Cadillac Hertz Team Jota has secured pole position for the 2026 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo with the American brand taking a 1-2 in Hyperpole for the second year running in Brazil.

Former F1 driver Will Stevens took pole in the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R by setting a 1:23.041 in the closing moments of Hyperpole, while Jack Aitken was able tot slot the No. 38 Cadillac into 2nd. The result gives Cadillac its fifth WEC pole position and marks Jota’s fourth front-row lockout in Hypercar.

Stevens credited the team and Cadillac for giving him a strong package, while also pointing to tire preparation as a key part of the lap. He said the car came alive late in the session, allowing him to put together the lap when it mattered most.

Behind the Cadillacs, the No. 36 Alpine A424 will start third after Victor Martins posted a 1:23.108, while the Le Mans Pole-sitting No. 15 WRT BMW will line up fourth with the No. 35 Alpine rounding out the top five.

Genesis Magma Racing also continued its strong weekend. The No. 19 GMR-001, which topped practice 2, will start sixth overall after Mathieu Jaminet delivered a 1m23.341. This continues Jaminet’s strong form, as last year’s IMSA GTP champion has clearly been having his best WEC race so far with Genesis.

For championship leaders Toyota Racing, however, qualifying proved far more difficult. Neither of its TR010 Hybrids advanced to Hyperpole, leaving the No. 8 Toyota to start 14th and the No. 7 Toyota 16th. Clearly Toyota are having a more difficult race here in brazil compared to last time out at Le Mans where they secured their 6th overall victory in France.

Ryo Hirakawa, who qualified the No. 8 car, said he felt the lap was clean and that the team extracted what it could from the session. Despite the starting position, he remained optimistic about Toyota’s race pace.

Ferrari also faces work to do on race day despite a promising FP1 for the Italian brand. The reigning world champions in the No. 51 Ferrari 499P will start outside the top 10 after Antonio Giovinazzi missed the Hyperpole cut by just half a tenth. The No. 51 will line up 11th, directly behind the other two Ferrari 499Ps, which qualified 9th and 10th.

Pauwels Puts Heart of Racing Aston Martin on LMGT3 Pole

Kobe Pauwels delivered a standout performance in LMGT3 qualifying at São Paulo, in just his 2nd WEC start. The belgian, put The Heart of Racing Team’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo on pole position and also repeated the achievement Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello delivered at the same event last year.

Pauwels is filling in for Brazilian favorite Barrichello this weekend, with Barrichello instead racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at CTMP. The Heart of Racing driver set a 1m33.350s, finishing nearly two tenths clear of the No. 79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo driven by Lin Hodenius.

Third went to last year’s winner Clemens Schmid in the No. 87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3, who posted a 1m33.764s. His lap was just 0.002s quicker than Parker Thompson in the No. 69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo, who will start fourth.

Ben Tuck added another manufacturer to the sharp end of the grid here in São Paulo, placing the No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 Evo fifth with a 1m33.773s which made it five different manufacturers inside the top five.

The top six was completed by Rui Andrade in the second Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Andrade had shown strong pace earlier in the day as well, setting an identical time to Schmid to lead FP3. Mercedes have also had an encouraging weekend in São Paulo, and with the German marquee starting 2nd and 6th, theyll be hoping to have a much better race compared to last year.

Several notable entries failed to reach LMGT3 Hyperpole however. The championship-leading No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, carrying the maximum success weight after winning last time out at Le Mans, could only manage 12th in the opening qualifying session with Ben Keating at the wheel.

It was also a difficult session for Ferrari and McLaren. Neither of the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evos advanced, while both Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3s were eliminated too. Antares Au also suffered a late spin at the final braking zone of Juncão in the No. 10 McLaren, ending the team’s chances of progressing through.

One thing is certain: the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo is shaping up to be an incredible race when the field goes green on Sunday, July 12, at 11:30 a.m. local time.