Toyota is crowned FIA WEC world champion with a one-two finish at the Circuit

Toyota Racing was the big winner at the first ever 6 Hours of Barcelona in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). The Japanese manufacturer secured a one-two finish at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, clinching the manufacturers’ world title in a race that also saw an outstanding performance from Catalan driver Miguel Molina, who finished third with Ferrari AF Corse. The championship’s debut at the Catalan circuit attracted 55,511 spectators over three days of action.

Rain played a key role at the start of the six-hour race, forcing the start to take place behind the Safety Car due to the treacherous track conditions. Once the race got underway, Dani Juncadella was at the centre of one of the most notable moves in the early stages. The Barcelona-born driver, who started third in the #19 Genesis Magma Racing car, managed to overtake his own team’s #17 car – which had secured pole position on Saturday thanks to Mathys Jaubert – to briefly take the lead. However, running off the track at Turn 5 caused him to lose several places, handing the lead to Sébastien Buemi’s #8 Toyota.

The start was not without its incidents either, such as the collision between Will Stevens’ Cadillac #12 and Ferdinand Habsburg’s Alpine #35. Despite receiving a five-second penalty for a breach of the start procedure, the Toyota #8 maintained the lead, whilst the #7 car from the same team moved up to second place. Both prototypes began to pull away from their pursuers, consolidating the Japanese marque’s dominance.

Behind them, Miguel Molina put in a solid first stint at the wheel of the Ferrari #50, climbing to third place during the first hour and remaining among the main contenders for the podium. Juncadella also managed to recover from his early incident and make up ground to return to the top ten before handing the wheel over to his team-mates. Álex Riberas, for his part, put in a combative first half of the race in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, which went on to run as high as fourth.

As the hours passed, the track dried out and the teams switched to dry tyres, leading to a second half of the race in which pace and strategy management proved decisive. Toyota maintained control of the leading positions and managed its lead right up to the chequered flag, with its rivals unable to alter the order at the front.

Finally, the Toyota #8 driven by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa claimed victory, ahead of the #7 car driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. The one-two finish has enabled Toyota Racing to be crowned world manufacturers’ champions ahead of the final round of the championship.

The third step on the podium went to the Ferrari #50 driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, giving the driver from Lloret de Mar the chance to celebrate an outstanding result in front of his home crowd. The #38 Cadillac from Hertz Team JOTA and the #83 Ferrari from AF Corse rounded off the top five in the Hypercar class.

As for the other local entrants, Álex Riberas finished ninth in the #009 Aston Martin, whilst the #19 Genesis driven by Dani Juncadella, Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin finished eleventh, following a race marred by an incident in the opening minutes.

The Bend Manthey triumphs in LMGT3

In LMGT3, The Bend Manthey’s Porsche #92 dominated the race, whilst the battle for the other two podium places remained wide open.

The Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #92, driven by Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz, took the win after taking the lead early on and defending its advantage throughout the six hours. The team handled the transition from wet to dry track conditions with aplomb to claim victory in their class.

Second place went to the McLaren #10 from Garage 59, which managed to make up ground after dropping places in the early stages. The BMW #69 from Team WRT rounded off the podium, ahead of the Corvette #34 from Racing Team Turkey by TF and the Ferrari #21 from Vista AF Corse.

A debut event attracting 55,511 spectators

The first 6 Hours of Barcelona attracted 55,511 spectators over the three days of the event. The race, added to the FIA WEC calendar at the end of July following rescheduling due to the conflict in the Middle East, was very well received by the public on its debut at the Circuit.

The fans’ experience extended beyond the competition itself, with entertainment on offer in the Fan Zone and activities designed to bring them closer to the teams and drivers, including autograph sessions and access to the pit lane and paddock, depending on the type of ticket.

The organisation of this event once again demonstrates the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s ability to rise to the challenges of major international competitions, as well as the versatility of its world-class facilities. With the addition of the FIA WEC, the Catalan circuit has hosted three major world motorsport championships in 2026: Formula 1, MotoGP and the World Endurance Championship.