The ‘Ardennes Rollercoaster’ invariably generates exciting action, and the second round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign was no exception. BMW M Team WRT – based just up the road near Liège – began the six-hour contest in front of a record-breaking Spa crowd of 101,606 enthusiastic fans from just tenth and 11th on the Hypercar class grid, but an audacious strategy and a stroke of luck proved to be key to the squad’s success.

In a race that featured no fewer than four safety car interventions, BMW elected to roll the dice, with René Rast, Sheldon van der Linde and Robin Frijns going on to deliver the Bavarian brand its first outright victory in global endurance racing since the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999, taking the chequered flag in front of the sister #15 M Hybrid V8 in a brilliant one-two finish.

“It's an unbelievable story for us,” enthused Rast. “It’s been a long time in the making – we’ve been waiting for this moment for the last two or three years. Everybody has worked so hard, and the team pulled off a miracle in terms of strategy. To celebrate our first win in Belgium, where WRT is at home, is something very special. It’s just an amazing day!”

In LMGT3, there was redemption for Garage 59 – which had looked to be on-course for victory on its championship debut in last month’s Imola curtain-raiser until suffering an alternator failure barely half-an-hour from the chequered flag. The #10 McLaren piloted by Tom Fleming, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Antares Au scythed through the 18-car field from 15th on the grid to triumph in Belgium, taking advantage of a late-race five-second penalty for VISTA AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari.

Full race results HERE. 

Next up on the FIA WEC calendar is the series’ flagship event – the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on 10-14 June.

Follow all of the action live on FIAWEC+.