Brazil’s premier motorsport venue, featured on the inaugural FIA WEC calendar in 2012, will be the battleground for this weekend’s Rolex 6-Hour race. Known as Interlagos, the 4.309km anti-clockwise circuit is the shortest on the FIA WEC calendar, with Hypercars topping 305km/h and spending around half the lap at full throttle. At almost 800 metres above sea level, its elevation changes challenge drivers while creating plentiful overtaking opportunities. While qualifying is often less critical in endurance racing, Interlagos is an exception. No outright winner has started outside the front row, and no class winner has come from lower than fifth, making Saturday almost as important as Sunday.
Hypercar headliners poised for pulsating South American scrap
The last four FIA WEC races in Brazil have been won by four different manufacturers. A fifth this weekend would set a record. Among current Hypercar contenders, only Toyota and Cadillac have won at Interlagos, with Toyota the only multiple winner. Interlagos was also the scene of Toyota’s first FIA WEC victory in 2012. Mike Conway will make his 90th FIA WEC start alongside fellow former São Paulo winners Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa. Cadillac dominated last year with a one-two finish alongside JOTA and still holds the Hypercar qualifying and race lap records, although it has yet to return to the podium since. BMW arrives with strong momentum after claiming its first outright global endurance victory in almost 27 years at Spa before finishing second at Le Mans, while Ferrari seeks to improve on a best Interlagos finish of fifth with the 499P.
Multiple marques primed to shine in LMGT3
Lexus became a first-time Interlagos winner last year as Akkodis ASP Team rebounded from disappointment in 2025. Clemens Schmid, Petru Umbrărescu and José María López claimed victory, with López becoming the first driver to win in both current FIA WEC categories. After early reliability issues this season, the team regained momentum with a second at Le Mans. Aston Martin remains Lexus’ biggest threat, boasting more GT podiums at Interlagos than any other manufacturer and standing as the joint-winningest marque at the circuit across all FIA WEC classes Lexus, Aston Martin and Corvette repeated their Brazil podium success by finishing on the Le Mans podium last month, while BMW hopes local favorite Augusto Farfus can add another strong result.
Ferrari and Porsche, meanwhile, have work to do. The Ferrari 296 has never finished higher than sixth at Interlagos, while Porsche’s 911 GT3 R is chasing its first non-European victory since São Paulo in 2024.
Above contents © 2026 Rolex, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee 🏁
#FIAWEC #Interlagos #Hypercar #LMGT3 #LeMans #Toyota #Cadillac #BMW #Ferrari #Motorsport
