Round two of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship heads to one of motorsport’s most celebrated venues this weekend, with the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps serving as the final competitive outing before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Nestled in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest, the 7.004km circuit has hosted WEC racing since the series’ inception and will become the first track to feature in 15 editions of the championship. With Toyota arriving on the back of a winning start to the season and Ferrari desperate to respond, the stage is set for another compelling contest.

Hypercar: Toyota on a roll, Ferrari on the hunt

Toyota arrives in Belgium with momentum firmly on its side. The #8 TR010 Hybrid of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won at Imola on the car’s competitive debut, delivering the Japanese manufacturer its 50th WEC victory on its 100th start — and the trio now lead the early championship standings. It was also Toyota that won the final race of 2025 in Bahrain, meaning the team arrives at Spa chasing a third consecutive victory. The circuit suits them well: eight wins from 14 appearances in the Ardennes make it one of their strongest venues, and Buemi alone has been part of five of those successes.

Ferrari will not need much motivation, having been beaten on home soil at Imola despite locking out the front row. The #51 of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi led away from pole before Toyota’s strategy proved decisive — a painful result for the reigning world champions. The 499P has a strong Spa record, with four top-three finishes from four appearances since 2023, including a one-two last year. Notably, none of the four class-winners at Spa in 2024 or 2025 started from the front row, which puts qualifying in perspective — race pace and strategy will matter more.

Alpine shapes up as the most credible threat to the front two, while Cadillac and BMW both arrive with points to prove. The #35 Alpine finished fourth at Imola and the French manufacturer has finished on the podium in three of its four Hypercar appearances at Spa. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA was firmly in the mix in Italy before a yellow flag penalty ended any realistic podium hopes — Will Stevens, who won at Spa in 2024 as part of JOTA’s history-making privateer victory, returns alongside Norman Nato in the #12, with Louis Delétraz stepping in for the absent Alex Lynn. BMW M Team WRT, meanwhile, returns closer to full strength on home turf, with Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde back in the fold after missing Imola through clashing commitments — a significant boost for a squad that has yet to score meaningfully at this circuit.

LMGT3: Scores to settle

Team WRT arrives as defending LMGT3 winners after the #69 BMW of Dan Harper, Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson inherited the lead at Imola following Garage 59’s late mechanical failure. That result was as painful as it gets for the McLaren squad — Marvin Kirchhöfer had been running comfortably at the front on fresher rubber before an electrical failure with 35 minutes to go ended what looked like a certain debut victory. Garage 59 will want to put that right.

TF Sport’s Corvettes were close at Imola — the #33 of Jonny Edgar, Blake McDonald and Nicky Catsburg finished second, just 0.265 seconds behind the winning BMW after a hard charge in the closing stages. The British squad has an intriguing record at Spa, having reached the podium in all six of its previous LMGTE Am appearances at the circuit without ever winning. In LMGT3, it will be aiming to finally take that top step. Akkodis ASP had a wretched Imola, both Lexus entries failing to finish despite showing strong pace. Finn Gehrsitz put the #87 on pole at Spa in 2025 — the Japanese marque’s first WEC pole — so the team clearly has the tools to compete. Home hero Tom Van Rompuy is part of the Lexus line-up in 2026, adding further motivation. Elsewhere, ‘Dudu’ Barrichello reclaims his seat in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin after Kobe Pauwels impressed on his Imola debut, while Blake McDonald continues in TF Sport’s #33 Corvette for the absent Ben Keating.

Last year at Spa

The 2025 edition delivered one of the most dramatic races in recent WEC memory, witnessed by nearly 100,000 spectators. Ferrari’s weekend had nearly unravelled before it began — Giovinazzi suffered a heavy shunt at Eau Rouge on Thursday, forcing a full rebuild. The #51 recovered to win, though not without a fight. Pier Guidi’s bold short-fuel strategy in the closing hours allowed the car to undercut the #50 sister Ferrari, which had led from pole and ultimately had to settle for second, beaten to the line by under a second.

Alpine very nearly spoiled the party. The #36 of Jules Gounon, Mick Schumacher and Frédéric Makowiecki led at mid-race and Schumacher’s late charge brought him within touching distance of the top two before falling just short. BMW’s #20 threatened during the fifth hour but lacked the late-race pace to stay with the frontrunners, finishing third. In LMGT3, VISTA AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari took a dominant win — over 40 seconds clear of the field once in front — with Proton Competition’s #88 Ford Mustang edging out a photo finish for second ahead of two further Ferrari and Mustang entries.