Toyota steamrolls all comers in Barcelona WEC 6 Hours

Toyota Racing’s TR010s were untouchable in the 6 Hours of Barcelona today. The Japanese manufacturer’s Hypercars dominated throughout the race in wet, drying, and fully dry conditions, securing Toyota’s eighth FIA World Endurance Championship manufacturers’ world championship in 14 seasons with a 1-2 finish.

For the No. 8 crew, Sébastien Buemi (who won on his 100th start), Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, it was a second consecutive victory and their third of the season. Their teammates in the No. 7 (Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway) stayed close, finishing in formation behind them, but ultimately never challenged the No. 8 after it took the lead on the opening lap in the rain.

The result also means that only the two Toyota crews remain in contention for the Hypercar drivers’ world championship heading into next month’s season finale at Monza.

“It’s an amazing day,” Buemi said. “Last year, we suffered a lot, but we came back as a team with an upgraded car, and won four races, including Le Mans with the sister car. Now we can give our very best at Monza.”

“We were really motivated after our Fuji victory, and we came here with a lot of momentum,” Hirakawa said. “There were a lot of things to explore because we never tested here, but everyone did a good job, the car was flying, and everything went well. 

“This victory is something we worked very hard for. There was no luck; we just grabbed it. It’s good to secure the manufacturers’ title but the drivers’ is still open. We’ll keep pushing and hopefully we can win that with car No. 8.”

Hartley added: “I’m not thinking about the drivers’ championship now. Today is about the team. It’s a great feeling right now.”

Ferrari AF Corse’s No. 50 499P came closest to breaking Toyota’s dominance, finishing third after a consistent performance from local hero Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco secured a podium finish from eighth on the grid. However, the Toyotas were so fast that even after the final restart with two hours remaining, Fuoco was unable to mount a challenge, crossing the finish line 39 seconds behind the winners. The TR010s were by far the quickest cars in all conditions and the most effective at looking after their tires on the high-deg Catalunya circuit.

The No. 83 privateer 499P also put in a strong performance but finished fifth behind the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac, which used a late splash of fuel to leapfrog the 2025 Le Mans winners and claim a surprise fourth place. Ferrari’s other factory entry, the No. 51, was fast in the wet early on but endured a disastrous race. It battled speed limiter issues and lost time after going off track and into the gravel, eventually finishing 15th, two laps down.

Meanwhile, after writing Saturday’s headlines, Genesis Magma Racing’s hopes of a breakthrough result evaporated on the opening lap. After the GMR-001s ran 1-2 into Turn 1, with Dani Juncadella taking the lead in the No. 19 from André Lotterer in the pole-winning sister car, the Spaniard went through the gravel at Turn 5 as Buemi found a way past Lotterer.

Both cars fell back from there. They struggled in the wet, suffering multiple off-track excursions, while the No. 17 received a drive-through penalty for a full course yellow infringement and a second for a safety car infringement. After a difficult six hours, the No. 19 finished 11th, with the sister car taking 16th.

It was also a day to forget for BMW’s Hypercar team. Like Ferrari, the Bavarian manufacturer saw its championship hopes end before the season finale.

The No. 15 crew pushed hard but could manage only seventh after the final safety car, which came four hours into the race. The sister car failed to score points after the team opted to stay out during the first virtual safety car period while everyone else pitted. A tire pressure issue then left Sheldon van der Linde, René Rast and Robin Frijns on the back foot for the remainder of the race.

The Manthey Porsche crew managed the difficult conditions as deftly as Toyota to win LMGT3. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images

LMGT3 honors went to the No. 92 The Bend Manthey Porsche, driven by Goodyear Wingfoot Award winner Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz. The trio delivered a performance as dominant as that of the winning Toyota, securing their first win of the season and their first top-10 finish since Interlagos. The result also ensured that the class championship battles will go down to the wire.

Remarkably, they became the seventh different crew to win in seven races, setting a new record for the most different winners in a single WEC GT class in one season.

“The car, the team and I love these conditions, so it made for a perfect day for us," said Shahin, who set up the win with a standout run in the opening stints. “We had a fantastic start of the year, like three podiums, three thirds, but then Le Mans was a huge letdown. We came in with such a strong car and strong performance, and we were quick, and we thought we were on for a good result. And unfortunately, we had a car part failure which destroyed those hopes and probably the championship with it.

“But the way that everyone reacts to those things, it’s not how you behave when you're winning, but how you behave when things go wrong that builds that bond. So after that, we had a couple of upsets as well, and you know, no one in this team ever has a go. No one ever makes you feel guilty. Everyone’s always, you know, we win together, we suffer together, and it’s absolutely a tribute to the culture of that team. I’m very, very happy working with these guys." 

Marvin Kirchhöfer fought his way into second place in the closing minutes for Garage 59. The British McLaren partner team’s No. 10 GT3 Evo recovered well from an early drive-through penalty to deny Dan Harper and the No. 69 WRT BMW crew the runner-up spot.

Behind the No. 69, Racing Team Turkey’s Corvette finished fourth, while the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari had a quiet run to fifth.

TF Sport and Jonny Edgar, the sole leader of the drivers’ championship, finished seventh with the No. 33 Corvette. They remain the overwhelming favorites to claim the class championships, holding an 18-point advantage over the No. 92. However, they will have to wait another three weeks to seal the titles.

“It’s a shame that I couldn't keep the [Iron Lynx] Mercedes behind me on the last lap,” Edgar’s teammate Nicky Catsburg said. “I feel like I should have been able to.

"It was a struggle this weekend. We had a lot more deg than expected. The race wasn’t very clean... a couple of issues at the beginning, a 10-second penalty. But I also think we didn’t have the pace of the winners today.

"A good points haul. I think we have an OK-ish lead. So we do need to have a strong weekend at Monza but I have no doubt that we will.”

The 2026 FIA WEC comes to a close with the 6 Hours of Monza on Nov. 8.

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