BMW M Team WRT left the 6 Hours of Fuji with two trophies from the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor climbed from 14th on the grid to third in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, while the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO won the LMGT3 class after a late charge by Augusto Farfus. The weekend was less kind to the sister entries, and BMW lost ground at the top of the drivers’ championship.

A cancelled qualifying session set the tone for BMW M Team WRT’s weekend in Japan. Heavy rain washed out the session at Fuji Speedway, leaving both BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercars starting from deep in the field — the #15 car from 14th place.

From 14th to the podium

Magnussen, Marciello and Vanthoor worked their way into the top ten in stages, helped by a strategy call that put the car in the right window. A safety car period in the final hour moved the crew into podium contention, and Vanthoor brought the car home in third — the third podium of the season for car #15 and the team’s fifth Hypercar podium in six races.

“To make it onto the podium from such an unfavourable starting position is an impressive achievement, and I am very pleased with it,” said Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport. “We have now lost some ground in the championship, but we will keep fighting. Everything is still open.”

Magnussen credited the result to the team rather than outright speed. “The great work of the pitwall and the pitstop crew made the difference today. We didn’t have the pace to finish on the podium, but we still did,” the Danish driver said.

A costly afternoon for car #20

The #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8 of René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde had a very different race. After roughly two hours the car was dropped down the order by several contacts that the team says were through no fault of its own, and it finished 13th.

That result cost Rast and Frijns the championship lead. The pair now sit third in the drivers’ standings, directly ahead of Magnussen and Marciello. BMW M Motorsport held on to second place in the manufacturers’ standings.

“We were at the wrong place at the wrong time today,” van der Linde said. “We would have had the pace to at least be in the top ten and score some points. That’s why this one really hurts.”

Farfus delivers the LMGT3 win

In the GT class, Darren Leung and Sean Gelael moved the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from 14th on the grid into the fight for the podium. The final safety car period, combined with a slow stop, dropped Farfus back to sixth, but the Brazilian picked off rivals in the closing stint to take the class win — Team WRT’s second LMGT3 victory of the season after the sister car won at Imola.

Team principal Vincent Vosse described it as “a flying stint from Augusto, who drove from P6 to the lead. That was an incredible drive.”

The #69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Dan Harper, Parker Thompson and Anthony McIntosh led the class at one point, but a difficult final pit stop after the last safety car left the crew sixth at the flag.

What it means

With the title fight still live but BMW’s lead gone, the remaining rounds matter. Roos and van der Linde both framed Fuji as a setback rather than a turning point, and the LMGT3 win returns the M4 GT3 EVO to the front of a class it had not won since Imola.

Facts: BMW at the 6 Hours of Fuji

  • #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 (Magnussen / Marciello / Vanthoor): 3rd overall, started 14th
  • #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8 (Rast / Frijns / van der Linde): 13th
  • #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Leung / Gelael / Farfus): 1st in LMGT3, started 14th
  • #69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Harper / Thompson / McIntosh): 6th in LMGT3
  • Championship: Rast and Frijns 3rd in the drivers’ standings; BMW M Motorsport 2nd among manufacturers

The FIA World Endurance Championship continues with the remaining rounds of the 2026 season.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com