Team WRT celebrated success in both FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) categories after BMW claimed the overall and Hypercar victory and second place in LMGT3 at the 2026 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo.
Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor guided the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 to BMW’s second Hypercar victory of the 2026 season. Vanthoor resisted James Calado’s late challenge in the No. 51 Ferrari and crossed the line 2.254 seconds clear.
Meanwhile, Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson and Dan Harper earned their first LMGT3 podium of the campaign in the No. 69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde also recovered from the rear of the Hypercar grid to finish sixth in the No. 20 BMW.
Vosse praises “faultless race” for BMW M Team WRT at São Paulo
Team WRT converted its strong race pace into a victory despite starting behind the two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entries and Alpine.
Magnussen moved into contention during the opening hour before problems during Cadillac’s first pit stops handed BMW the advantage. Marciello then maintained the team’s challenge through the middle of the race, while Vanthoor completed the final stint and kept Ferrari behind.
The team also executed an effective LMGT3 strategy with the No. 69 BMW. McIntosh and Thompson kept the car among the leading runners before Harper passed the No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang during the final half-hour to secure second.
Team Principal Vincent Vosse praised every part of the operation after BMW placed cars on both podiums.
“We had a great weekend and a great race, here in Brazil we claimed our second FIA WEC win of the year. It was a faultless race from the drivers and the guys in the pit lane, and the car was strong. I think it looks good for the manufacturers’ championship, and also for the drivers’ championship.
However, the late incident involving Frijns and Antonio Fuoco added some uncertainty to the team’s celebrations. Frijns attacked the No. 50 Ferrari at the Senna Esses, and their contact sent Fuoco into a spin.
“Unfortunately, there was a contact with Robin [Frijns] at the end, but I think he gave enough space for the Ferrari, which didn’t give him the same space. So we’ll see what happens.
Despite that incident, the No. 20 BMW reached the finish in sixth and added valuable points to the team’s successful weekend. Vosse also commended the team’s performance in the LMGT3 category.
And to finish P2 in LMGT3 was a great achievement for the GT department, and I’m very happy with it!”
Vanthoor fights through illness to secure victory with BMW M Team WRT 16 2026 6 Hours of São Paulo
Vanthoor faced an unexpected personal challenge when he entered the No. 15 BMW for the decisive final phase. The Belgian immediately felt unwell and needed to control his breathing while also managing the car, traffic and pressure from the Ferrari behind. Nevertheless, he completed his stint without surrendering the lead.
Team WRT’s final pit stop placed Vanthoor ahead of Calado, and he maintained a small advantage through the closing laps. Dark clouds gathered above Interlagos, but the rain stayed away and allowed Vanthoor to complete the race on slick tyres.
After the chequered flag, he explained how he managed his physical condition while pursuing the victory.
He said, “I never really experienced a situation like at the beginning of my stint so far. I just got in and I didn’t feel well at all. I was feeling not the best and yeah, I had to take deep breaths to try and, you know, just go to the end.
“But yeah, like Lello as well said, super happy. I mean, BMW M Team WRT did a great job today. Strategy was amazing and the car has been phenomenal during the race. It‘s been a long time coming. We’ve been working really hard and to get this is so, so nice. So a big thanks to everybody working behind the scenes and in Munich as well!”
The result rewarded the No. 15 crew after several competitive performances earlier in the campaign failed to produce a victory. It also gave BMW two wins from the opening four races of the season.
Rast welcomes points after recovery from rear of grid
The No. 20 BMW faced a very different challenge after Sheldon van der Linde finished last in Hypercar Qualifying.
Rast, Frijns and Van der Linde therefore started 17th but steadily moved through the field during the race. They avoided the more serious problems that affected Toyota, Peugeot and Genesis before reaching the leading six. Frijns’ late battle with Fuoco offered an opportunity to move further forward, although their contact prevented either driver from challenging the No. 83 Ferrari for fifth.
Rast welcomed the recovery and the championship points but acknowledged that the No. 20 crew could not match the winning sister car’s performance.
“First of all, congratulations to the #15 crew on the victory! This is a tremendous achievement for all of us. We in the #20 car can also be satisfied with finishing sixth after starting from the very back of the grid. These are valuable points in both championships, and Robin and I are back at the top of the drivers’ standings.
“Nevertheless, we need to understand why we were unable to match the pace of our sister car. Although we gained many positions during the race, we still did not have the same level of performance as the #15.”
Team WRT must now compare both cars’ data to understand the performance difference. Nevertheless, sixth place limited the damage from a difficult Qualifying session and strengthened the crew’s championship position.
Harper credits strategy and improving BMW pace at 2026 6 Hours of São Paulo
Meanwhile, the No. 69 crew entered the Brazilian round 11th in the LMGT3 standings after a gearbox problem ended its 24 Hours of Le Mans. Furthermore, Interlagos did not appear to suit the BMW M4 GT3 EVO’s traditional strengths. However, cooler race-day conditions helped Team WRT extract more performance from the car as the six-hour contest developed.
McIntosh completed a disciplined opening phase before Thompson maintained the car’s position among the leading group. Harper then took over for the final push and moved past Sebastian Priaulx’s ageing Ford Mustang tyres to claim second.
Harper credited his team-mates and Team WRT after the crew converted an uncertain outlook into a breakthrough podium.
“Finishing second here in Brazil is a fantastic result. We did not expect this, as the track was not really suited to the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. I think the cooler conditions on race day played into our hands. The longer the race went on, the better our car became.
“Hats off to my teammates, who put us in an excellent position with their qualifying laps and their stints. The team did a perfect job and found the optimal strategy for us. Everyone deserves this podium finish.”
The result gave the No. 69 crew an important response to its Le Mans disappointment. It also completed a double podium for BMW machinery across Hypercar and LMGT3.
Farfus left frustrated despite sister car’s podium
Augusto Farfus entered his home event hoping to end a difficult run of FIA WEC results at Interlagos. The Brazilian showed encouraging pace by placing the No. 32 BMW third in LMGT3 during FP1. However, Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung could not maintain the sister car’s race pace and finished outside the leading group.
The result continued a challenging opening half of the season for the crew, whose best finish remains fifth at Imola. Farfus congratulated the No. 69 team but also called for a detailed review of the gap between the two BMWs.
“Congratulations to our sister car on finishing second. We made significant improvements to the car over the course of the weekend, and the No. 69 rewarded the team’s efforts with a podium finish. It is frustrating that we lost a minute to them during the race.
“We need to analyse carefully why that happened. We have had a few disappointing races recently, but we are firmly determined to achieve better results in the second half of the season. Congratulations to the Hypercar crew on the overall victory!”
The additional preparation that Team WRT completed before the event helped both BMWs improve during the weekend. However, the No. 32 crew must identify why it lost ground during the race before the championship resumes.
BMW M Team WRT leaves São Paulo with momentum across both sides of 2026 campaign
Team WRT departed São Paulo with success across both sides of its 2026 FIA WEC programme. The No. 15 crew converted BMW’s pace, strategy and pit work into an overall victory, while the No. 69 team overcame an unfavourable circuit profile to claim second in LMGT3. The No. 20 crew also recovered strongly from the rear of the grid.
However, the team still identified areas that require attention. The No. 20 drivers want to understand their pace deficit to the winners, while Farfus and the No. 32 crew must address the one-minute gap to their LMGT3 team-mates.
Even so, an overall victory, an LMGT3 podium and valuable championship points gave Team WRT one of its strongest weekends of the season as it entered the second half of the 2026 campaign.
