Genesis claims first WEC pole as Jaubert beats Toyota in Barcelona

Genesis newcomer Mathys Jaubert delivered the team’s first pole position in the World Endurance Championship, setting the fastest time in Hyperpole for the Barcelona 6 Hours. His late improvement in the #17 GMR-001 put the car ahead of Toyota and a second Genesis on the front two rows.

Jaubert opened with a 1m30.329s before lowering his benchmark to 1m30.166s in the 10-minute session. That was enough to beat Ryo Hirakawa’s #8 Toyota by 0.170 seconds. The result gives Genesis a landmark qualifying performance ahead of Sunday’s race.

The team’s second entry, the #19 driven in Hyperpole by Mathieu Jaminet, qualified third with a 1m30.490s. Toyota will start alongside Genesis on the front row, while the second Genesis lines up behind Hirakawa.

Genesis leads a closely packed Hypercar top ten

Alpine took fourth, with Charles Milesi’s #35 A424 ahead of Will Stevens in the #12 Cadillac. Robert Kubica placed the #83 AF Corse Ferrari sixth, followed closely by Victor Martins in the other Alpine.

Antonio Fuoco’s factory Ferrari had its first Hyperpole lap deleted for a track-limits violation. He recovered to eighth on his second attempt. The #7 Toyota and #38 Cadillac completed the top ten.

Both Aston Martin Valkyries missed the final qualifying session, finishing 11th and 12th in the opening phase. BMW also failed to progress: Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor ended up 14th and 16th. The result follows a competitive build-up for the class, including Ferrari’s pace in Barcelona Hypercar practice.

Fleming gives McLaren another LMGT3 pole

Tom Fleming secured LMGT3 pole for Garage 59 in the #10 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. His 1m40.993s put him at the top of the classification, and a subsequent 1m41.012s would also have been quick enough for first place.

It was Fleming’s second pole in two Hyperpole appearances with the car, following the team’s top spot at Imola. He had missed the first two practice sessions while also competing with Garage 59 at the GT World Challenge Europe finale in Portimao, completing 20 laps in Barcelona before qualifying.

Porsche’s Ricardo Pera was second in the #92 Manthey 911 GT3 R, just over a tenth behind Fleming. For Genesis, the Hypercar result marks a major step in its campaign; the team had also shown form in Austin earlier in the season.

The Barcelona 6 Hours, the penultimate round of the 2026 WEC season, is scheduled to start at 12:00 local time on Sunday.