Sheldon van der Linde leads for BMW M Team WRT at Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, but he’s off strategy compared to his rivals.
Second is the #8 Toyota of Ryo Hirakawa. The Japanese driver is also off strategy, with Brendon Hartley, who started the car, pitting early to get the jump on his rivals. The #20 of Rene Rast, in the car before S. van der Linde also short-fueled to take the lead ahead of Hartley earlier in the race.
Third is Antonio Felix da Costa in the #35 Alpine, the first on a conventional strategy.
Loic Duval started the race from pole in the #94 Peugeot, but the French car has slowly dropped through the field and now sits seventh with Theo Pourchaire at the wheel.
Will Stevens, in the #12 Cadillac, took the lead off Duval at Les Combes on the first lap and kept it until the first round of stops, when Rast took the lead in the #20 BMW as a result of the short-fueling strategy.
Since then, the lead has bounced between the BMW and the #12 Cadillac. However, at the most recent round of stops Da Costa jumped Deletraz, putting Da Costa into the net lead of those who do not owe a stop and will not need a fuel splash at the end.
The goal for the #20 BMW and #8 Toyota, then, is to extend a gap large enough to offset this stop, or save enough fuel to not need a splash, or have a shorter splash and dash.
AF Corse Ferrari’s Mann in lead in LMGT3
In LMGT3, Simon Mann leads in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari at Spa. Gianmarco Levorato is second in the #88 Proton Ford Mustang, with Rui Andrade third in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes.
Polesitter Tom van Rompuy in the #33 TF Sport Corvette initially retained the lead but lost it a few laps into the race as Eric Powell in the #77 Proton Ford took it off the Belgian into Eau Rouge. However, a few laps later Powell spun off into the gravel at Campus corner towards the end of the lap, giving van Rompuy back the lead and triggering the race’s first safety car period.
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