Toyota captured the 24 Hours of Le Mans after a strategic battle with BMW, while Ferrari’s bid for a fourth straight victory fell short. The race, held in 2026, featured eight manufacturers, and drew about 350,000 spectators to the iconic endurance event.
Ferrari arrived as the favorite after winning the race in the previous three years, including last year’s victory by a yellow Ferrari entered with factory support but not fielded directly by the works team. But earlier results in Italy and Belgium this season suggested Ferrari had not fully solved the 2026 package, weakening its status among the front-runners. The main challengers were BMW, Toyota and Cadillac, and for the first time Genesis joined the Le Mans field.
Genesis, led by Cyril Abiteboul, came to Le Mans with two new cars and hoped to finish both while learning about the cars and the team’s work in the pits and control rooms. One car retired after a suspension failure, and the team then focused on preserving the other through repeated checks. The surviving orange car, described as lava-colored, finished 13th. Genesis said it would take lessons from its debut and try to apply them at the next race in Brazil.
At the front, the lead changed hands overnight between Toyota, BMW and Cadillac, while Ferrari briefly stayed near the leaders but never fully rejoined the fight. In the closing stages, two Toyota cars and one BMW remained in contention, with the German car even looking slightly stronger. Toyota, however, won on fuel management and pit-stop timing, preserving its dominance in this season’s championship alongside BMW, with Cadillac occasionally challenging. Alpine, Peugeot and Aston Martin finished further back.
