Toyota maintains manufacturers’ WEC lead despite no joy in Brazil

TOYOTA RACING fought until the chequered flag flew at the end of a difficult 6 Hours of São Paulo, the fourth round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

After winning the Le Mans 24 Hours last month, the team faced challenging circumstances throughout the week in Brazil. A difficult qualifying meant that both cars needed to move through the field to score points, but race incidents limited their progress.

Le Mans winners Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries made up positions to finish 12th in their #7 TR010 HYBRID, one lap behind the race-winning #15 BMW. In the #8 TR010 HYBRID, Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa lost several minutes due to a suspension change after being hit by a rival, and finished 17th.

“It’s been a very tough day for both cars,” commented Hartley. “I fought hard for the first two stints, and we were up to ninth after the first pit stop. Unfortunately, we got taken out by a car diving up the inside and locking the rears, which bent our suspension. It’s one of those things. Without that, I think we could have fought for points today, but we didn’t have the pace for a podium.”

Despite the disappointing result, TOYOTA RACING still leads the manufacturers’ World Championship, now by five points over BMW M Team WRT at the halfway point in the season. The #7 TR010 HYBRID crew are tied with the #20 BMW drivers in the lead of the drivers’ standings, while the #8 crew are fifth, 19 points behind.

Mike started from 17th following a grid penalty, and the #7 car’s troubles continued in the opening stages. A five-second penalty for a start infringement was followed by a drive-through for a full course yellow infraction in the second hour. Incidents and penalties elsewhere helped the #7 gain places and move closer to the top 10. However, further progress proved impossible over the remaining hours of a race which ended in fog and falling temperatures.

The #8 TR010 HYBRID took the start from 14th but gained positions – running briefly in the top 10 after the first pit stops – until its push for World Championship points was effectively ended in the second hour. Brendon was hit by another Hypercar, causing right-front suspension damage and requiring a 16-minute stop for repairs. The #8 dropped to the back of the field, but the drivers nevertheless continued pushing until the end, ready to take advantage of any problems ahead.

Following its frustrating week in Brazil, TOYOTA RACING now has an eight-week break to regroup and return stronger for the next round of the WEC season, the Lone Star Le Mans on 6 September, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.