BMW turned Spa-Francorchamps into a homecoming party on Sunday, delivering a ruthless one–two in the 6 Hours that reset the tone of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship. Robin Frijns brought the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 to the flag just 1.969s ahead of the sister #15, with the #50 Ferrari completing the podium after a late surge that very nearly spoiled WRT’s script. Behind them, Vista AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 controlled a frenetic LMGT3 race to win ahead of Garage 59’s McLaren and Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin.
BMW’s breakthrough in the Ardennes
From the outside, this looked like the day BMW had been edging towards since rejoining the top class – but the manner of the victory still felt significant. The #20 car, shared by Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde, spent most of the afternoon in the leading group rather than as a runaway, its win built on clean execution, sharp reactions to three safety-car periods and a final stint from Frijns that was more about control than theatre. The sister #15 of Kevin Magnussen, Dries Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann shadowed it throughout, playing rear gunner when necessary and opportunist when strategy windows opened.
All images supplier by Tom Lloyd – Lxco.photo & Ingmar Bouwman
The decisive stretch came in the final third of the race, when a mid-race neutralisation compressed a previously stretched Hypercar field. BMW committed early to banking track position and then defended it with tidy pit work and disciplined out-laps while rivals juggled tyre life and traffic. When the race finally ran green into the closing hour, the two M Hybrid V8s found themselves first and second with only a charging Ferrari and the Aston Martin Valkyrie as realistic threats.
Frijns’ last run was about policing gaps rather than chasing headlines. A late-race push from Antonio Fuoco in the #50 – at times nibbling the margin down as the two BMWs worked traffic – forced WRT to keep both cars on a tight fuel and tyre leash. Magnussen’s defence against Fuoco in the #15, particularly in the final laps, added a small dose of drama to an afternoon that had otherwise been defined by BMW’s quiet assurance.
Ferrari salvages a podium, Toyota banks points
For Ferrari, Spa ended better than it had begun. The #50 crew of Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen had to overcome a mid-race delay caused by a stubborn wheel nut in the pit lane, losing precious time just as strategies were diverging. Once clear of traffic and back on sequence, Ferrari’s approach was simple: release Fuoco and see how far the car could be dragged back up the order. His closing stint was one of the race’s sharper individual performances, slicing past the Aston Martin and homing in on the two BMWs, but the clock and track position both ultimately worked against him.
The #51 Ferrari endured a more bruising afternoon. Contact in the thick of Hypercar traffic – including clashes with the #15 BMW and LMGT3 runners in the final hour – undid much of the ground gained earlier in the race and eventually dropped the Spa-winning crew of 2025 out of contention altogether. It was a reminder of how quickly a multi-class race can turn, even for proven winners.
Toyota, meanwhile, treated Spa as a damage-limitation exercise. Starting on the back foot after a muted qualifying, both GR010s spent much of the day in the orbit of the top five rather than dictating terms. The #7 recovered to fourth on the road at one stage before shuffling back in the final safety-car rotation, while the #8 worked the full distance but rarely looked like a threat for the podium. On a day when BMW and Ferrari grabbed the headlines, Toyota’s reward was solid points and a clear to‑do list before Le Mans.
Elsewhere, Peugeot’s pole-winning #94 could not translate Friday’s high into Sunday points, fading after early skirmishes and eventually dropping out of the lead fight altogether. Alpine, so strong over one lap, found the rhythm of the race more elusive as tyre management and track position ebbed away through the middle hours.
LMGT3: Vista AF Corse and Garage 59 trade Spa fortunes
If Hypercar produced a clean, strategic race, LMGT3 delivered the messier, more emotional story. Vista AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 – driven by Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera and a rotating third – spent the first third of the race hovering around the fringes of the podium, keeping its powder dry while Lexus and McLaren traded stints at the front. As the race settled and safety cars re-shaped the order, the Ferrari edged into control, its combination of consistency and tidy pit execution proving decisive once the final stint began.
The #10 Garage 59 McLaren played the long game. Starting only 15th after a compromised qualifying, the car of Antares Au, Tom Fleming and Marvin Kirchhöfer climbed through the field on pace and opportunism, surviving incidents that delayed early contenders and emerging as Vista’s main challenger into the last hour. By the flag, the McLaren had hauled itself into second, just over two seconds behind the class-winning Ferrari.
Heart of Racing’s #27 Aston Martin completed the LMGT3 podium – a reward for a day spent largely in the top five and an indication that the new Vantage is already a factor wherever tyre management and traffic judgement are at a premium. Behind them, Ford’s Mustang, Porsche’s 911 GT3 R and the remaining Ferraris took turns in the top ten but lacked the trouble‑free run required to challenge Vista AF Corse’s control once the final strategy cards were played.
A new reference point before Le Mans
Spa’s role in the WEC calendar has always been that of a dress rehearsal, and 2026 was no different. BMW’s first Hypercar win – delivered as a one–two at WRT’s home race – is more than a feel‑good story; it is a clear statement that the M Hybrid V8 is now a complete package over six hours, not just a threat in isolated stints. Ferrari leaves Belgium knowing that outright pace and racecraft are present, reliability and clean execution slightly less so. Toyota, Peugeot and Alpine each have data that points as much to what is missing as to what is working.
In LMGT3, Vista AF Corse’s win and Garage 59’s recovery reinforce the sense of a class that will not tolerate weakness anywhere: in driver line-up, pit work or tyre calls. With Spa run and the Ardennes weather navigated once more, the grid now turns its attention to Le Mans…
All images supplier by Tom Lloyd – Lxco.photo & Ingmar Bouwman
