The World Endurance Championship crosses the Atlantic this weekend for the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, and it does so with Toyota back on top and every rival convinced Interlagos can shuffle the order.
Toyota Gazoo Racing arrives at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace off the back of its 24 Hours of Le Mans victory, a result that swung the momentum of the season and reopened both title fights. The manufacturer now leads the constructors' standings by 36 points, with the No. 7 crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries heading the drivers' table by four points from their sister No. 8 car.
Kobayashi made no secret of the target. "Le Mans put us in a stronger position in the World Championships so obviously our next target is to reclaim both titles," he said. Conway welcomed the quick turnaround: "It's good to be racing again so soon after Le Mans because it gives us a chance to keep the positive momentum going." De Vries added that "the mood of the whole team is still extremely positive after Le Mans so we're all looking forward to going racing again."
Interlagos is the shortest circuit on the WEC calendar at 4.309 kilometres, run anti-clockwise and set 800 metres above sea level, where the thin air trims downforce and forces revised engine mapping. It is a track that rewards a well-balanced car and punishes compromise, and several manufacturers believe it suits them.
Cadillac is one of them. The American marque scored a dominant one-two here in 2025, its best weekend of that campaign, and Sebastien Bourdais is relishing the return. "We're heading back to the place where the team enjoyed its best race weekend last year," he said. Peugeot, still hunting a breakthrough with its 9X8, sent Theo Pourchaire into the weekend cautiously optimistic. "I'm ready for Sao Paulo," he said. "It's a lovely circuit, but one that can hold a few surprises."
The competitive spread that has defined the 2026 Hypercar season shows little sign of narrowing. Toyota has two wins from the opening three rounds, BMW has one, and Ferrari, Porsche, the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the debutant Genesis outfit all arrive with realistic ambitions of a podium under Balance of Performance rules that continue to keep the field tightly bunched.
In the LMGT3 class, the São Paulo trip means new ground for some. Ford's Sebastian Priaulx is among those making a first visit. "This will be my first time racing in Sao Paulo and I'm looking forward to visiting a new country," he said. Corvette's Ben Keating, meanwhile, offered the most honest assessment of endurance racing's physical toll in the Brazilian heat. "What I'm most looking forward to about Brazil is not having to drive five stints in a row," he joked.
Practice and qualifying run across July 10 and 11, with the six-hour race starting on July 12. For Toyota it is a chance to press home a Le Mans advantage; for everyone else, Interlagos offers exactly the kind of variable that has kept this championship honest.
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