Toyota and BMW arrive at Fuji tied on 75 points as Ferrari closes in and WEC begins its final three-round stretch of 2026.
Toyota’s No. 7 crew and BMW’s leading pairing will enter the 6 Hours of Fuji on September 27 tied on 75 points, leaving the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar title fight level with three rounds remaining.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries share the lead with Robin Frijns and René Rast after both camps endured a costly COTA race. Ferrari has closed the gap too, making Round 6 at Fuji Speedway the next challenge for a tightly grouped field of contenders.
The pressure starts immediately. Practice opens September 25, qualifying and Hyperpole take place September 26, and the six-hour race is scheduled to begin at 11:00 in the displayed local schedule on September 27.
Toyota arrives after late COTA defeat
The No. 7 Toyota was on course for a major result at COTA until a terminal mechanical problem ended its race with 11 minutes left. The retirement handed victory and 25 points to Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 50 Ferrari.
Toyota’s other entry had a difficult afternoon as well. A pit stop under the virtual safety car dropped the No. 8 car to 14th, forcing Sébastien Buemi to regain eight places in the final hour. Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa finished sixth and head to Fuji with 64 points, 11 behind the championship leaders.
Fuji gives Toyota a home round one week after the championship’s September 20 countdown entered its final days.
There is little room between the leading crews in the standings. Sheldon van der Linde has 65 points for BMW, one more than the No. 8 Toyota trio. Ferrari’s No. 51 lineup of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi is next on 58.
Ferrari has two crews in contention
Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen have 54 points following their COTA win. They are level with BMW drivers Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello, leaving both crews 21 points behind the joint leaders.
COTA transformed their championship position. Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen inherited the lead when the No. 7 Toyota failed, then finished ahead of Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken. The Cadillac trio earned 18 points for second, while Antonio Félix da Costa, Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg collected 15 for third.
Ferrari heads to Japan with proven qualifying pace. The No. 51 Ferrari has taken two Hypercar poles in the 2026 season, at Imola and COTA, making it one of only two cars across the championship’s classes to reach that total.
The other is the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, which secured LMGT3 pole in Brazil and again at COTA.
Fuji opens a compressed final stretch
The official 2026 calendar lists Fuji as Round 6. Barcelona comes next on October 18, before Monza hosts the finale on November 8.
WEC will contest three races in six weeks.
Barcelona will welcome the championship for the first time at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The event is also the penultimate round, so teams will have no previous WEC race data from the venue before the title battle heads to Italy.
Monza returns to the calendar for the first time since 2023. The November race will settle the championship at a circuit familiar to several manufacturers, though its role as the season finale is new for the current campaign.
The three-round run requires contenders to adapt quickly to very different circuits. The confirmed schedule provides less than a month between Fuji and Barcelona, then another three-week gap before Monza.
BMW takes winning form to Fuji
BMW has won twice in Hypercar this season. Its second victory arrived at the 6 Hours of São Paulo, a result that helped move Frijns and Rast level with Toyota’s No. 7 crew at the top of the standings before Fuji.
The manufacturer also has van der Linde on 65 points, with the Magnussen-Marciello pairing on 54. Those positions put several BMW entries among the leading drivers, while Toyota and Ferrari each have two crews within the same 21-point range.
No team strategy for Fuji has been publicly confirmed. The established figures show two championship leaders tied on 75 points, five separate crews within 21 points of them, and three races left on the calendar.
Japan weekend begins Friday
Fuji’s track action starts with two practice sessions on September 25. The first is scheduled for 10:15, with the second at 14:30 in the displayed local timetable.
Final practice starts at 09:50 on September 26. LMGT3 qualifying is scheduled for 14:20, followed by LMGT3 Hyperpole at 14:40. Hypercar qualifying begins at 15:00, with Hyperpole set for 15:20.
Focus then turns to the September 27 race and Toyota’s response to its COTA retirement. Ferrari owns the latest victory, BMW shares the points lead, and Toyota begins its home event with Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries still tied at the top before Friday’s opening practice at 10:15.
