24h Le Mans
Toyota celebrated its 100th FIA World Endurance Championship appearance with an incredible 50th victory in the 2026 curtain-raising contest at Imola today, following an enthralling nip-and-tuck duel with home favourite Ferrari.
In front of a record Imola attendance of 92,175 enthusiastic fans, the start was given by Formula 1 World Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, and Ferrari delighted the ever-devoted tifosi by running first and second early on.
Having dropped to third at lights-out, the #8 Toyota piloted by Brendon Hartley regained second place during the opening round of pit-stops. The next time the heavily-revised TR010 Hybrid pulled into its box – just before the two-hour mark – Toyota elected not to change tyres in order to seize track position, catapulting Ryō Hirakawa past Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari into the lead.
What ensued was a memorable face-off between the reigning world championship-winning marque and the most successful brand in the series’ history, with Sébastien Buemi in the leading TR010 Hybrid ultimately taking the chequered flag just over 13 seconds clear.
In LMGT3, Team WRT extended BMW’s excellent record at Imola, as the Belgian squad benefitted from late heartbreak for series newcomer Garage 59 to triumph for the second time in three years in Italy ahead of TF Sport. The #69 BMW crossed the finish line barely 0.25secs in front of the #33 Corvette, after the pole-sitting #10 McLaren suffered alternator failure while on-course for victory just half-an-hour from the end.
The 2026 campaign continues with the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 7-9 May.
