BMW M Team WRT claimed a historic one-two victory in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa-Francorchamps, as the No. 20 crew of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde converted a bold strategic call into the Bavarian marque’s maiden overall WEC triumph.
Starting only 10th and 11th on the Hypercar grid, BMW transformed its race during the opening pit cycle. Rast took on a short fuel load at the end of the first hour, which vaulted the No. 20 M Hybrid V8 into the lead and placed the locally based Team WRT squad on an alternative strategy.
At first, Cadillac appeared in control. Will Stevens had taken the lead from pole-sitter Loïc Duval into Les Combes on the opening lap and maintained command through the first stint. However, BMW’s off-sequence approach soon shifted the balance of the race.
Strategy swings race towards BMW
Once in clean air, Rast extended his advantage before handing over to van der Linde. The South African preserved BMW’s momentum through the middle phase, while Alpine and Cadillac led the regular-strategy challengers behind.
The race then turned further in BMW’s favour when a safety car period during the fourth hour effectively brought the field back onto the same sequence. Crucially, the No. 20 car retained the lead, allowing Frijns to control the final stages from the front.
Meanwhile, the sister No. 15 BMW played a decisive supporting role. Kevin Magnussen absorbed intense late pressure from Antonio Fuoco in the No. 50 Ferrari and Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota, preserving second place and completing BMW’s one-two finish.
Late drama shapes the podium fight
Ferrari remained a threat throughout, especially through the No. 50 crew of Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina. Molina had climbed from eighth to the net lead fight early in the race, but a stuck front-left wheel nut during the second hour cost the car around 20 seconds.
Even so, Fuoco recovered strongly in the closing phase and narrowly held off Kobayashi to secure third place. The No. 7 Toyota finished fifth on the road behind the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie, which took fourth after a strong run for Aston Martin THOR Team.
Elsewhere, the pole-sitting No. 94 Peugeot retired from contention after Malthe Jakobsen was caught up in a fourth-hour collision with the No. 79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG at Les Combes. The No. 38 Cadillac also suffered an early setback after contact with the No. 92 Porsche led to a puncture and lengthy repairs.
2026 FIA WEC: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Race: Hypercar Results
- BMW M Team WRT #20 – 151 laps – 6:01:17.036
- BMW M Team WRT #15 – 151 laps – +1.969
- Ferrari AF Corse #50 – 151 laps – +2.622
- Aston Martin THOR Team #007 – 151 laps – +5.004
- Toyota Racing #7 – 151 laps – +6.015
- AF Corse #83 – 151 laps – +11.552
- Peugeot TotalEnergies #93 – 151 laps – +12.861
- Genesis Magma Racing #17 – 151 laps – +29.882
- Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA #12 – 151 laps – +31.837
- Toyota Racing #8 – 151 laps – +32.165
- Alpine Endurance Team #36 – 151 laps – +32.376
- Alpine Endurance Team #35 – 149 laps – +2 laps
- Genesis Magma Racing #19 – 143 laps – +8 laps
- Aston Martin THOR Team #009 – 136 laps – +15 laps
- Ferrari AF Corse #51 – 129 laps – +22 laps
- Peugeot TotalEnergies #94 – 103 laps – +48 laps
- Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA #38 – 85 laps – +66 laps
Garage 59 turns Imola heartbreak into Spa victory
While BMW dominated the Hypercar headlines, Garage 59 delivered redemption in LMGT3. The No. 10 McLaren of Antares Au, Tom Fleming and Marvin Kirchhöfer climbed from 15th on the grid to claim class victory after a dramatic final phase.
At the start, pole-sitter Tom Van Rompuy led for Akkodis ASP Team in the No. 78 Lexus. However, the early stages quickly became volatile. Eric Powell briefly moved the No. 77 Proton Competition Ford into contention before spinning at Stavelot, triggering the first safety car period and dropping the car several laps behind.
As the race developed, the No. 21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari emerged as the leading force. Simon Mann spent much of the middle phase at the front, before Alessio Rovera took over for the final two hours with the No. 10 McLaren close behind.
Late penalty hands McLaren the win
The decisive moment arrived inside the final 20 minutes. The leading No. 21 Ferrari was handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe release at its last pit stop, which dropped it behind the charging Garage 59 McLaren after the chequered flag.
That promoted the No. 10 McLaren into first place and delivered a rewarding turnaround for the team after it had lost a likely victory at Imola through late mechanical failure. Heart of Racing Team secured second with the No. 27 Aston Martin, while The Bend Manthey completed the podium in third with the No. 92 Porsche.
The penalised No. 21 Ferrari fell to fourth, ahead of the sister No. 58 Garage 59 McLaren. The No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus finished sixth after a solid recovery drive, while the pole-sitting No. 78 Lexus retired late after earlier track-limits trouble and subsequent setbacks.
2026 FIA WEC: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Race: LMGT3 Results
- Garage 59 #10 – 139 laps – 6:01:45.434
- Heart of Racing Team #27 – 139 laps – +2.148
- The Bend Manthey #92 – 139 laps – +3.422
- VISTA AF Corse #21 – 139 laps – +4.063
- Garage 59 #58 – 139 laps – +10.401
- Akkodis ASP Team #87 – 139 laps – +12.259
- Manthey DK Engineering #91 – 139 laps – +13.968
- TF Sport #33 – 139 laps – +15.002
- Racing Team Turkey by TF #34 – 139 laps – +16.140
- Iron Lynx #61 – 139 laps – +16.335
- Team WRT #69 – 139 laps – +27.168
- Proton Competition #88 – 139 laps – +27.344
- Heart of Racing Team #23 – 139 laps – +28.508
- Team WRT #32 – 139 laps – +1:05.946
- VISTA AF Corse #54 – 138 laps – +1 lap
- Proton Competition #77 – 127 laps – +12 laps
- Iron Lynx #79 – 95 laps – +44 laps
- Akkodis ASP Team #78 – 118 laps – +21 laps
BMW makes a statement before Le Mans
In conclusion, Spa delivered a landmark afternoon for BMW and Team WRT. Strategic courage, strong pace and composed execution transformed a midfield start into a memorable one-two on home soil.
Garage 59 also left Belgium with a powerful response after its Imola disappointment, converting front-running pace into its first LMGT3 victory of the season.
Looking ahead, the championship now turns towards its centrepiece event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 10-14 June, with BMW carrying fresh momentum and several rivals left searching for answers.
