The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship wrapped up its eighth round at Italy’s historic Autodromo Nazionale Monza, affectionately called the “Temple of Speed”. The six-hour endurance contest, known as the Six Hours of Monza, served as the series finale and delivered a cascade of decisive outcomes across the Hypercar and LMGT3 categories.
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA takes overall victory
Driving the #38 Cadillac, the trio of Jack Aitken, Sébastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber crossed the finish line first, securing the final win of the season for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA. Their performance capped a dominant weekend, with Bamber holding a three-second lead as the clock wound down. The crew managed fuel-saving strategies in the closing laps, allowing them to stay ahead of the nearest challenger, Alpine’s #36, despite the latter’s aggressive push for the lead.
Toyota clinches drivers’ championship despite finishing off the podium
While the #8 Toyota finished a modest 11th place and earned no points in the race, its driver lineup—Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa—still secured the season-long drivers’ title. With a 17-point cushion over the #7 car, the trio’s consistency over the year proved decisive, rendering the Monza result a formality in the championship tally.
LMGT3 class: Porsche snaps race win, Corvette clinches season title
In the fiercely contested LMGT3 category, the #92 Porsche piloted by Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Yasser Shahin took the race win by a razor-thin margin—just a quarter of a second over the Aston Martin #23. Their victory marked the second straight LMGT3 win for the Bend Manthey entry, reaffirming the team’s momentum in the final stages of the championship. Meanwhile, the #33 Corvette secured the LMGT3 **season championship**, wrapping up the class title ahead of the final checkered flag.
Key incidents and podium finishes
The race featured a first-time Hypercar podium for the Aston Martin Valkyrie (#007), which finished third behind Cadillac and Alpine. The Valkyrie’s ascent to the podium was aided by a brief safety-car period that shuffled the order. Notably, a high-speed collision involving Alex Lynn at the second chicane resulted in a spectacular crash, though both drivers were able to continue after repairs. The battle for fifth place saw intense wheel-to-wheel action between Peugeot #94 and Cadillac #12, with the latter briefly forcing the Peugeot into a gravel trap before recovering.
Strategic fuel management and final laps
Fuel conservation emerged as a recurring theme in the closing stages. Both Cadillac and Alpine were instructed to trim their consumption, prompting drivers to modulate their pace. Despite these constraints, Bamber maintained a comfortable gap—approximately 4.7 seconds at one point—over Alpine’s Victor Martins, who himself was tasked with a final pit stop to top up. The Porsche #92, after a brief pit stop, re-entered the race in the lead of LMGT3 and managed to defend it against the fast-closing Aston Martin #23.
When the checkered flag finally fell, the podium ceremony celebrated a season finale that combined high-speed drama with strategic nuance. Cadillac’s triumph, Toyota’s championship seal, and Porsche’s photo-finish victory all underscored the unpredictable excitement that defines the World Endurance Championship.
