​BMW recovered from a late error to pip Ferrari to victory in the World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Sao Paulo, boosting its prospects in the Hypercar title fight. Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor led much of the race in the #15 BMW M Hybrid, only losing the net lead in the penultimate hour when Vanthoor ran wide and handed the advantage to the #51 Ferrari 499P driven by James Calado. However, thanks to having more fuel in the car, the #15 BMW was able to stretch its stint longer and execute a shorter final fuel stop in the closing hour, allowing Vanthoor—who reported feeling unwell on team radio—to reassert the lead. The Belgian driver eventually brought the car home just 2.2 seconds clear of the #51 Ferrari after rain, which many had feared would arrive but never did, helping BMW celebrate its second victory in three races following the #20 crew’s triumph at Imola in May.
At the start, Will Stevens led from pole in the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Magnussen moving up to second ahead of Earl Bamber in the #38 Cadillac. The BMW moved to the front after both factory Jota entries lost significant time at the opening pit stops when a stuck wheel nut dropped the #12 Cadillac down the order. The Alpine A424s also emerged as a potential threat to the #15 BMW, opting for a short fuel strategy that gave Ferdinand Habsburg and Frederic Makowiecki track position over Magnussen. Makowiecki had dropped from sixth to outside the top 10 in the #35 car, prompting the #36 crew to adopt a similar strategy.
Nevertheless, the #15 BMW continued to close the gap to the #35 Alpine in the ensuing hours, even though it was comfortably in the net lead, while the #36 entry fell out of contention after a puncture. In the fourth hour, Marciello rapidly closed in on the back of Habsburg’s teammate Antonio Felix da Costa, enabling third-placed Alessandro Pier Guidi to also reduce the deficit in the #51 Ferrari. Marciello could not pass da Costa on track and only gained the lead when the Alpine pitted, with Pier Guidi capitalizing on the ensuing battle to reduce the gap to within two seconds of the BMW.
This would prove decisive at the next round of pit stops, when Vanthoor (BMW) and Calado (Ferrari) took over from their respective teammates. Calado had a notable moment when he understeered on the exit of the pit lane and brushed the barrier, leaving a fragment of advertising hoarding attached to the front-left of the Ferrari. Yet he did not lose significant time, and when Vanthoor went off at the tricky Interlagos inner section, Calado did not need any extra advantage to move ahead.
However, the #51 Ferrari entered the pits with exactly an hour remaining, while the #15 BMW carried more fuel and could run roughly 12 minutes longer. This allowed Vanthoor to rejoin in the lead, placing BMW in a strong position to convert the advantage into victory. The final stint saw Vanthoor extend his lead and cross the line 2.2 seconds clear of Calado’s Ferrari, securing BMW’s triumph and reinforcing its charge in the Hypercar championship battle. This result underscored the team’s ability to extract maximum performance from the car’s fuel strategy and pace, keeping BMW in the hunt for the title as the season progressed.