The FIA Word Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) season came to a close this weekend at the famed Monza circuit in Italy. There were no BMW entries on either the Hypercar or LMGT3 podiums, but the results at Monza were enough to put BMW into second in the final Hypercar manufacturer standings, and Team WRT in third in the LMGT3 team standings.
The FIA WEC finale wasn’t supposed to take place at Monza. It was originally schedule for Bahrain, but the continuing turmoil in the Middle East led the series to move the finale. It was the first time in three years that the series has raced at Monza and bookended the season with races in Italy, with the season opener taking place at Imola.
The #15 M Hybrid V8 entry of Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor (shown in top photo) was the quickest of the two BMW Hypercar entries in practice, setting the third fastest time in the second session and the sixth fastest time in the final third session. The #20 M Hybrid V8 of René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde never placed higher than 11th in practice but performed better in qualifying. Sheldon van der Linde put down a fast lap in the closing moments of qualifying to put the car into seventh, which put him into the final Hyperpole qualifying session for the top ten cars. He could only manage the tenth fastest time in that session, around a second off the time of Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari 499P. Dries Vanthoor qualified the #15 M Hybrid V8 in 17th.
Team WRT had two BMW M4 GT3 EVO entries in LMGT3, as they have all season, and both were wearing special liveries for the Monza race. The #69 car of Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson, and Dan Harper had different retro liveries for every race this year and closed out the season with the ‘denim’ livery inspired by a 1980’s M1 Procar. The #32 M4 GT3 EVO of Augusto Farfus, Darren Leung and Sean Galeael paid tribute to former BMW works driver and four-time paralympic gold medalist Alex Zanardi, who passed away in May after never recovering from a hand-cycling accident in 2020. Farfus was a teammate of Zanardi’s with BMW in the World Touring Car Championship and also raced with him at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019. Unfortunately, neither of the LMGT3 entries made it into the Hyperpole qualifying session, with the #32 qualifying 12th and the #69 in 16th after McIntosh had fast laps disallowed for exceeding track limits.
None of the BMWs made it onto the podium, but they had a solid end to the season and the championship. Magnussen, Marciello, and Vanthoor made up 10 positions in the six-hour race to finish sixth, while the #20 finished ninth, with the win going to the #38 Cadillac. Those results put BMW second in the manufacturer standings for the season behind Toyota, but notably ahead of Ferrari. Magnussen and Marciello finished third in the driver points behind Toyota drivers in first and second. “We can be proud of what we have achieved in the 2026 season,” said Team Principal Vincent Vosse. “Of course, we always compete to win titles, but in this highly competitive world championship, second and third places in the manufacturers and drivers’ championship are very good results.”
In LMGT3, McIntosh, Thompson, and Harper bounced back from the poor starting position to finish in a solid fourth, with the win going to the #92 Porsche. The result put the Team WRT #69 car into third in the final LMGT3 team standings and McIntosh, Thompson, and Harper fifth in driver points. The TF Sport Corvette team and drivers won both championships (there is no manufacturer championship in LMGT3). “Considering some of the circumstances we faced over the course of the season, we can be very satisfied with third place in the overall standings,” said Harper. “We had the right ingredients, the right drivers and, of course, the right team. Just one better result could have changed things in the title fight, which is a little frustrating.” The #32 BMW had a DNF after a collision early in the race.
Overall BMW M Team WRT had five podium finishes in Hypercar, including wins at Spa and Sao Paulo. In LMGT3, WRT had four podium finishes, including wins at Imola and Fuji. The 2027 FIA WEC season starts Qatar in late March.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy Javier Jimenez / Drew Gibson Photography]
