8 Hypercar manufacturers return to action for the second round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on Saturday 9 May. Five of them took the lead during the last 6 Hours of Imola with three leading at least 10 laps: Toyota 129 laps, Ferrari 69 and Cadillac 10.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. Winning Toyota TR010 #8 ahead of Ferrari 499P #51

Toyota Racing’s double podium

TOYOTA RACING returns to action for the second round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season at one of its home races, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on Saturday 9 May.

Toyota Racing enjoyed a winning debut for its TR010 HYBRID at Imola to take the early lead in both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ World Championships. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won in Italy in their #8 TR010 HYBRID, while the sister #7 car of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries made it a double podium with third place.

Spa-Francorchamps is a final competitive opportunity to optimise team operations prior to the Le Mans 24 Hours on 13-14 June, the Spa event also helps engineers and drivers to prepare the TR010 HYBRIDs. High-speed corners like Eau Rouge-Raidillon, Pouhon and Blanchimont, as well as the long flat-out Kemmel Straight, require car set-ups similar to the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Spa is one of Toyota Racing’s two home races in WEC, alongside Fuji Speedway, and the team has a strong record there. In its 13 races in Belgium, it has achieved four pole positions, eight wins and a total of 14 podiums.

Cheering on the team’s bid to add to those successes will be a large contingent of employees from Toyota Racing GmbH, the team’s operational base just 120km away in Cologne. Colleagues from Toyota Motor Europe in Brussels, Toyota’s European headquarters, will also add their support.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. #8 TR010 HYBRID

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “Spa is a really special circuit, great fun to drive and very challenging. It’s such a historic place, all the legends of our sport have raced there and there are so many memories, including a lot of wins for our team. It still puts a smile on my face to drive a Hypercar flat-out around there, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “I think for almost every driver, Spa is one of the most challenging and rewarding circuits. It’s an old-school circuit, with undulations and some fast corners. You need to be precise and committed; it’s a real drivers’ track. Our season started really well with victory on the TR010 HYBRID’s debut. We’ll be pushing to keep that form going at Spa and then into Le Mans.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season and now we are hungry to win more races. Spa is a really fun circuit to drive and I enjoy racing there. But it’s tricky for the set-up of the car, because you have to compromise between top speed on the fast parts and downforce in sector two. This is similar to Le Mans, so it’s a good preparation for us.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. #7 TR010 HYBRID

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “We made a great start to the season in Imola thanks to a big effort from the whole team. Now we want to keep this momentum going throughout the season, and Spa is another important race for us. As well as being one of our home races, it is a big step in our Le Mans preparations. The TR010 HYBRID looked strong in Imola which gives us encouragement, but we need to push hard again to get the maximum performance at Spa.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “I love racing at Spa, it’s one of the highlights of the WEC season. In the past, we’ve gone well there and, considering we made such a positive start to the season at Imola, I’m optimistic we can fight at the front again. But we saw at Imola how close the Hypercar field is, so we can’t afford to make any mistakes or leave any performance on the table.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “I’m excited to race again at Spa, particularly because it’s one of the home races for the team and for me personally, as it’s the closest to where I’m from the Netherlands. There’s always a big crowd at Spa and a special atmosphere, so I’m expecting another great event. Hopefully we can put on a fantastic show for all our fans.” Source: Toyota Racing

Last year Spa winning Ferrari 499P

The #51 Ferrari 499P of the official Ferrari – AF Corse team, shared by reigning World Drivers’ Champions Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, returns to action after second place and pole position in Italy, while teammates Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, who race in the #50 sister car, start again from sixth place at Imola. Completing the Ferrari line-up in the Hypercar top class is the #83 car, entered by AF Corse and driven by Prancing Horse official drivers Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, together with Robert Kubica, who finished tenth at Imola.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 2026. Ferrari #51 ahead sister #50

Ferrari is second in the World Manufacturers’ Championship standings with 27 points, 13 points behind the leader; in the Drivers’ standings, Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi are second with 19 points (six points behind the leaders), Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen and Ye-Hanson-Kubica are sixth and tenth respectively, with eight and one point.

Alessandro Pier Guidi #51: “On the Belgian circuit, since the first year of competition with the 499P, we have shown we can perform at a very high level. Personally, I greatly enjoy Spa, a track where over the years I have achieved many strong results. We approach the second round of the 2026 season aware that we must do everything to the highest standard to aim for a significant result: it will most likely be very difficult to repeat the brilliant results of a year ago, when we left Belgium with Ferrari’s third consecutive win, pole position and the 499Ps securing the top three places in qualifying. The weather uncertainty, with the possibility of rain as often happens at Spa, could help us express our full potential.”

James Calado #51: “We take to the track with the aim of doing everything perfectly, from the first free practice session to the chequered flag. I expect a difficult 6 Hours of Spa and an entire race weekend that could be more complex than the unforgettable one in 2025. In any case, after finishing second at Imola, the ambition is to collect as many points as possible also in Belgium.”

