Barcelona hosts first WEC race as 6 Hours of Barcelona debuts
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The FIA WEC holds its inaugural 6 Hours of Barcelona at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from Oct 16-18, 2026.
Toyota leads the standings, and the round replaced dropped Middle East races.
Background
The FIA WEC (World Endurance Championship, a global sports-car racing series) had not raced in Barcelona since holding its pre-season prologue there in 2019. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a Spanish circuit, was chosen by the ACO and FIA as a replacement for the Qatar 1812km, which could not take place because of the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Toyota leads the Manufacturers' standings with 169 points, ahead of BMW (146) and Ferrari (115).
How it unfolded
- Oct 12, 2026A preview is published for the inaugural 6 Hours of Barcelona at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (4.657km, 14 turns).
- Oct 16, 2026Free Practice 1 runs 11:30-13:00 and Free Practice 2 runs 16:30-18:00.
- Oct 17, 2026Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions are held for the LMGT3 and Hypercar classes.
- Oct 18, 2026The 6 Hours of Barcelona race runs 12:00-18:00 local time.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The FIA WEC notes Toyota leads BMW by 23 points in the Manufacturers' battle, with just 20 points separating the top four Hypercar crews.
- Analysts
- RacingNews365 reports the #8 Toyota crew leads the sister #7 car by 10 points in the drivers' standings.
Still unverified
AutoHebdo describes Barcelona as hosting the WEC finale, while other sources call it the penultimate round, with Monza ending the campaign.