Will Stevens and the two Cadillac V‑Series.Rs of Hertz Team JOTA controlled the start of the 6 Hours of São Paulo with the same authority they showed in Saturday's qualifying, when they occupied the front row and put four cars within a tenth of a second. Stevens opened a five‑second gap over Kevin Magnussen in the BMW 15 during the early laps, and the race seemed headed for a repeat of 2025, but the first round of pit stops triggered a chain of errors that ended with Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor in the top three positions.

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Signs that Toyota would not turn its weekend around came very early. On the reconnaissance lap, Mike Conway hit the pit wall in the GR010 Hybrid 7, and the team had to change the front bodywork against the clock. The Le Mans winner started the race repairing damage and never found the pace to get into the fight. He finished 12th, while the number 8 of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa lost thirteen laps in the pits after contacts with the Genesis 19 of Daniel Juncadella and the Aston Martin Valkyrie 009 of Marco Sørensen, finishing 17th.

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The race changed definitively when Stevens's number 12 came into the pits in the lead and the right‑front wheel nut got stuck, a delay of about fifteen seconds that dropped him eight positions. Stevens fought back aggressively in the second hour, passing the Toyota 8, the Ferrari 51 of Antonio Giovinazzi and the Ferrari 83 of Yifei Ye to return the car to the front group. The Cadillac 38 also lost time on its first stop due to a mis‑positioned pit entry. Magnussen, who had reported a lack of power in the early laps, moved to the front in the BMW 15 once both Cadillacs had been delayed. The Alpine 35 of Ferdinand Habsburg also led the race with a short‑stint strategy that faded after the first hour and a half.

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In the final third, James Calado put the Ferrari 51 momentarily in the lead. Vanthoor regained control in the final round of pit stops and held off the Italian to the checkered flag by 2.2 seconds.

The Ferrari 83 of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson finished fifth after recovering from a five‑second penalty for a start infringement. The BMW 20 of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde was sixth, followed by the two Aston Martin Valkyries, the 007 and the 009. The Alpine 35 completed the top ten, though a late puncture prevented it from capitalising on its alternative strategy. Genesis, which had raised hopes by leading Thursday's FP2 with Mathieu Jaminet, left Brazil with 13th and 15th places.

The Alpine A424 maintained its upward trajectory during the race, which has attracted interest from several manufacturers, even after Habsburg had already lost the lead. Alpine will leave the WEC at the end of 2026, but the Signatech structure led by Philippe Sinault is looking to keep the technical base to develop a re‑homologated version of the prototype that would compete under a new identity in 2027. In recent weeks, the name most frequently mentioned has been Geely, after the project had previously been linked to BYD. Sinault has admitted that conversations gained momentum after Le Mans and that he feels more confident than before the French race.

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The Proton Competition Ford Mustangs were the sensation of the first two hours, occupying the top two positions with Stefano Gattuso leading in the 88 and Eric Powell in the 77. The muscle cars' control was broken by contact between the two exiting the Senna S, which cost Powell momentum, and by a pit strategy that favoured the Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette 34. Peter Dempsey, Salih Yoluç and Charlie Eastwood inherited the lead after a double stint by Yoluç and scored the team's second consecutive victory. The BMW M4 69 of Parker Thompson, Anthony McIntosh and Daniel Harper was second, and the Porsche 911 92 of The Bend Manthey completed the top three. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin 27, which was running in the points, received a 20‑second penalty for failing to meet tyre pressure requirements and dropped to 13th place.

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The WEC now enters the August break before resuming the season on the first weekend of September at Austin. The Lone Star Le Mans will see Toyota face a BMW that has already established itself as its direct rival in the championship fight. Last year at the Circuit of the Americas, Toyota had a solid race but a penalty dropped it to second, in an event won by Porsche Penske, a team that is no longer part of the 2026 grid.

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WEC ROLEX 6 Hours of São Paulo 2026

