Quiet WEC title clinches taste just as sweet for Toyota, TF Sport

After 66 hours of racing across eight events, held in seven countries, and on four continents, the 2026 FIA World Endurance champions have been crowned. It was one of, if not the, most hotly contested seasons in the series’ 14-year history, which, despite being chopped and changed in the wake of the Iran war, still produced its fair share of drama and a fully deserving set of champions.

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In Hypercar, today’s race completed Toyota’s fairytale redemption season. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa were crowned 2026 Hypercar drivers’ world champions after cruising to an 11th-place finish in the No. 8 Toyota at Monza, comfortably securing the title ahead of their teammates in the sister car.

Somewhat jarringly, for the runaway title winners, it was a largely forgettable affair on track today. After dominating the penultimate round at Barcelona with a 1-2 finish to clinch the Hypercar manufacturers’ world championship with a race to spare, both TR010s struggled for pace, finished off the lead lap, failing to make an impact at the ’Temple of Speed.’

However, after such a strong and consistent campaign from both driver crews through the first seven races, they traveled to Italy with zero competition from the other factories. The only remaining jeopardy was the potential for a late-season swap between the two Toyota crews in the standings. For that to happen, the No. 7 drivers needed another top-two finish, while the sister car would have had to endure a disastrous race.

With no pace advantage and the race repeatedly interrupted by incidents, Toyota had few strategic options to get its Hypercars into contention. As a result, an incident-packed finale produced no drama in the final chapter of the title fight.

Ultimately, that reflected Toyota’s performance throughout the season. The manufacturer won half of the races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and added three more podium finishes. No other manufacturer came close to matching that level of consistency. For the newly crowned champions, it was a fitting outcome. The No. 7 crew got to celebrate a Le Mans victory, claiming arguably the most prestigious prize on the calendar, while the No. 8 trio emerged as worthy champions over the full campaign.

Although unable to challenge up front today, season-long consistency left the No. 8 Toyota with only its sister crew to beat at the finale. James Moy Photography/Getty Images

“It’s amazing to share this moment with Brendan and Ryo,” Buemi said. “Clearly, losing Le Mans was hard, but winning the championship makes up for it a bit. The win at Fuji put us into championship contention, and then we had that amazing race in Barcelona.

“It was a bit sad that we were not able to fight today; we were a bit too slow, but after Barcelona we had a decent lead over car 7.”

The season had its ups and downs, notably a 10th-place finish at Spa and a 17th-place result at Interlagos. But when it mattered most, late-season victories at Fuji and Catalunya, following the No. 7 crew’s heartbreaking retirement from the lead at Circuit of the Americas’ Lone Star Le Mans, proved enough to secure the title by 17 points.

“As a team we celebrated in Barcelona, clinching the manufacturers’ title, which felt incredible after a tough couple of years, missing Le Mans by a whisker and not taking the manufacturers’ title last year,” Hartley said. “We knew though that this year was an opportunity with the updates to the car.”

Toyota’s overhauled and renamed TR010 LMH was the car to beat for the majority of the season. Fast, highly reliable and effective at managing the 2026 Michelin tires, it proved too much for the competition in the hands of a well-established team that was back to its best operationally.

For Buemi and Hartley, the result adds a fifth world championship to their career totals. Hirakawa now has three. All three thoroughly deserve their moment.

The only bittersweet aspect of the season finale was the absence of a fairytale ending to Mike Conway’s storied career. With the No. 7 crew finishing behind the No. 8, there was no championship or silverware for the Briton, who is nevertheless signing off on his career with a Le Mans victory in his final season to look back on.

Still, Toyota’s return to form, following a difficult 2025 with a triumphant 2026, has reset the bar in Hypercar. Several manufacturers are working hard on developing performance updates next year, with Ferrari and Peugeot among those planning substantial revisions to close the gap. How they all fare in response to Toyota’s resurgence will be the biggest storyline to track.

