New Zealanders Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley have ended the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season on a high, with Bamber winning the 6 Hours of Monza and Hartley securing his fifth World Drivers’ Championship title.
Bamber and Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA teammates Jack Aitken and Sébastien Bourdais took victory in the season finale, while Hartley, Sébastien Buemi and Ryō Hirakawa claimed the championship despite a difficult race for Toyota Racing.
Starting third, the #38 Cadillac V-Series.R was in contention from the opening lap, with Aitken passing pole-sitter Miguel Molina’s Ferrari before taking the lead from Daniel Juncadella’s Genesis on lap six.
Aitken held the lead throughout his two-hour stint before handing over to Bourdais and leaving the circuit to return home ahead of the birth of his first child.
Bourdais kept Cadillac out front despite pressure from Alpine’s Victor Martins and BMW’s Sheldon van der Linde, before Bamber took over for the final stint.
The Kiwi initially extended his advantage, although Martins closed to within 1.5 seconds in the closing stages. Bamber responded by pulling away again, eventually crossing the line 5.607 seconds clear of the Alpine.
It marked Bamber’s first WEC victory in more than nine years and the first win for the #38 Cadillac crew together.
“I’m over-the-moon!” said Bamber.
“Everybody at JOTA and Cadillac Racing has put in a lot of effort and worked so hard, and the car was faultless. Jack did an amazing job, and Seb executed everything perfectly. We’ve got a great mix of ingredients to look forward to in 2027 – I think we will be a real force to be reckoned with!”
Martins and Jules Gounon finished second for Alpine, while the #51 Ferrari inherited third after the #007 Aston Martin received a post-race penalty for a tyre pressure infringement.
While Bamber celebrated victory, fellow Kiwi Brendon Hartley secured his fifth WEC Drivers’ Championship alongside Toyota teammates Buemi and Hirakawa. The #8 Toyota crew entered the final round with a 17-point advantage over teammates Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in the #7 car.
Toyota struggled for pace throughout the weekend, with Hartley and his teammates starting 14th and finishing 11th, while the sister car came home 12th after suffering damage in two separate incidents.
Neither car scored points, but the result was enough for the #8 crew to secure their third championship together. For Hartley and Buemi, it was their fifth world title, while Hirakawa claimed his third.
“We didn’t have the pace for a win today, but what an amazing season for everyone!” Hartley said.
“We didn’t get Le Mans, but we had our target to fight back for the Drivers’ championship, and I’m really glad we’ve achieved that!”
Toyota had already wrapped up the Manufacturers’ Championship at the previous round in Barcelona, having recorded four wins during the season, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and its home race at Fuji.
The team finished its first season with the TR010 HYBRID with four victories and seven podiums, taking its championship tally to eight manufacturers’ titles and seven drivers’ titles since returning to WEC in 2012.
The Monza finale also marked the end of Mike Conway’s Toyota career, with the British driver retiring after 12 seasons, two world titles and 20 victories.
For Bamber and Hartley, the final round brought two major results for New Zealand motorsport, with Bamber returning to the top step of the WEC podium and Hartley adding a fifth world title to his career.
Header Photo: DDPI
