Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
BMW #15 Wins Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo in Three-Way Thriller
Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor claimed BMW M Team WRT’s second World Endurance Championship victory of 2026, winning the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo at Interlagos on July 12. Vanthoor crossed the line 2.254 seconds ahead of the No. 51 Ferrari of Calado, Giovinazzi, and Pier Guidi after a compelling three-way fight with Cadillac and Ferrari through the closing hours. BMW’s clean execution through pit stops — particularly a decisive final cycle — proved the decisive factor after Cadillac squandered its front-row advantage early through pit stop errors. It was BMW’s second win in four rounds of the 2026 FIA WEC season.
Sources: Pit Debrief Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
WEC Title Race Shaken Up: Toyota Penalized, BMW and Toyota Tied on 75 Points
The WEC Hypercar title race took a sharp turn at São Paulo. Toyota’s No. 7 crew of Conway, Kobayashi, and de Vries lost the championship lead after two race penalties — for a start infringement and a Full Course Yellow violation — finishing 12th, one lap down. Robin Frijns of the No. 20 BMW then received a post-race five-second penalty for contact with Ferrari’s Fuoco at the Senna Esses, dropping from sixth to eighth. That penalty erased what had been a four-point BMW advantage, leaving the No. 20 BMW and No. 7 Toyota level on 75 points with four rounds remaining.
Sources: motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
WEC Set to Replace Qatar and Bahrain with Six-Hour Races at Barcelona and Monza
The FIA World Endurance Championship is poised to replace its planned trips to Qatar and Bahrain with six-hour races at Barcelona and Monza, pending ratification at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting on July 23. The change is driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict, which already caused the 2026 season opener in Qatar to be postponed. The switch carries significant championship implications: while the original Bahrain and Qatar races carried a boosted points scale awarding 38 points for a win, the proposed six-hour replacements at Barcelona and Monza would revert to the standard allocation of 25 points for victory, reshaping the mathematics of the title fight.
Sources: dailysportscar.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Cadillac’s Front-Row Lockout Undone by Pit Stop Errors at São Paulo
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA arrived in Brazil with both cars on the front row after Will Stevens led a Hyperpole lockout, but the advantage evaporated during the opening pit stop cycle. The No. 12 lost time when a front-right wheel nut refused to release, while No. 38’s Earl Bamber locked brakes approaching the pit box, forcing mechanics to reposition. The delays handed the net lead to BMW before it was secured. The two Cadillacs recovered to finish third and fourth — a strong points haul — but a second consecutive São Paulo victory, following their 2025 win at the same circuit, had appeared within reach before the pit lane intervened.
Sources: Pit Debrief Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Corvette Claims Back-to-Back LMGT3 Wins as Racing Team Turkey Triumphs in Brazil
Racing Team Turkey by TF claimed back-to-back LMGT3 victories, with Salih Yoluç, Peter Dempsey, and Charlie Eastwood taking the No. 34 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R to victory at São Paulo on July 12, eight seconds ahead of the No. 69 Team WRT BMW. The win followed the sister No. 33 TF Sport Corvette’s triumph at Le Mans. Silver-rated Yoluç opened the race as starting driver rather than the team’s Bronze driver — a deliberate strategy placing the Corvette in clean air during the critical middle stints. Eastwood then controlled the final phase to deliver TF Sport its second class victory of the 2026 season.
Sources: Pit Debrief Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Aston Martin Valkyrie Scores First Double Points Finish of 2026 at São Paulo
Both Aston Martin Valkyrie entries finished inside the top 10 at São Paulo for the first time in 2026. The No. 007 of Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell finished seventh — promoted to sixth after Robin Frijns received a post-race penalty — while Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen brought the No. 009 home ninth. Tincknell and Gamble have now scored points at every WEC round this season, extending a run back to last year’s 6 Hours of Fuji. For the No. 009, ninth was the crew’s best 2026 result, giving Aston Martin THOR Team its first double points finish of the year.
Sources: Pit Debrief Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
IMSA CTMP: Inter Europol Ends Win Drought; Vasser Sullivan Lexus Goes Back-to-Back in GTD Pro
Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke claimed overall victory for Inter Europol Competition at the IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 13, winning in the No. 43 ORECA LMP2 07 by 9.796 seconds. The result was Inter Europol’s first IMSA win since the 2025 Twelve Hours of Sebring, coming exactly one year after a late-race incident at CTMP left Dillmann with back injuries. Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 of Barnicoat and Hawksworth made it back-to-back wins in GTD Pro. All 32 starters finished. The GTP class had the weekend off; the next GTP round is Road America, July 30–August 2.
Sources: SPEED SPORT Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
IMSA Championships Tighten Across All Three Classes After CTMP
IMSA’s championship fights all tightened at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In LMP2, CrowdStrike Racing’s No. 04 ORECA extended its lead from 55 to 70 points. In GTD Pro, Paul Miller Racing’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 Evo grew its advantage from 60 to 108 points, though four former champions — including both Corvette Racing entries and Vasser Sullivan’s Lexus — remain within 160 points with six rounds remaining. In GTD, Barrichello’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin saw its lead cut from 157 to 92 points over Vasser Sullivan, with Winward Racing’s Mercedes-AMG closing from 300 to 207 points back following its CTMP victory.
Sources: SPEED SPORT Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1 (tied). Frijns / Rast / van der Linde (BMW #20) — 75 pts
1 (tied). Conway / Kobayashi / de Vries (Toyota #7) — 75 pts
3. Magnussen / Marciello / Vanthoor (BMW #15) — ~64 pts
4. Pier Guidi / Calado / Giovinazzi (Ferrari #51) — ~57 pts
5. Hartley / Hirakawa / Buemi (Toyota #8) — ~56+ pts
WEC Hypercar — Teams
1. Toyota Racing — leads BMW M Team WRT by 5 pts
2. BMW M Team WRT — 5 pts behind Toyota
After Round 4 — 6H São Paulo, July 12. †Some pts estimated.
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. Jack Aitken / Earl Bamber / Frederik Vesti (Whelen) — leads +203
2. Laurin Heinrich (Porsche) — 203 pts behind
IMSA GTP — Teams
1. Cadillac Whelen #31 — leads by 245 pts
2. Meyer Shank Acura #93 — 245 pts behind
After Round 7 — Watkins Glen (June 28). GTP did not race at CTMP.
Curated by JD · samwise.agency