“It’s just a massive moment and a massive achievement for us,” Hirakawa summarized. “We came with a new package and won everything. We can be proud as drivers, as a team, but at the same time we want to be stronger next year. We can’t wait.”

In the LMGT3 category, TF Sport and Corvette Racing made history. Manthey’s reign of dominance in the class is now over, now that Jonny Edgar has been confirmed as the drivers’ champion, as the first competitor to win a title solo since WEC Centurion Richard Lietz (who, by coincidence, was today’s race winner) did so in GTE Pro back in 2015.

Ben Keating Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar all had plenty to savor at Monza, although only the Briton had his name on the drivers title trophy. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Imagesnly

Tom Ferrier’s elite TF Sport operation now also has a WEC title with Corvette on its resume, to add to its back-to-back triumphs in the European Le Mans Series LMGT3 division this year and last. Coincidentally, it was a result clinched at the same site where Corvette Racing last won a WEC championship, back in 2023 – though this year’s campaign was, by comparison, far less of a stroll in the park than GM’s romp in the GTE formula’s final year.

The team earned this season’s silverware through three big results: second at Imola to kick off the season, a win at Le Mans in June, then a third-place finish tonight in Monza to clinch it. 

The success ballast the No. 33 crew carried through the season – for championship position and standout results – weighed heavily, but Edgar and the rotating cast of characters around him remained consistent. Only once did the car finish outside the top 10 – on home soil at COTA for the brand and the team’s main Bronze driver, Ben Keating, who signs off on full-time WEC driving with another trophy for his man cave.

22-year-old Cumbrian Edgar is a man on the rise. A factory contract surely beckons after this exceptional season, in which he took further steps in his racecraft, leadership skills and maturity, and starred when the spotlight shone brightest at La Sarthe. His sports car journey, which began back in 2023, has been both eye-catching and a joy to track.

It was a nervy end to the year, with his closest rivals from The Bend Manthey winning the final two races to close the gap. But Edgar kept his nerve, and with Texan Keating and works driver Nicky Catsburg (who both missed races due to a combination of injuries and clashes) on fine form, he got it over the line, with a points score in Spain and a recovery drive from 15th to third following a costly penalty today.

“It’s a great feeling and really cool to be world champion,” Edgar said. “It’s a shame that Ben and Nicky technically aren’t world champions, and they should be because they have been here for nearly all the races. I’ve loved racing with them this year and obviously Ben the last two years. I feel lucky that Ben chose me to drive with him, and I am happy that I could pay him back with some good results in the two years we have been together.

“We knew that top-six was what we needed today, but it’s great to finish here on the podium and win the championship with a good result rather than just kind of doing the minimum that was necessary. The pressure was definitely on because it looked like the 92 (Manthey Porsche) probably had it and would win the race. That meant we had quite a bit to do and it wasn’t simple.

“I was quite relieved at the end,” he admitted. “The last couple of stints were pretty stressful. We knew we needed to be top-six because from the last three hours it looked like the 92 was going to win. Everything had to go right, and it did. The team did a great job. Ben and Nicky did great, and I’m happy to get it done. 

“Since Le Mans, we’ve been in a strong position, so I knew the chance to win the championship looked good.”

“It’s been an epic story,” Keating said. “I asked myself the question early on that if I had the choice of winning Le Mans or the championship, I wanted to win Le Mans. But since we won Le Mans, we’ve had a lot of success ballast, which made the racing for the rest of the season challenging but also rewarding. Every single point mattered. It all came together at the end. 

“It’s super-special after the reconstruction of my elbow (which cost Keating starts at Imola and Spa). Thinking back, I won with TF Sport in 2022, and I won with Corvette in 2023, so I was really excited to come back last year with both TF and Corvette. 

“That was a challenging season, and for me, that made the fire burn even hotter. Even though I missed the first two races, I think I’m fourth or fifth in the championship; I very much feel like this is my team and my championship. It’s very special.”