René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde gave BMW its first top-level international endurance victory since 1999 with a dramatic Spa one-two.
BMW turns midfield start into landmark victory
René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde won the 2026 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in the No. 20 BMW M Team WRT entry, delivering a breakthrough for the BMW M Hybrid V8 in round two of the WEC season.
The No. 20 started 10th in the Hypercar field, completed 151 laps and finished the six-hour race in 6:01:17.036. Frijns crossed the line 1.969 seconds ahead of the sister No. 15 BMW, giving Team WRT a one-two at its home event in Belgium.
BMW had waited 27 years to return to the top step at the highest level of international endurance racing. Its previous outright global endurance victory came at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, while this success arrived three years after the manufacturer returned to the top category.
A record Spa crowd of 101,606 watched BMW win from an unlikely position. Team WRT’s two Hypercars qualified 10th and 11th, making strategy and execution crucial to their pursuit of the podium.
Early gamble puts No. 20 in control
The decisive call came during the first pit-stop cycle at the end of the opening hour. BMW short-fuelled the No. 20, which allowed Rast to take the lead. With clear track ahead, the German extended his advantage and set the car’s fastest lap before handing over to van der Linde at one-quarter distance.
Van der Linde kept that momentum in clean air and showed the BMW’s place at the front wasn't solely down to pit timing. Four safety-car interventions repeatedly changed the shape of the six-hour race, with a neutralisation four hours into the contest proving particularly useful for the No. 20.
That intervention brought BMW’s strategy back into line with its rivals without taking first place away from the crew.
The early short-fuelling gamble had secured track position, while the later safety-car period removed much of the strategic vulnerability it created. Frijns took over for the closing phase and increased his advantage as the cars behind battled for second. The gap narrowed during the late fight, but he kept the No. 20 in front through the final lap and turned BMW’s bold opening-hour decision into victory.
Magnussen anchors BMW one-two
Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor completed Team WRT’s outstanding home result in the sister No. 15 BMW. Magnussen defended second in the closing stages under pressure from Ferrari and Toyota, while also helping shield the leading No. 20 from the chasing pack.
Antonio Fuoco finished third in the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P he shared with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen. The Ferrari crossed the line 2.622 seconds behind the winner and 0.653 seconds behind the No. 15 BMW, leaving little between the podium finishers after six hours.
Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble placed fourth in the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie, 5.004 seconds off the lead. Fifth went to the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, which finished 6.015 seconds behind the winner.
AF Corse’s No. 83 Ferrari finished sixth ahead of the No. 93 Peugeot. The No. 17 Genesis, No. 12 Cadillac and No. 8 Toyota rounded out the top 10. Eleven Hypercars stayed on the lead lap, and the 11th-place No. 36 Alpine was only 32.376 seconds behind the winning BMW.
Contrasting fortunes across the Hypercar field
Qualifying form didn't carry into the race. Malthe Jakobsen secured Peugeot’s first WEC pole position in four years with the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8, edging the No. 12 Cadillac and No. 35 Alpine. The pole-winning car completed only 103 laps, however, and was classified 16th among the Hypercars.
Cadillac had mixed results. The No. 12 went from the front row to ninth place, while the No. 38 completed only 85 laps and ended as the final classified Hypercar. Ferrari’s No. 51 covered 129 laps, and the No. 009 Aston Martin completed 136.
BMW, by contrast, charged forward from the fifth row. The No. 20 paired an aggressive first stop with sustained pace from Rast, Frijns and van der Linde, then benefited from favorable timing under neutralisation to control the interrupted race from the lead.
BMW leaves Spa leading both championships
The victory immediately changed the championship picture. Rast and Frijns departed Spa leading the Drivers’ standings, and BMW took the Manufacturers’ championship lead after round two.
The result also established BMW M Team WRT as a race winner in WEC’s Hypercar division. Its one-two from 10th and 11th on the grid rewarded strategic flexibility through a race with four safety cars, while the narrow finishing gaps showed how precisely the team had to execute.
The 2026 WEC season resumes with the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 10-14. BMW heads to the championship’s centrepiece with its first WEC Hypercar victory, the lead in both championships and proof that the M Hybrid V8 can win a demanding six-hour contest against Ferrari, Aston Martin, Toyota and the rest of the top-class field.
