BMW Secures Dominant 1-2 in Thrilling and Controversial 6 Hours of Spa as Late Drama Decides LMGT3 Victory

BMW M Team WRT delivered a landmark victory on home soil in a chaotic and captivating edition of the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, with the No.20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde claiming victory after a bold early strategy call proved decisive.

The Belgian squad completed a commanding 1-2 finish as the sister No.15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen survived immense late race pressure from Ferrari to secure second place, giving BMW one of its biggest WEC successes of the Hypercar era.

Behind them, the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P completed the podium after a frantic final hour fight involving Ferrari, Toyota and Aston Martin.

The race began at 14:00 local time with Loïc Duval converting pole position into the early lead aboard the No.94 Peugeot 9X8. However, the French manufacturer’s advantage was short lived as Will Stevens powered the No.12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry past on the opening lap along the Kemmel Straight.

Peugeot quickly began to struggle for pace relative to the chasing Hypercars, with Ferdinand Habsburg moving the No.35 Alpine into contention while Duval slipped backwards through the order during the opening hour.

The first Safety Car of the race came after LMGT3 leader Eric Powell beached the No.77 Ford Mustang in the gravel at Stavelot following an aggressive early duel with the No.78 Lexus.

Further drama struck Cadillac later in the race when Earl Bamber’s No.38 entry suffered contact with the No.92 Porsche, picking up a puncture and later a brake issue that forced an extended garage stay. The car ultimately lost 14 laps and fell out of contention entirely.

The defining strategic moment came during the opening round of pit stops when the No.20 BMW short fuelled in an attempt to gain track position and clean air.

The call transformed the complexion of the race.

Once released into clear air, Rast delivered a series of blistering laps that allowed the No.20 to dictate the rhythm of the race for much of the afternoon. Although the strategy initially left the BMW offset from the rest of the leading pack, subsequent cautions eventually neutralised the disadvantage and locked the WRT entry into a powerful position heading into the closing stages.

The No.8 Toyota followed a similar alternative strategy but remained slightly behind the leading BMW throughout.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s challenge fluctuated dramatically. The No.50 AF Corse Ferrari recovered strongly from eighth on the grid thanks to aggressive pace and sharp pit work, although a later delay caused by a stubborn front left tyre cost around 20 seconds and compromised its outright victory bid.

Spa’s unforgiving nature produced a string of major incidents through the six hour contest.

The No.94 Peugeot’s promising run ended heavily when Malthe Jakobsen encountered the spinning No.79 Mercedes LMGT3 machine of Matteo Cressoni at Les Combes shortly after exiting the pits on cold tyres. The collision destroyed the Peugeot’s front left suspension and forced retirement.

Another crucial turning point arrived when the No.51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi was eliminated in bizarre circumstances. The Ferrari was collected after the No.32 BMW LMGT3 was launched into its path by the No.91 Porsche, which missed its braking point in traffic. The resulting radiator damage ended the Ferrari’s race instantly and triggered a Virtual Safety Car that reshuffled the strategy picture once again.

The late race restart also produced one of the most frightening moments of the event. Alex Riberas was forced onto the grass at high speed by Antonio Félix da Costa’s defensive move approaching Les Combes, sending the No.009 Aston Martin spinning violently into the barriers. Fortunately, Riberas escaped without serious injury, though the incident required a full Safety Car intervention.

Da Costa then suffered another dramatic moment moments after the restart when he lost control of the No.35 Alpine at the top of Eau Rouge on cold tyres, narrowly avoiding a much larger accident.

The final half hour became a tense strategic sprint to the finish.

Robin Frijns gradually escaped at the front in the No.20 BMW, building a small but crucial gap while Kevin Magnussen produced a superb defensive drive in the sister No.15 car.

Antonio Fuoco relentlessly pressured Magnussen in the No.50 Ferrari, while Kamui Kobayashi’s No.7 Toyota and Tom Gamble’s No.007 Aston Martin also joined the battle in a spectacular four car fight for the remaining podium places.

Despite repeated attacks from Fuoco, Magnussen held firm to complete a memorable BMW 1-2 finish at Spa, with the No.50 Ferrari ultimately forced to settle for third ahead of the No.007 Aston Martin and No.7 Toyota.

The No.83 Ferrari finished sixth ahead of the recovering No.93 Peugeot, while Genesis Magma Racing secured its first ever WEC points with eighth place for the No.17 entry in only the programme’s second race appearance.

LMGT3 produced equally dramatic scenes in the closing stages.

The No.21 AF Corse Ferrari crossed the line first after Alessio Rovera defended brilliantly from the charging No.10 Garage 59 McLaren. However, a late five second penalty for an unsafe release handed victory to the McLaren crew of Marvin Kirchhöfer, Tom Fleming and Antares Au.

The result marked redemption for Garage 59 after heartbreak at Imola, where a likely victory slipped away due to mechanical failure. Fleming in particular starred during the middle phase of the race with one of the fastest stints in class.

The No.27 Aston Martin finished second after the penalty adjustment, with the No.92 Porsche completing the podium. The penalised No.21 Ferrari dropped to fourth ahead of the No.34 Corvette.

Spa once again delivered one of the standout races of the WEC season, combining strategy, attrition, controversy and relentless wheel to wheel action in front of a packed Ardennes crowd ahead of next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.