Now, here is a proper twist in the tail of the championship. For the first time in three years, the World Endurance Championship is heading to an entirely new venue, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya stepping in to host the penultimate round of the 2026 season. According to Motorsport.com reports, this Spanish addition replaces the cancelled Qatar 1812km fixture due to the ongoing war in West Asia, while the season finale has shifted from Bahrain to Monza. These changes have drastically shortened the points haul on offer, with European races awarding just 25 points to the winner instead of the heavy 38 available in Lusail and Sakhir.
While Monza is familiar ground, Barcelona is a total mystery for the Hypercar field. LMGT3 manufacturers will breeze through this weekend since the track regularly features in the European Le Mans Series and GT World Challenge Europe, but top-class machines are facing a leap into the dark. Because the venue was never on the original calendar, only three LMDh manufacturers—BMW, Cadillac, and Genesis—managed to squeeze in a private test back on 27 August, alongside Ferrari's early 2022 development running. Everyone else has had to rely on simulators or leaning on Formula 1 alliances for data.
We all know that Barcelona is known to be a very high degradation track, which could suit other cars a bit more than us.
Track characteristics will test the beasts to their absolute limits. Barcelona is fiercely technical, featuring brutal layout demands like the high-speed Turn 3 and Turn 9 that punish tyres with sustained lateral loads and intense heat build-up. Thankfully, the series will run the full grand prix layout by bypassing the final chicane, letting machines hurl down the main straight at terrifying speeds. Weather could throw the ultimate curveball, though, with forecasts pointing to highs of 21C and lows of 13C alongside a high chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday—a stark contrast to the 30C heat teams faced during August testing.
Tyre management is going to dictate survival. As Sheldon van der Linde (yes, that Sheldon van der Linde) told Motorsport.com regarding the high degradation: "We all know that Barcelona is known to be a very high degradation track, which could suit other cars a bit more than us." Jota Cadillac team boss Sam Hignett also pointed out the temperature gamble, noting that while August testing data helps, the starkly different weather window and grandstand shadows will cause track temperatures to swing wildly.
The championship stakes couldn't be higher with so few points left on the board. Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sebastien Buemi lead the Hypercar standings in the #8 Toyota, sitting 10 points ahead of teammates Nyck de Vries, Mike Conway, and Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota. Robin Frijns and Rene Rast share the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 with van der Linde in third, trailing by 14 points, while Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen sit fourth in the other BMW. In the manufacturers' standings, Toyota holds a 23-point gap over BMW. Over in LMGT3, Jonny Edgar defends his championship lead in the #33 TF Sport Corvette alongside Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating, with Ian James, Mattia Drudi, and Zacharie Robichon closing in within 24 points aboard the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin.
