WEC: BMW breaks through with Spa one-two

WEC: BMW breaks through with Spa one-two

Sport news

The ‘Ardennes Rollercoaster’ invariably generates exciting action, and the second round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign was no exception. BMW M Team WRT – based just up the road near Liège – began the six-hour contest in front of a record-breaking Spa crowd of 101,606 enthusiastic fans from just tenth and 11th on the Hypercar class grid, but an audacious strategy and a stroke of luck proved to be key to the squad’s success. 

In a race that featured no fewer than four safety car interventions, BMW elected to roll the dice during the first round of pit-stops at the end of the opening hour, short-fuelling the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 to vault René Rast into the lead. A new fastest lap for the experienced German subsequently extended that advantage, before he handed over to team-mate Sheldon van der Linde at one-quarter distance. 

In clean air, the South African maintained the momentum as he unleashed a similarly impressive turn-of-speed, and a neutralisation four hours in enabled the crew to get back in sync with their rivals – while crucially retaining first place.

Robin Frijns increased the margin in the final stages as the pursuing pack squabbled frenetically in his wake. With Kevin Magnussen producing a defensive masterclass against rivals Ferrari and Toyota in the sister #15 BMW the Dane shares with home hero Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello, the Bavarian brand was able to celebrate a famous one-two finish – its first outright victory in global endurance racing since the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999.

“It’s an unbelievable story for us,” enthused race-winner, Rast, who in tandem with Frijns, now tops the Drivers’ title table, while BMW has leapt to the summit of the Manufacturers’ standings. “It’s been a long time in the making – we’ve been waiting for this moment for the last two or three years. Everybody has worked so hard, and to celebrate our first win in Belgium, where WRT is at home, is something very special. 

“The team pulled off a miracle in terms of strategy. They put me in front, and then the car was just flying and in clean air, we had great pace. We had great pit-stops, we made no mistakes and we had no contact. It’s just an amazing day!”

After failing to overhaul Magnussen for the runner-up spoils, Antonio Fuoco narrowly held off a fired-up Kamui Kobayashi to ascend the bottom step of the rostrum alongside Ferrari AF Corse team-mates Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina, with the #50 trio ruing a wheel nut issue during a pit-stop towards the end of the second hour that cost them 20 seconds.

In LMGT3, there was redemption for Garage 59 – which had looked to be on-course for victory on its championship debut in last month’s Imola curtain-raiser until suffering an alternator failure barely half-an-hour from the chequered flag. The #10 McLaren piloted by Tom Fleming, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Antares Au scythed through the 18-car field from 15th on the grid to triumph in Belgium, taking advantage of a late-race five-second penalty for VISTA AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari. 

Next up on the FIA WEC calendar is the series’ flagship event, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on 10-14 June.

World Endurance Championship

WECEnduranceTOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-FrancorchampsWECSEASON 2026SportCircuit1SportWorld Endurance ChampionshipCircuitWECSEASON 2026WECEnduranceTOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps01Saturday, May 9, 2026 – 11:17pmSaturday, May 9, 2026 – 11:17pm

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WRC – Ogier masters tricky conditions to lead into final day

WRC – Ogier masters tricky conditions to lead into final day

Sport news

The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver briefly lost the lead to team-mate Oliver Solberg on the morning’s first pass of Paredes, but responded in style as conditions deteriorated through a punishing afternoon loop.

Ogier reclaimed top spot immediately after service, stretched his advantage with a superb drive through a mud-soaked Amarante stage and then added more time on Paredes before safely negotiating a torrential Lousada superspecial.

“This afternoon, with these conditions, I’m glad we finished it because it has been very demanding,” said Ogier, a winner of the FIA World Rally Championship on nine occasions. “There was no grip at all on the mud, it was just about going through, but we had a good day.”


Saturday had begun with Ogier leading Neuville by just 3.7s, but the fight was turned on its head several times as rain swept across northern Portugal.

Sami Pajari struck first on Felgueiras, Neuville reduced Ogier’s margin to 1.7s and Ogier then hit back on Cabeceiras de Basto and Amarante.

The biggest twist of the morning came on the first pass of Paredes. Solberg, who had trailed Ogier by 18.6s at the start of the stage, mastered the mix of rain, mud and changing grip to win the test and jump from fourth to first overall.

Ogier admitted he had no answer to Solberg’s pace in that moment, but his response after service was immediate. He won the repeat of Felgueiras by 0.1s from Pajari to move back into the lead, while Solberg slipped behind after dropping 4.5s.


Worse followed for Solberg on Cabeceiras de Basto 2, where his front-right tyre came off the rim and dropped him from second to fifth overall. Neuville moved up to second after that drama, with Pajari climbing back into third.

Amarante 2 became the day’s decisive stage. In extremely slippery conditions, Ogier was 11.2s faster than anyone else and increased his lead over Neuville to 16.0s before adding a further 5.9s to his buffer on the closing two tests.

Neuville ended Saturday second for Hyundai, 3.9s ahead of Pajari, after a consistent run through treacherous conditions. The Belgian pushed hard through the afternoon but admitted there was little more he could do as Ogier pulled clear.

Pajari completes the overnight podium, 25.8s from the lead, after another strong day in his GR Yaris Rally1. The Finn briefly lost ground on the morning’s run through Paredes, but kept himself firmly in the fight and held third through the afternoon.

Despite a costly spin on Parades 2 Solberg recovered to fourth, 49.6s from the lead, after setting fastest time in the rain-lashed Lousada superspecial. Evans is fifth, 8.6s further back, after a frustrating afternoon in which he lost significant time on the second pass of Amarante.


Adrien Fourmaux is sixth for Hyundai, while Takamoto Katsuta completes the Rally1 top seven after a more encouraging day in his Toyota.

Dani Sordo holds eighth after describing Saturday as one of his toughest days behind the wheel, while Mārtiņš Sesks moved up to ninth for M-Sport Ford. Teemu Suninen completes the top 10 and leads FIA WRC2 by just 0.9s from Jan Solans, having overtaken the Škoda-driving Spaniard through Lousada. Roope Korhonen is third in WRC2 behind Lancia-powered Rally2 contender Nikolay Gryazin.

Calle Carlberg leads FIA Junior WRC by 39.6s ahead of Gil Membrado, the FIA WRC3 pacesetter.


Meanwhile, it was a difficult afternoon for M-Sport Ford, with Jon Armstrong rolling on SS15, Felgueiras, and Josh McErlean crashing into the barriers at Lousada. Both crews were unharmed.

Round six of the FIA World Rally Championship concludes tomorrow, Sunday, with twin visits to Vieira do Minho and Fafe, with the second run over Fafe forming the Wolf Power Stage from 13:15 local time. The opening Vieira do Minho test is up first from 08:05.
 

World Rally Championship

WRCWRCSEASON 2026SportRallies1SportWorld Rally ChampionshipRalliesWRCSEASON 2026WRC00Saturday, May 9, 2026 – 11:08pmSaturday, May 9, 2026 – 11:08pm

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