– The 6 Hours of Spa traditionally serves as the dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the second round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), numerous additional drivers join who were recently absent due to the collision between the IMSA race in Long Beach and Imola in Italy.
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These include BMW drivers Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor, Jack Aitken, and Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello. Additionally, Louis Deletraz replaces Alex Lynn in the Cadillac #12 – officially due to a neck operation, but allegedly the Brit is set to join McLaren.
The WRT-BMW #69 (McIntosh/Thompson/Harper), which won the LMGT3 class in Imola, is running with a retro design reminiscent of the victorious BMW 635 CSi driven by Thierry Tassin, Altfrid Heger, and Dieter Quester at the 24 Hours of Spa 1986.
It should be noted again that the times are difficult to interpret because the WEC is keeping the 2026 BoP secret. However, everyone can get a rough idea based on the results of which vehicles must be rated better or worse.
How the practice sessions went
3rd Free Practice: Again three Full Course Yellows, so there is hardly any usable data. Cadillac made a comeback in the Hypercar class with a best time by the #12 (Stevens/Nato/Deletraz). However, Will Stevens’ 2:02.379 minutes are significantly slower than the 2:00.596 minutes from the third free practice last year.
Both Cadillacs, all three Ferraris, both Peugeots, one Aston Martin, and both Alpines made it into the top 10. Toyota lagged behind in 13th and 17th places, and both BMWs missed the top 10 in 15th and 16th. The times driven by Toyota indicate a difficult classification in the secret BoP. (Result)
The LMGT3 best time was set by last year’s polesitter Finn Gehrsitz, who clocked 2:17.068 minutes in the Garage-59 McLaren #58 (West/Gehrsitz/Goethe). The LMGT3 times are significantly faster than last year, when the fastest time in the third practice was 2:18.181 minutes.
Of the three FCYs, two were for debris on the track. The third was caused by the Manthey Porsche #92 (Shahin/Pera/Lietz), which stopped in the Brussels curve (formerly Rivage).
2nd Free Practice: Double win for Alpine: Both A424s took the lead in the second practice. There were two interruptions, once due to debris and once because the ASP Lexus #78 (van Rompuy/David/Masson) stopped in the Bus Stop chicane.
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The best time of 2:01.816 minutes was 0.341 seconds slower than the fastest FT2 time from 2025. Again, alongside Alpine, Aston Martin and BMW made a strong impression, both placing their cars in the top 10. Two Ferraris, one Peugeot, and this time also a Toyota made the cut. (Result)
Both Cadillacs and both Genesis again finished outside the top 10. While this was expected for the newcomer, things do not look good for Cadillac so far.
The LMGT3 best time was set by returnee Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello in the Heart-of-Racing Aston Martin #23 (Newell/Barrichello/Adam) in 2:17.769 minutes. This is just under six tenths of a second faster than the best time from last year.
1st Free Practice: Early termination in the first 90 minutes: Yasser Shahin crashed in the Manthey Porsche #92 (Shahin/Pera/Lietz) in the Fagnes curve (also known as Pif-Paf) a few minutes before the end, causing a red flag. (Result)
Before that, all preparations could be completed at 15 degrees Celsius air temperature, with only one Full Course Yellow due to cleaning work in Les Combes briefly interrupting the time attack.
The best time was set, as in the previous year, by the Ferrari #50 (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen). Antonio Fuoco was exactly 0.120 seconds slower than in 2025 with 2:02.955 minutes. All three Ferraris, both Aston Martins, both Alpines, both BMWs, and one Peugeot made it into the top 10, while Cadillac, Toyota, and Genesis remained outside the top 10.
The LMGT3 best time went to General Motors: Charlie Eastwood was even four tenths of a second faster than the FP1 best time from last year in the TF-Sport Corvette #34 (Dempsey/Yoluc/Eastwood) with 2:18.034 minutes.
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