Magnussen Secures First WEC Hypercar Victory with BMW
Former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen, alongside teammates, earned his maiden WEC Hypercar win at the São Paulo round, driving a BMW M Hybrid.
Former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen claimed his first victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship's Hypercar class on Sunday. Driving the BMW M Hybrid together with Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor, the team triumphed at the São Paulo round in Brazil.
Although Vanthoor made a mistake in the penultimate hour and lost the lead to James Calado in the Ferrari 499P, BMW's strategy with a larger fuel load proved decisive. In the final hour, the BMW was able to make a shorter pit stop and retake the lead. Vanthoor finished 2.2 seconds ahead of Calado, who had to conserve fuel in the closing stages. Calado's teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi helped secure second place.
Third place went to Will Stevens and Norman Nato in the Cadillac V-Series.R, despite a poor pit stop and a five-second penalty for a collision. Another Cadillac crew finished fourth, while the AF Corse Ferrari with Robert Kubica took fifth after Kubica overtook competitors following their collision.
Toyota left São Paulo empty-handed. One car suffered from slow pace and penalties, while the other spent 12 laps in the pits for repairs after an accident.
Four of the eight WEC season rounds have now been completed. The championship leaders are BMW drivers Robin Frijns and René Rast, who won the second round at Spa-Francorchamps, were second at Le Mans, and finished sixth this time.
