Group shot
Ahead of this weekend’s event, a car representing each of the manufacturers in the field gathered for a group shot at the Interlagos circuit (above).
Calendar news deferred
DSC has learned that the teams are set to be briefed on the current status of the Middle Eastern races at Qatar and Bahrain at the end of the current season, on Friday afternoon.
Our current understanding is that the decision, expected shortly after this weekend, has been deferred in light of the renewed military action in the region.
The timeline for the final decision is unclear at present, but LMEM will be keen to provide as much clarity as possible before the summer break.
It’s a similar situation to the result of the 2030 Hypercar tyre tender, which has also been delayed.
“As far as we know, there will be an answer by the end of July,” Michelin’s endurance boss Pierre Alves explained to DSC when asked about the tender process. “We are waiting for a decision. The files were sent at the end of April. We are impatient to know, but it’s for 2030, so there’s still a lot of time!”
Circuit resurfaced again
Last year, much of the chatter ahead of practice and qualifying centred on the resurfacing work on the Interlagos circuit, which had a significant impact on tyre degradation and strategy.
This year, it seems that further work has been done, with Stephen Bickley from Goodyear explaining to DSC after the track walk that: “Our guys have said that compared to last year, pit exit to Turn 4 has a long strip that has been resurfaced. At Turn 5, there are changes inside, and a couple of other corners, including Turn 10.”
“A new challenge” for Michelin in first visit to São Paulo
For Hypercar tyre brand Michelin, there’s a lot of learning to do this week, as it takes on Interlagos with its 2026-spec tyres for the first time. At present, it’s not clear how the teams will approach the race if it’s dry.
In 2024, the Hard tyre was used by everyone in the field bar Toyota, which managed to get the Mediums to work. Then last year, after the resurfacing, there was a tidal shift to the Mediums, with many teams opting to switch only the right-side tyres at certain pit stops due to the track layout placing significantly less load on the left.
With the new tyres now in use, there’s a whole new set of questions to answer.
“For us it’s going to be a new challenge again,” Michelin’s endurance manager, Pierre Alves, told DSC. “We are going to discover new tyre behaviour, because it’s the first standard WEC race where we will supply the Medium and Hard tyres, as before Le Mans, we took the Soft and Medium tyres to Imola and Spa.
“Last year, the teams had mastered the range by the time we came here, they knew exactly how the Medium performed, so there was no question about strategy, the only variable was when everyone changed the left sides. And with the resurfacing, we had a lot more grip; it was a lot better. But with better grip and the new grooves on the track, it was very abrasive, and it’s still a high-degradation circuit.
“These tyres have been designed to have less degradation, so it will be interesting to see how different these tyres are on a high-deg track for the first time. And it will be interesting to see if you use Hard or Medium tyres on the right side.
“If the weather is bad, and it’s raining, then it’s all about the level of water. If there’s a lot, there’s no degradation, it’s just hydro performance, and how capable the tyres are at evacuating the water.”
Livery changes on show
There are several notable livery changes for this weekend’s race.
At WRT, both BMW M4 LMGT3s are sporting Brazilian-themed colour schemes.
The Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001s, meanwhile, are running in the striking colour scheme they used at Le Mans last month. The team has opted to keep the livery for the remainder of the season due to its positive reception. They are one of two full-season WEC teams to be making their Brazilian debut this weekend (see below).
Meanwhile, at Iron Lynx, its Mercedes-AMG GT3s will not run in ‘Silver Arrows’ colours as they did at Le Mans, with the #79 reverting to blue and day-glow yellow, and the #61 switching to black and day-glow yellow.
AKKODIS ASP’s Lexus RC F LMGT3s have also returned to their pre-Le Mans liveries.
LMGT3 tyre strategy in the spotlight
There’s a change on the tyre front at Goodyear this weekend, compared to last year when the track was newly resurfaced, with the Medium-spec Eagle being used for the first time since 2024 (last year the Hard made its debut) in line with the change in tyre allocation regulations for 2026.
According to Stephen Bickley, Goodyear’s endurance programme manager, we may see drivers race more aggressively than in years past, as they can switch all four tyres at each stop.
“Double stinting the lefts may be a possibility. Last year, we brought the Hard because the whole circuit was resurfaced. With the layout, there’s a lot of lateral load, so the teams are single-stinting basically. But we don’t know how the track has evolved and how it will work with the Medium. Our engineers expect degradation to be higher than at places like Imola, but it shouldn’t be too much.
“So we predict, with strategy, most teams will be changing the right side every stint, and we’d expect most teams to change a full set, but because it is a bias track, there may be a chance some won’t change the left sides, and may double-stint those.”
Garage 59 switch of HQ is in its final stages
It’s been a busy few months for McLaren’s LMGT3 team, Garage 59. In addition to taking part in the FIA WEC and GT World Challenge Europe, with this weekend seeing the team compete for the first time at Interlagos, the team has also been moving into a significantly larger facility in Northampton, which will house its various race programmes and projects.
That transition has now reached its final stages, with team boss Andrew Kirkaldy telling DSC: “We’re about 60 per cent done. We’re working from there now, and 25 cars are going in there today. We’re nearly there. It’s not been easy with so much racing. But in a way, it helps that we’ve got the long-haul races, because a lot of kit is travelling.
“It’s really good for us to move, though. Everything is heading in the right direction.”
BMW LMGT3 team prepares with additional Interlagos test
Team WRT’s LMGT3 crews prepared for this weekend’s race by travelling to Interlagos for a private two-day test a month ago with a previous-gen M4 GT3 on Goodyear tyres.
For driver Dan Harper, who was new to the circuit, it was a particularly useful experience. “We had four hours of running each day, which was really useful, on a mixture of the Medium and Hard tyres. It was an older car, from a local team, but it was good to get laps ticked off.”
Five of the team’s six drivers were present for the running, with Sean Gelael the only one absent.
In addition, Darren Leung and Augusto Farfus took part in a Brazilian Endurance Series two days prior to the test in an LMGT3-spec M4 GT3 and won their class.
Nasr joins commentary team
The FIAWEC+ commentary team welcomes IMSA Porsche Penske Motorsport GTP driver Felipe Nasr into the fold this weekend for the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The Brazilian native will step in for Anthony Davidson, who is expected back for Lone Star Le Mans, and describe the action with Martin Haven and Graham Goodwin.
Last year, Nasr was in attendance at the WEC’s race in Interlagos as a reserve driver for Porsche.
Bruce Jouanny, meanwhile, will be on solo duty on the pit lane. Shea Adam is at CTMP for her regular Mazda MX5 Cup duties.
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Source: www.dailysportscar.com
