BMW Secures Historic WEC Spa 2026 Hypercar Victory

The second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship delivered spectacular racing at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps under sunny and warm conditions. A record crowd of 101,606 spectators witnessed a historic day as BMW claimed its first Hypercar victory in the championship era, securing an impressive one two finish at the home event of Team WRT.

The race began dramatically when Will Stevens launched his Cadillac past pole sitter Loïc Duval in the Peugeot at the start, completing the opening lap in the lead. One of the standout performances in the early stages came from Kevin Magnussen, who charged from tenth to fifth in the opening laps aboard the BMW Hypercar.

The first Full Course Yellow was deployed after just fifteen minutes when the Proton Competition Ford Mustang became stranded in the gravel. Before the incident, the car had been battling the Akkodis ASP Team Lexus for the LMGT3 lead and had started to build a small advantage. After the opening hour, Cadillac led ahead of Alpine and Peugeot, but the first round of pit stops dramatically reshuffled the order. The number 20 BMW emerged in front of Toyota and Cadillac, while the AF Corse Vista Ferrari moved into the LMGT3 lead.

Technical issues already began to affect several contenders. Both Genesis and Cadillac required early garage visits before returning to the race. Further drama unfolded when Antonio Giovinazzi collided with Magnussen and nearly eliminated Paul di Resta in the Peugeot. By the end of the second hour, BMW and Team WRT had extended their advantage to fifteen seconds at the front of the field.

At the halfway mark, BMW continued to lead ahead of Toyota and Alpine, while Genesis suffered a setback when the number 19 car stopped on track with mechanical problems. Behind the leaders, a fierce battle developed for fourth position involving the number 20 BMW, the number 36 Alpine, the number 7 Toyota, and the number 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie.

The race intensified further in the closing hours. Two hours from the finish, Malthe Jakobsen collided with the number 79 Iron Lynx car at pit exit, triggering another Full Course Yellow. One hour later, Ferrari lost its number 51 Hypercar after contact at La Source involving the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. With thirty minutes remaining, the number 009 Aston Martin suffered a high speed accident on the Kemmel Straight. Fortunately, a major impact was avoided, although the car was forced to retire.

The LMGT3 battle delivered a thrilling finale as the AF Corse Ferrari fought intensely with the Garage 59 McLaren driven by Marvin Kirchhöfer. However, a late five second penalty for an unsafe release dropped the Ferrari from victory contention to fourth place, handing the class win to Garage 59. Heart of Racing finished second, while Manthey Racing secured third for Porsche. Both Iron Lynx and Akkodis ASP lost one LMGT3 entry before the finish.

In Hypercar, BMW completed a dream result with a historic one two finish and the manufacturer’s first victory under the current Hypercar regulations. Ferrari completed the podium with its remaining car, narrowly ahead of the impressive number 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie, which achieved the best result so far for Aston Martin and Heart of Racing in the WEC. Genesis also celebrated a milestone performance by finishing eighth and scoring points in only its second WEC appearance.

The 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps once again proved why it is one of the highlights of the endurance racing calendar. Packed grandstands, changing race strategies, intense battles, and historic achievements created an unforgettable race weekend and set the stage perfectly for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Photos – Silvio Husmann and Niklas Husmann