Pos	p.class	Class	#	drivers	team	car	Gap
1	1	HYPERCAR	#15	Kevin Magnussen Raffaele Marciello Dries Vanthoor	BMW M Team WRT	BMW M Hybrid V8	-
2	2	HYPERCAR	#51	Alessandro Pier Guidi James Calado Antonio Giovinazzi	Ferrari AF Corse	Ferrari 499P	+2.254s
3	3	HYPERCAR	#12	Will Stevens Norman Nato	Cadillac Hertz Team Jota	Cadillac V-Series.R	+6.687s
4	4	HYPERCAR	#38	Earl Bamber Sébastien Bourdais Jack Aitken	Cadillac Hertz Team Jota	Cadillac V-Series.R	+12.666s
5	5	HYPERCAR	#83	Yifei Ye Robert Kubica Philip Hanson	AF Corse	Ferrari 499P	+32.351s
6	6	HYPERCAR	#20	Robin Frijns René Rast Sheldon Van Der Linde	BMW M Team WRT	BMW M Hybrid V8	+35.047s
7	7	HYPERCAR	#007	Harry Tincknell Tom Gamble	Aston Martin Thor Team	Aston Martin Valkyrie	+35.566s
8	8	HYPERCAR	#50	Antonio Fuoco Miguel Molina Nicklas Nielsen	Ferrari AF Corse	Ferrari 499P	+39.952s
9	9	HYPERCAR	#009	Alex Riberas Marco Sørensen	Aston Martin Thor Team	Aston Martin Valkyrie	+45.523s
10	10	HYPERCAR	#35	António Félix Da Costa Charles Milesi Ferdinand Habsburg	Alpine Endurance Team	Alpine A424	+56.996s
11	11	HYPERCAR	#36	Frédéric Makowiecki Jules Gounon Victor Martins	Alpine Endurance Team	Alpine A424	+1:17.818
12	12	HYPERCAR	#7	Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Nyck De Vries	Toyota Racing	Toyota TR010 Hybrid	1 Lap
13	13	HYPERCAR	#19	Mathieu Jaminet Paul-loup Chatin Daniel Juncadella	Genesis Magma Racing	Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar	1 Lap
14	14	HYPERCAR	#94	Loïc Duval Malthe Jakobsen Théo Pourchaire	Peugeot Totalenergies	Peugeot 9X8	1 Lap
15	15	HYPERCAR	#17	André Lotterer Luis Felipe Derani Mathys Jaubert	Genesis Magma Racing	Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar	1 Lap
16	16	HYPERCAR	#93	Paul Di Resta Stoffel Vandoorne Nick Cassidy	Peugeot Totalenergies	Peugeot 9X8	2 Laps
17	17	HYPERCAR	#8	Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley Ryo Hirakawa	Toyota Racing	Toyota TR010 Hybrid	12 Laps
18	1	LMGT3	#34	Peter Dempsey Salih Yoluç Charlie Eastwood	Racing Team Turkey by TF	Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R	-
19	2	LMGT3	#69	Anthony Mcintosh Parker Thompson Daniel Harper	Team WRT	BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo	+8.108s
20	3	LMGT3	#92	Yasser Shahin Riccardo Pera Richard Lietz	The Bend Manthey	Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3	1 Lap
21	4	LMGT3	#91	James Cottingham Timur Boguslavskiy Ayhancan Güven	Manthey DK Engineering	Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3	1 Lap
22	5	LMGT3	#88	Stefano Gattuso Giammarco Levorato Logan Sargeant	Proton Competition	Ford Mustang LMGT3	1 Lap
23	6	LMGT3	#61	Martin Berry Rui Andrade Maxime Martin	Iron Lynx	Mercedes-AMG LMGT3	1 Lap
24	7	LMGT3	#87	Petru Umbrärescu Clemens Schmid José María López	Akkodis ASP Team	Lexus RC F LMGT3	1 Lap
25	8	LMGT3	#33	Ben Keating Jonny Edgar Nicolás Varrone	TF Sport	Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R	1 Lap
26	9	LMGT3	#21	François Hériau Simon Mann Alessio Rovera	Vista AF Corse	Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo	1 Lap
27	10	LMGT3	#77	Eric Powell Ben Tuck Sebastian Priaulx	Proton Competition	Ford Mustang LMGT3	1 Lap
28	11	LMGT3	#58	Alexander West Finn Gehrsitz Benjamin Goethe	Garage 59	McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo	1 Lap
29	12	LMGT3	#32	Darren Leung Sean Gelael Augusto Farfus	Team WRT	BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo	1 Lap
30	13	LMGT3	#27	Ian James Zacharie Robichon Mattia Drudi	Heart of Racing Team	Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3	2 Laps
31	14	LMGT3	#78	Tom Van Rompuy Hadrien David Esteban Masson	Akkodis ASP Team	Lexus RC F LMGT3	2 Laps
32	15	LMGT3	#79	Johannes Zelger Matteo Cressoni Lin Hodenius	Iron Lynx	Mercedes-AMG LMGT3	2 Laps
33	16	LMGT3	#10	Antares Au Thomas Fleming Marvin Kirchhöfer	Garage 59	McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo	2 Laps
34	17	LMGT3	#54	Thomas Flohr Francesco Castellacci Davide Rigon	Vista AF Corse	Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo	2 Laps
35	18	LMGT3	#23	Gray Newell Kobe Pauwels Jonny Adam	Heart of Racing Team	Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3	3 Laps