Augusto Farfus hopes to reverse his difficult home record when he contests the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 6 Hours of São Paulo with Team WRT.
The 42-year-old Brazilian has started two FIA WEC races at Interlagos but has scored only one point at the circuit. He finished 10th in 2024 before another disappointing result prevented him from fighting near the front one year later.
Farfus arrived at the fourth round of the 2026 campaign sitting 13th in the LMGT3 standings alongside Sean Gelael and Darren Leung. The No. 32 Team WRT crew recorded its best result of the season with fifth place at Imola but has struggled to maintain that form through the following rounds.
However, the team started its latest São Paulo weekend positively. Farfus set the third-fastest LMGT3 time during FP1 in a BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo carrying a Brazilian-inspired livery.
Farfus describes Interlagos as his second-most special race
Augusto Farfus grew up in Curitiba, approximately 400 kilometres from São Paulo, and considers Interlagos his home circuit on the FIA WEC calendar. The presence of Brazilian supporters, friends and familiar figures gives the event additional significance for the BMW factory driver.
Only the 24 Hours of Le Mans ranks above São Paulo in his personal assessment of the championship’s events. Nevertheless, Farfus knows that the team must convert the attention surrounding its special livery into a competitive result.
“For me, competing in front of my home fans at Interlagos is unique and the second-most special race of the year, after Le Mans,” he commented to FIAWEC.com. “It’s an honour to be here as a Brazilian, with a nice Brazilian livery on the car, but we don’t get any points or a trophy for that! We need to try to recover from what has been not such an easy start to the season, to maximise our chances in the championship.
“I love coming to Interlagos because I see my friends and a lot of old faces, and seeing so many Brazilian flags around the circuit is always a good feeling, but unfortunately, the last two years here haven’t been as nice on-track as off-track – we’ve always had slightly bitter results.
“We hope this weekend we can turn that around. We’ve put in a big effort and have done a lot of preparation – we came here a month ago to test, and we even did a race in the local GT championship to try to get more mileage and understand how to make our M4 Evo faster – but it’s still too early to make any predictions for the race.”
Team WRT increases its Interlagos preparation
Team WRT completed additional work before the FIA WEC returned to Brazil as it attempted to address the BMW’s previous difficulties around Interlagos.
The circuit’s combination of elevation changes, long-radius corners and traction zones has not traditionally suited the M4. Therefore, the team visited Interlagos for a test one month before the championship event and also entered a local GT race to gather further information.
That additional mileage allowed Farfus and the team to explore different setup directions while improving their understanding of the M4 LMGT3 Evo at the circuit. Team WRT then showed encouraging speed during FP1, when the No. 32 BMW finished behind only the leading Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG and Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette.
However, the crew dropped down the order during FP2. Farfus, Gelael and Leung still completed another 47 laps, which gave the engineers more data before Qualifying and the six-hour race.
Grid position carries additional importance at Interlagos
Farfus and Team WRT placed a strong emphasis on Qualifying because Interlagos offers limited straightforward overtaking opportunities.
The short lap creates heavy traffic as the Hypercars repeatedly catch the LMGT3 field. Meanwhile, the narrow middle sector can make passes difficult without cooperation from the car ahead.
A strong grid position can consequently reduce the time a driver loses in traffic during the opening stages. It can also help the crew avoid incidents as the 18-car LMGT3 field negotiates the first corners.
Nevertheless, Farfus recognises that endurance racing contains several elements outside a driver’s direct control. Safety cars, Full Course Yellows, mechanical reliability and traffic can all influence the final result, regardless of a crew’s outright pace.
Farfus focuses on delivering his best performance
Although Farfus wants to fight for victory in front of his home supporters, he measures success through more than the final position.
The Brazilian wants to complete the weekend knowing that he and Team WRT maximised every available opportunity. That approach allows him to judge his performance according to the circumstances rather than focus solely on a result that external factors could shape.
Even so, Farfus admitted that a first FIA WEC podium at Interlagos would carry considerable personal importance.
“It goes without saying that I want to be on the podium and I want to win, but there are always a lot of external factors outside of our control,” the BMW factory driver reflected. “When I come to the racetrack, I want to be able to go home feeling proud of what I’ve done. Sometimes, that’s good enough to be P1; sometimes, it’s good enough to be P10.
“If on Sunday night, I can leave with a smile on my face knowing I and the team did the best job we could, that would be like a victory. That’s how I approach every event, but of course, here in São Paulo, a podium finish would be something very special…”
Farfus seeks a turning point in São Paulo
A strong São Paulo result could revive the No. 32 crew’s championship campaign after a challenging opening three rounds.
Farfus, Gelael and Leung have already shown their potential through their fifth-place finish at Imola and their speed during the opening Interlagos practice session. However, they must now convert that pace into a complete performance across Qualifying and the race.
Team WRT’s extra preparation gives the crew greater knowledge of a circuit where the BMW has previously struggled. Meanwhile, the Brazilian livery and support from the local crowd add further significance to the weekend.
Farfus cannot control every factor that will shape the six-hour contest, but he can pursue the performance that has eluded him during his previous FIA WEC visits to Interlagos. A podium would finally match the warmth of his homecoming with the result he has long wanted in São Paulo.
