ room and had about 15 toilet breaks in the last 30 minutes! But we got through it, we did the job and we’re here. It was an amazing effort, so huge credit to everybody involved.”
No. 8 Toyota sets the early pace
Although the No. 7 ultimately claimed victory, the No. 8 Toyota initially appeared more likely to deliver the manufacturer’s latest Le Mans success.
Brendon Hartley, Ryō Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi built on their victory at Imola earlier in the season and produced a commanding performance through the opening stages. They overhauled the No. 12 Cadillac and No. 20 BMW before establishing themselves as leading contenders.
However, several setbacks disrupted their progress. Hirakawa received a drive-through penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement shortly after the halfway point. The crew also made multiple stops to repair the left-front brake drum mount after sunrise.
Those delays shifted the advantage towards the sister Toyota. Nevertheless, Hartley later passed Norman Nato’s Cadillac after the race resumed under green conditions, while de Vries subsequently moved ahead of Hartley when the New Zealander began to struggle.
Buemi then faced a demanding final stint on triple-stinted Michelin tyres. Frijns exploited that weakness and swept around the outside of the Toyota through the Porsche Curves with 47 minutes remaining, taking second place and preventing a Toyota one-two finish.
Safety Car creates a four-way showdown
The No. 7 Toyota had already survived significant adversity before it returned to the victory fight. A slow puncture during the fourth hour cost the car valuable time, while a driveshaft sensor problem pushed Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries further down the order. Even so, they remained within striking distance as the race moved towards its decisive phase.
Then, with just under six hours remaining, Ayhancan Güven crashed the No. 91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo heavily. Race control deployed the second safety car while officials repaired the damaged barrier.
That intervention erased the No. 20 BMW’s 30-second lead over Nato and its 45-second advantage over Kobayashi. As a result, Toyota, BMW and Cadillac began the final phase with little separating them.
Kobayashi delivered the raw speed that Toyota required, while de Vries completed several decisive overtakes. In particular, the Dutchman launched a bold move on Nato at Mulsanne Corner as the leading contenders fought for track position.
Furthermore, a late Full Course Yellow arrived at an advantageous moment for the No. 7 crew. Toyota capitalised on the opportunity and positioned Kobayashi for the final sprint to the chequered flag.
BMW pushes Toyota to the limit
BMW produced its strongest overall Le Mans performance since its famous victory in 1999.
René Rast launched the No. 20 car into contention through an aggressive opening stint. Thereafter, Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde maintained the pressure as BMW exchanged the lead with Toyota and the two Hertz Team JOTA Cadillacs.
Frijns held a substantial advantage before the second safety car, but the intervention removed the cushion that BMW had carefully built. Even so, the Dutchman refused to concede.
After passing Buemi, Frijns completed an energy-only final stop two laps later. Kobayashi followed the same strategy, while Toyota gave Buemi fuel and four fresh tyres. Frijns then chased the leading Toyota throughout the closing minutes, but Kobayashi managed the gap and crossed the line 10.913 seconds ahead.
Although BMW narrowly missed victory, the runner-up result delivered the marque’s first overall Le Mans podium in 27 years. It also confirmed the pace that had carried the No. 20 crew to victory at Spa-Francorchamps one month earlier.
Cadillac misses a historic opportunity
Cadillac also possessed the speed to challenge for its first overall Le Mans victory, but penalties and untimely stops weakened its campaign.
Nato, Will Stevens and Louis Delétraz drove the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R into the heart of the leading battle. However, the team received a drive-through penalty for a Slow Zone infringement on Sunday morning. Two emergency pit stops then added further complications.
Stevens stopped around ten minutes after Toyota and BMW completed their final visits to the pits. He rejoined in fourth place and remained close enough to finish within the leading group, but Cadillac could not recover the lost ground.
The sister No. 38 Cadillac also looked capable of challenging for victory. Hyperpole winner Jack Aitken shared the car with Sébastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber, and the trio remained firmly in contention until a power-steering problem struck shortly after the halfway point.
The repair cost seven laps, and the team later retired the car.
Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 101 Cadillac also lost a potential top-five finish after receiving four drive-through penalties for speeding under Full Course Yellow or Slow Zone conditions. Filipe Albuquerque collected three of those penalties during his morning stint, leaving the car one lap down before the second safety car. Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor eventually finished ninth.
Ferrari’s winning run comes to an end
Ferrari arrived at Le Mans seeking a fourth consecutive victory, but its three 499P Hypercars never mounted a sustained challenge at the front.
The No. 51 entry of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi led the marque’s effort in fifth place. Pier Guidi received a drive-through penalty during the fourth hour after colliding with Jonas Reid’s No. 9 Proton Competition Oreca at the Dunlop Curve, although the Ferrari avoided significant damage.
The satellite AF Corse entry also endured a frustrating conclusion. Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson started the final hour in fifth but slipped to seventh before the finish.
Meanwhile, electrical problems ended the No. 50 Ferrari’s race during the second safety-car period. Miguel Molina stopped on the circuit after the car had already lost eight laps because of a fire-extinguisher issue during Nicklas Nielsen’s stint.
Alpine, Aston Martin and Genesis complete tough 24 Hours of Le Mans race
The No. 35 Alpine A424 claimed sixth place through Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi and António Félix da Costa. The result came during Alpine’s planned final Le Mans appearance, while the sister No. 36 car lost nearly two laps during a late garage visit.
Aston Martin secured eighth with the No. 007 Valkyrie of Tom Gamble, Harry Tincknell and Ross Gunn. However, a late wishbone failure dropped the No. 009 car of Alex Riberas and his teammates to 14th.
Genesis brought one of its GMR-001 Hypercars to the finish despite vibrations, stoppages and repeated system resets. Mathieu Jaminet, Dani Juncadella and Paul-Loup Chatin placed 13th in the No. 19 car.
The No. 17 Genesis failed to finish after Mathys Jaubert suffered a right-front suspension failure with seven-and-a-half hours remaining.
Elsewhere, Peugeot finished 11th and 12th, while the No. 15 BMW retired with only 30 minutes left after earlier puncture damage and electrical trouble.
Toyota takes Le Mans momentum to São Paulo
Toyota’s Le Mans victory transformed both championship battles. The result lifted the Japanese manufacturer to the top of the Manufacturers’ standings, while Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries also moved into the lead of the Drivers’ championship.
Kobayashi and Conway each celebrated a second Le Mans victory, while de Vries earned his first success at La Sarthe on his third attempt in the top category.
Above all, Toyota combined strategy, resilience and speed to overcome a fiercely competitive field. BMW remained close until the final lap, Cadillac repeatedly threatened the leaders and the No. 8 Toyota pushed its sister car throughout the closing stages.
The FIA WEC season will now move to Brazil for the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo from 10 to 12 July. Toyota will arrive there with renewed authority after reclaiming endurance racing’s greatest prize.