Antonio Giovinazzi #51: “It is always great to return to Spa to race on one of the most difficult and enjoyable tracks in the world. We approach the second commitment of the season with high morale after finishing with an excellent second place and pole position in the first round at Imola. We will need to be determined and focused to execute everything perfectly, from the first lap in free practice sessions to the final kilometre of the race, because only in this way will we have a chance to secure a good result on a circuit where, a year ago, we concluded an unforgettable weekend for Ferrari.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 2025. Ferrari #50 ahead of sister #51

Antonio Fuoco #50: “We arrive at Spa with the aim of doing our best, as always, on a track to which our car has always adapted very well, and where last year we secured both the win and pole position and, overall, demonstrated strong competitiveness with our 499Ps. We know the weekend will not be easy at all, especially after seeing at Imola, in the season-opener, how our rivals have made progress. The weather variable could reshuffle the cards and we will need to be good at executing everything perfectly even in evolving conditions.”

Miguel Molina #50: “Ferrari enjoyed a very strong weekend at Imola, where we secured second- and sixth-place finishes. Now we return to action at a circuit I really like, where in the past we have always shown the potential of our 499P. Spa is a race of particular significance, not least because it is the final round before the most important event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We will give our all to achieve the best possible result in Belgium.”

Nicklas Nielsen #50: "In 2025 and previous years our 499P has always adapted well to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, proving competitive in every situation, both in dry conditions and on a wet track, the latter being very common in Belgium given how quickly the weather can change. We start from this base, aware however that the 6 Hours of Spa 2026 will be a race where challenges and difficulties will not be lacking: to aim for a strong result we will need to do very well in every aspect. At Imola three weeks ago we finished sixth with the number 50 499P, missing the opportunity to score more points: we know that in this championship every race is crucial for the standings, so we return to action determined to do better.”

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA aim to build on momentum in Spa

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA will look to build on the momentum and potential from the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign as the team heads to Spa-Francorchamps for the 6 Hours of Spa next week.

Spa will see Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais joined in the #38 car by IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP endurance Champion Jack Aitken. Jack is running a dual programme with Cadillac Racing and was competing in the IMSA race at Long Beach during the Imola race weekend.

Cadillac Racing driver Louis Deletraz will join Norman Nato and Will Stevens in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R powered by the purpose-built Cadillac 5.5-litre DOHC V8 engine. Louis is stepping in for Alex Lynn whilst he recovers from a minor procedure for an ongoing neck issue.

Louis Deletraz #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R: “I’m very happy to join Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in the #12 car for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa. Being part of the Cadillac family and driving the GTP V Series.R in IMSA will make the adaptation easier. Adding to this, Will and Norman are good friends and have raced each other for many years. I’ve competed against JOTA many times in the past, and they’ve always been hard to beat, so I’m looking forward to being with them in Spa. My last year in WEC was 2023 and everything is still fresh and I have good memories of winning the Championship that year.”

Norman Nato #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R: “Spa is an iconic track, with passionate fans and it is always a pleasure to race there. Louis will be joining Will and I for this race. We’ve been teammates before, so it will be good to be racing with him again. We had great pace in Imola and I am looking forward to getting to Spa where we are aiming to take another step forwards in terms of progress with the new aero package and upgrades that we have for this year.”

Will Stevens #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R: “I’m looking forward to getting back on track so soon after Imola. We can take a lot of positives from that first race, despite not getting the result we could have achieved. We welcome Louis into the #12 line up whilst Alex is still recovering. Norman and I both know Louis well so we are confident we can get off to a successful start together in Spa. It’s always an awesome track to drive so I can’t wait to get the week started.”

Jack Aitken #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R “Racing at Spa is a real treat. It’s a fantastic and historical track, and being close to the UK we always get a lot of friends and family making it over too. The team had a strong showing in the first race and it gives us a solid foundation for Spa. We’re continuing to learn more about our aero package and working to extract as much as we can from it in the run up to Le Mans.”

Earl Bamber #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R “I’m looking forward to Spa. Imola showed as a team that we have a great foundation for the season. Spa has typically been a strong track for the Cadillacs, so we are looking to build on the results in Imola as we continue on our path towards Le Mans. I’m also looking forward to having Jack join us in the car.”

Sebastien Bourdais #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R “Spa is a great track to drive. It’s challenging, it has a mix of everything; high speed corners, medium speed corners, and it’s very technical. I’m looking forward to kicking off the season with Jack. Imola showed the potential that we have, so we’ll be aiming for another strong weekend in Spa.” Source: Cadillac Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps Schedule

Thursday, 7 May will see the first two free practice sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, starting at 11 a.m. and 3.40 p.m.

Friday 8, after the third free practice session (from 10.10 a.m. to 11.10 a.m.), Qualifying and Hyperpole for the Hypercar class are scheduled between 3.20 p.m. and 3.57 p.m.

The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps kicks off on Saturday 9 May, at 2 p.m. (local time).