APEX RACEWIRE Newsroom
Toyota Secures WEC Manufacturers’ Title With Barcelona 1-2 Finish
Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa led a dominant Toyota 1-2 at Barcelona to claim the WEC manufacturers' crown.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-10-18T16:15:56.000Z - 3 min read
Toyota claimed a commanding 1-2 finish on the World Endurance Championship’s first visit to Barcelona to secure the manufacturers’ title in Hypercar with a round to spare. Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa remained largely unchallenged in the No. 8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid over the six-hour race, beating the sister car of Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway in changeable weather conditions.
The Japanese manufacturer proved rapid in both wet and dry conditions in Spain, and victory never really looked in doubt from the first hour. The No. 8 car that started on the front row ultimately took the checkered flag 0.583 seconds clear of the sister car as they closed up for a photo finish. This 1-2 result ensured that neither BMW nor Ferrari can now overhaul Toyota in the manufacturers' race, marking an eighth such title for the marque.
Toyota stamped its authority on the race from the very first lap, which proved disastrous for Genesis Magma Racing after a strong Saturday where it qualified first and third. Local driver Dani Juncadella moved the No. 19 Genesis GMR-001 into the lead at the first corner by passing both Buemi and Andre Lotterer in the polesitting No. 17 Genesis. Juncadella then skated off at Turn 5 amid the wet conditions, handing the lead to Buemi and dropping the Genesis to the tail of the Hypercar pack.
BMW attempted to roll the strategic dice as Rene Rast did not pit in the No. 20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 during the second safety car period. That gamble unravelled when the car was shown the black-and-orange flag for tire pressures that were too low, forcing an immediate stop and a 20-second penalty. Meanwhile, Nyck de Vries charged from ninth on the grid to third after the early cautions and soon usurped Miguel Molina in the No. 50 Ferrari 499P to establish a Toyota 1-2.
Brendon Hartley briefly dropped behind Mike Conway during the second round of stops after serving a five-second penalty for a start procedure infringement. However, Hartley was flying on slick tires as the track dried and blasted ahead of Conway before pulling clear. A safety car arrived in the fourth hour after Zacharie Robichon spun the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo into the Turn 7 gravel, but the Toyotas remained untroubled at the front over the final two hours.
The battle for the final spot on the podium was enlivened in the closing hours when the No. 36 Signatech Alpine A424 moved into third via an offset strategy using short-fuelling. That gamble ultimately failed to pay dividends, allowing the No. 50 Ferrari of Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen to regain third in the final round of stops. Behind them, the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R finished fourth after Jack Aitken held off the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari of Robert Kubica in the closing stages on older tires.