MOTORSPORT – THE stage is set for a thrilling start to the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), with a high-calibre 35-car grid confirmed for the curtain-raising Six Hours of Imola in Italy.
The star-studded WEC field will be headlined by the 17 contenders in the top-tier Hypercar division, who will be hitting the tarmac at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari alongside 18 LMGT3 entrants.
They are representing no fewer than 14 major automotive marques in the form of Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Peugeot, Porsche, and Toyota.
The new campaign officially gets underway today with a prologue, set to be held at the same Italian track.
The group test day will set the stage for round one of 2026, taking place this Friday to Sunday. Two practice sessions will be held on Friday, followed by a third practice and qualifying on Saturday. The weekend’s six-hour race will then be held Sunday, flagging off at 2pm, Bahrain time.
Ferrari enter the event not only as the home fans’ favourite, but also as reigning Hypercar world champions, having wrapped up both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles in Bahrain last November.
The team also celebrated victory on home soil in the same event last season, with eventual Hypercar drivers’ world champions Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi converting pole position into their first victory of the campaign behind the wheel of their #51 499P.
Toyota Racing – the most decorated brand in FIA WEC history – are seeking redemption in 2026 with a heavily-updated TR010 Hybrid Hypercar. The race in Imola will also be the Japanese giant’s 100th outing in the championship – and could yield their 50th race win.
Imola will be followed this season by rounds at Spa in Belgium on May 9, the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on June 13 and 14, Interlagos in Brazil on July 12, at Austin in the US on September 6, and Fuji in Japan on September 27, before the WEC arrives in the Gulf.
The penultimate meeting will be the rescheduled Qatar 1,812km on October 24, leading up to the championship finale, the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, scheduled for November 6 and 7 at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
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