Will Stevens and Kobe Pauwels celebrated standout Hyperpole performances after securing the two class pole positions for the 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC) Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo.
Stevens delivered his quickest lap at the end of the Hypercar shootout to lead a Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA front-row lockout. The British driver recorded a 1m23.041s in the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R and beat team-mate Jack Aitken by only 0.048 seconds.
Meanwhile, Pauwels dominated LMGT3 Hyperpole during only his second FIA World Endurance Championship appearance. The 21-year-old placed the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage on pole by 0.199 seconds with a 1m33.350s.
Stevens times final Hyperpole lap to perfection
Aitken had occupied the top of the Hypercar classification before Stevens produced his decisive lap during the closing moments of the 10-minute session.
Stevens improved as Hyperpole progressed and found greater confidence on each attempt. He then combined his quickest sectors on his final lap to secure his first FIA WEC pole position.
The result also gave Cadillac the two fastest Hyperpole times at Interlagos for the second successive year. Stevens credited the team for providing a competitive car despite a disrupted preparation across the three Free Practice sessions.
“It was obviously a great qualifying for us,” acknowledged Stevens, while speaking to FIAWEC.com. “It wasn’t easy, but we made it happen! Big thanks to the team for giving us the package to go out there and perform. This is a really tricky track to piece everything together, but the feeling got better with each lap, so I knew the last one would be the time to go for it. We didn’t have massively clean practice sessions to prepare, so I was super-happy to pull it out of the bag at the end.
“I think it’s going to be a great race. Honestly, I really believe it’s very close in Hypercar between a lot of manufacturers, which is great, and it’s super-cool to be in such a close fight. Kudos to the whole team – we’ve worked really well and I’m very proud to be part of this project. We’ve still got far to go, but hopefully tomorrow we can get another win here.”
Cadillac targets another victory in Brazil
Cadillac’s front-row lockout strengthened its hopes of repeating its previous success at Interlagos. However, the narrow Hyperpole margins underlined the challenge that Stevens and Aitken will face during the six-hour race.
Victor Martins placed the No. 36 Alpine only 0.067 seconds behind Stevens, while Dries Vanthoor took fourth for BMW within one tenth of the pole time. Alpine, Genesis, Ferrari, Peugeot and Aston Martin also secured positions inside the Hyperpole top 10.
Therefore, Cadillac cannot rely solely on its qualifying advantage. The team must combine its outright pace with tyre management, reliable pit work and effective strategy as traffic develops around the short Interlagos lap.
Nevertheless, Stevens enters the race with confidence after Cadillac delivered its third successive front-row start of the season. He will share the No. 12 entry with Norman Nato as the pair attempts to end the manufacturer’s podium drought and secure another victory in São Paulo.
Pauwels exceeds expectations on Hyperpole debut
While Stevens used his FIA WEC experience to snatch Hypercar pole, Pauwels achieved LMGT3 honours during his first appearance in the championship’s decisive qualifying shootout.
Pauwels joined Gray Newell and Jonny Adam in the No. 23 Aston Martin for the São Paulo round. None of the three drivers had competed at Interlagos before the weekend’s opening practice session.
However, Newell safely guided the car through the Bronze-driver Qualifying phase before handing driving duties to Pauwels. The Belgian then produced two laps fast enough to secure pole and established a new LMGT3 benchmark around the circuit.
Pauwels admitted that the team expected to challenge near the front after completing a promising qualifying simulation during FP2. Even so, the size of his advantage surprised him.
“Our pace was pretty strong when we did our qualifying simulation in FP2, so we knew if we got through to Hyperpole, we would be competitive,” reflected 21-year-old Pauwels while speaking to FIAWEC.com, who like team-mates Newell and Jonny Adam, had never driven at Interlagos prior to Friday’s Free Practice sessions. “But to be this competitive and on pole by almost two tenths-of-a-second, I didn’t expect that.
“The team gave me such a mega car that was an absolute pleasure to drive, as well as a clear indication of when the tyres would be at their peak. I knew they would be at their best on my second ‘push’ lap, and I nailed every corner – each one felt like perfection. Obviously there’s still a long race to go tomorrow, but I’m super-happy with this outcome for my first time in Hyperpole.”
Tyre timing helps Pauwels secure LMGT3 pole
Heart of Racing Team gave Pauwels clear guidance about when the tyres would deliver their strongest performance. He used that information to attack on his second push lap and completed a clean tour without sacrificing time through any corner.
His 1m33.350s placed him 0.199 seconds ahead of Lin Hodenius in the No. 79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG. Clemens Schmid followed in third for Akkodis ASP Team, while Parker Thompson and Ben Tuck completed the top five for Team WRT and Proton Competition.
Pauwels’ performance also continued Aston Martin’s recent LMGT3 qualifying success. Eduardo Barrichello secured pole for the marque at São Paulo one year earlier, while Pauwels delivered another class pole despite replacing the Brazilian for this year’s event.
However, Pauwels must now turn his attention towards a much longer challenge. Heart of Racing Team will need all three drivers to execute clean stints as the LMGT3 field manages traffic, tyre degradation and changing track conditions throughout the race.
Pole winners prepare for close São Paulo contests
Stevens and Pauwels reached pole through different routes, but both drivers relied on confidence, precise tyre preparation and near-perfect final attempts.
Cadillac faces a tightly grouped Hypercar field after four manufacturers finished within one tenth of Stevens. Meanwhile, Aston Martin must defend its LMGT3 advantage against a field that placed five different manufacturers inside the first five positions.
Consequently, neither pole guarantees control of Sunday’s race. However, Stevens and Pauwels gave their respective teams the strongest possible starting positions and demonstrated the pace required to fight for class victories at Interlagos.
