BMW recovered from a late error to claim victory in the World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of São Paulo and boost its prospects in the Hypercar title fight.
Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor led much of the race in the #15 BMW M Hybrid, only losing the net lead in the penultimate hour when Vanthoor ran wide and handed the advantage to James Calado’s #51 Ferrari 499P.
However, the #15 BMW carried more fuel, allowing it to complete a shorter pit stop in the final hour. Vanthoor—who reported feeling unwell on team radio—reclaimed the lead and brought the car home.
The Belgian driver eventually crossed the line 2.2 s clear of the Ferrari after a rain‑soaked threat never materialised, securing BMW’s second win in three races following its Imola triumph in May.
At the start, Will Stevens led from pole in the #12 Cadillac V‑Series.R, with Kevin Magnussen moving into second ahead of Earl Bamber’s #38 Cadillac.
The BMW took the front after both Jota factory entries lost time during the first pit cycle; a stuck wheel nut dropped the #12 Cadillac well down the order.
Meanwhile, the two Alpine A424s emerged as a threat. A decision to run a shorter fuel stint put Ferdinand Habsburg and Frédéric Makowiecki ahead of Magnussen. The move followed Makowiecki’s drop from sixth to outside the top ten in the #35 car, with the #36 copying the strategy.
The #15 BMW continued to close the gap to the #35 Alpine despite holding the net lead, while the #36 entry retired after a puncture.
In the fourth hour, Marciello rapidly caught Antonio Félix da Costa’s Alpine, allowing third‑placed Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari to close the gap as well.
Marciello could not overtake da Costa on track and only moved ahead when the Alpine pitted, with Pier Guidi exploiting the gap to stay within two seconds.
This proved decisive at the next pit cycle, when Vanthoor (BMW) and Calado (Ferrari) took over. Calado understeered exiting the pits, nudging the barrier and leaving an advertising hoarding stuck to the car, but he did not lose much time.
When Vanthoor ran wide at the tricky inner section of Interlagos, Calado swept past without a second attempt.
The #51 Ferrari entered the pits with exactly one hour remaining, while the #15 BMW had enough fuel to remain on track for almost 12 more minutes.
This allowed Vanthoor to rejoin in the lead, comfortably clear of Calado’s Ferrari. Although Charles Milesi passed Vanthoor on the out‑lap, the #35 Alpine could not make up the deficit and a slow puncture ended its challenge, securing the #15 BMW’s maiden Hypercar win.
Calado, Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari settled for second after an impressive recovery from 11th on the grid. Calado had to conserve fuel in the final stint, preventing a decisive attack on Vanthoor.
The podium’s final spot went to polesitter Will Stevens and Norman Nato in the #12 Cadillac. After a botched pit stop, Stevens incurred a five‑second penalty for a GT collision and Nato was spun by the #83 Ferrari in the third hour.
The #38 Cadillac rebounded from its own troubles, including a five‑second contact penalty, with Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken finishing fourth.
Jota swapped its drivers late in the race to give Aitken a chance at third, but he fell back to fourth after failing to close the gap to Calado.
Fifth place went to AF Corse’s satellite #83 Ferrari of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson. Kubica capitalised on a collision between Robin Frijns and Antonio Fuoco at the exit of Senna S to pass both cars.
Frijns, Sheldon van der Linde, René Rast and Robin Frijns finished sixth in the #20 BMW, while Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen’s #50 Ferrari fell to eighth after contact left Fuoco facing the wrong direction. The incident is under investigation.
Seventh was Tom Gamble in the best of the two Aston Martin Valkyries, the #007 shared with Harry Tincknell, as the #50 Ferrari lost ground.
The top ten was completed by the #009 Aston Martin of Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen and the #35 Alpine of Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and António Félix da Costa. The full‑course yellow the French team had hoped for never materialised.
Less than a month after its sixth Le Mans victory, Toyota failed to score points in São Paulo. Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries struggled to 12th in the #7 Toyota with a lack of pace, while penalties for start‑grid and FCY infringements added to their woes. The #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley, Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa finished 17th after spending 12 laps in the pits for repairs; Hartley was involved in an accident with the #17 Genesis in the second hour, causing significant suspension damage.
Genesis, a Hypercar newcomer, eventually finished 13th with Paul‑Loup Chatin, Daniel Juncadella and Mathieu Jaminet in the best of its two GMR‑001s after a drive‑through penalty for an FCY infringement.
Corvette takes LMGT3 honours
TF Sport scored back‑to‑back class victories in the WEC following its triumph at Le Mans last month, but the #34 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Peter Dempsey, Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluc claimed the top spot this time.
More to follow
