Loading
Cadillac will start the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo from the front row after Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber Stevens set the two fastest times in a tense 10-minute Hyperpole session. Stevens produced the decisive lap at the very end of the shootout, vaulting ahead of his stablemate and countryman by just 0.048 seconds.
The result makes it four different pole-winning cars in as many races this season in the FIA WEC’s Hypercar class. It is also the second consecutive year in which Cadillac has posted the two fastest qualifying times around the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Twelve months ago, however, the #38 car was relegated to third on the grid after receiving a penalty for blocking.
The result represents the V-Series.R’s third consecutive front-row start in 2026 and its fifth FIA WEC pole. For Stevens, sharing the #12 Cadillac with Norman Nato this weekend, it was a first pole in the championship.
The pace is significant for a Cadillac operation that has not returned to the podium since its breakthrough victory in Brazil. Stevens believes that run could end in the race, although the closeness of the Hypercar field leaves little margin for error. The weekend’s competitive landscape had already been highlighted in this preview of the 2026 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo.
“It was obviously a great qualifying for us,” Stevens said. “It wasn’t easy, but we made it happen! Big thanks to the team for giving us the package to go out there and perform.”
He added that the track was difficult to piece together and that the car’s feel improved with every lap, allowing him to target the final attempt despite Cadillac’s imperfect practice sessions. “Hopefully tomorrow we can get another win here,” he said.
Alpine Endurance Team came closest to breaking up the Cadillac front row. Hypercar rookie Victor Martins placed third, only 0.067 seconds from pole, while Charles Milesi put the sister A424 fifth, a further six hundredths behind. The Alpine cars were split by Dries Vanthoor’s #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, the pole-sitting car from the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Genesis Magma Racing continued its encouraging debut campaign with Mathieu Jaminet sixth in the #19 GMR-001. Home hero ‘Pipo’ Derani could manage only 12th in the sister car. Antonio Fuoco led Ferrari in seventh with the #50 499P, while Robert Kubica qualified ninth for AF Corse. Defending world champion Antonio Giovinazzi narrowly missed Hyperpole in the #51 Ferrari.
Championship leader Toyota saw both TR010 Hybrids eliminated after the opening qualifying phase. They will start 14th and 16th, while BMW’s Spa-winning #20 car completes the 17-car field.
The Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo starts at 11:30 local time (GMT-3) on Sunday, 12 July.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.