Toyota beats Ferrari in dramatic 6h Imola WEC season opener

Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, Ferrari WEC 2025

The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season opened with Toyota taking victory at the 6 Hours of Imola, after a hard-fought battle against Ferrari on home soil.

Hartley, Hirakawa, and Buemi secured the win in the #8 GR010 Hybrid, finishing ahead of the Ferrari 499P #51 driven by Pier Guidi, Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi. The #7 Toyota completed the podium, while Alpine and BMW also impressed by finishing inside the top five. Ferrari’s #50 ended the race in sixth, the #83 was tenth, and Cadillac endured a difficult outing. In LMGT3, BMW-WRT claimed victory ahead of Corvette-TF Sport and Porsche-Manthey.

The race marked the start of the 2026 WEC season and immediately delivered a Toyota triumph, despite strong pressure from Ferrari throughout the event.

Although weather conditions briefly threatened to shake up strategies in the final 90 minutes with dark clouds and a few light drops of rain, the race ultimately remained dry. Strategy played a key role, especially during the two Full Course Yellow periods in the first half of the race.

In LMGT3, BMW-WRT celebrated a dramatic victory in the final 30 minutes after issues struck the McLaren Garage 59 entry, which had been leading comfortably before being forced to slow down.

Hypercar: Toyota makes history

Toyota defeated the home favourites Ferrari, securing its 50th victory in its 100th World Championship race. A smart strategic call after the second pit stop allowed the #8 GR010 Hybrid of Buemi, Hartley, and Hirakawa to take the lead, with the Ferrari #51 closely following.

Initially, the Ferrari 499P shadowed the updated Japanese LMH machine closely, but gradually dropped back. At the penultimate stop, it even fell behind the Toyota #7 of Conway, Kobayashi, and De Vries, before regaining second place in the final pit cycle. However, there was not enough time left to close the gap to the leader.

A strong performance came from the Alpine #35 of Milesi, Habsburg, and Da Costa, which steadily recovered positions to secure fourth place. The BMW #20 of Rast and Frijns held on to fifth, fending off a late charge from the Ferrari #50 of Fuoco, Nielsen, and Molina, which was compromised by a penalty.

Seventh went to Marciello and Magnussen in the BMW #15, followed by the Cadillac Jota #38 of Bamber and Bourdais. The Aston Martin #007 of Tincknell and Gamble finished ninth without challenging the leaders, while the Ferrari #83 of AF Corse, driven by Kubica, Ye, and Hanson, could only manage tenth after starting further back.

Among the disappointments was the Alpine #36 of Gounon, Martins, and Makowiecki, which dropped out of the points after a penalty. The Cadillac Jota #12 of Nato and Stevens also struggled, finishing 14th.

Peugeot endured a difficult race, finishing 13th and 16th, affected by mistakes and a lack of pace compared to rivals. The debut race for Genesis ended with the #17 entry finishing 15th as the best-placed car, while the #19 suffered early issues and spent most of the race at the back, focusing mainly on collecting data in its first WEC appearance.

LMGT3

The LMGT3 battle was decided just 32 minutes from the end, when a dramatic electrical failure forced the McLaren Garage 59 #10 to slow down after leading for much of the race.

This allowed the BMW-WRT #69 of Harper, Thompson, and McIntosh to take the win, finishing ahead of the strong Corvette TF Sport #33 driven by Catsburg, McDonald, and Edgar. The Corvette had been fighting for the lead before losing out to the BMW M4 during the final pit stop cycle.

Completing the podium were Shahin, Pera, and Lietz in the Porsche Manthey #92, followed by the sister Porsche #91 of Güven, Boguslavskiy, and Cottingham. The BMW-WRT #32 of Farfus, Leung, and Gelael rounded out the top five.

Ferrari AF Corse #21 of Rovera, Mann, and Heriau finished sixth after a late charge, overtaking the Ford Proton Competition #88 of Sargeant, Levorato, and Gattuso, which also lost position to the McLaren Garage 59 #58 on the final lap.

The top ten was completed by the Aston Martin Heart of Racing #23 and the Ford Proton #77.

Outside the top positions, several teams endured a frustrating race. Mercedes Iron Lynx failed to score points, while Lexus and the Aston Martin #27 also retired after technical issues at a crucial stage of the race.

Overall, Imola delivered a competitive season opener, with Toyota taking the win in Hypercar and BMW-WRT emerging victorious in LMGT3 after a dramatic and strategic endurance battle.