BMW M Motorsport works driver Dan Harper has secured a second podium finish of his debut FIA World Endurance Championship season, following a brilliant drive to second position in LMGT3 in the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo (10-12 July).
That fourth round of the 2026 FIA WEC season was an exciting new adventure for Harper, as he raced in South America for the first time. It came at the legendary Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos, alongside team-mates Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson.
Aiming to bounce back from a challenging run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month, the drivers and Team WRT squad were determined to return to the pace that saw them secure a superb victory in the opening round of the FIA WEC campaign at Imola back in April.
With an eye-catching yellow, green and blue livery on their BMW M4 GT3 EVO inspired by the vibrant colours and spirit of Brazil, they initially struggled for pace across the opening two free practice sessions around the 2.677-mile Interlagos circuit.
Team WRT made some great changes to the car ahead of Saturday though and their hard work paid off, with improved speed putting them right in the mix for qualifying. McIntosh successfully secured them a spot in hyperpole, before Thompson put in a rapid lap to take fourth on the LMGT3 grid.
McIntosh was back behind the wheel for Sunday’s race, which took place in more overcast and cooler conditions than the previous days. The American put in a great opening stint, staying out of trouble and keeping the #69 BMW firmly in the podium picture.
Thompson continued their positive momentum through the middle of the race. As different cars gambled with different strategies, great race management from Team WRT kept them in the top four and saw Thompson move up to second at one stage before handing over to Harper.
The 25-year-old talent jumped in for the final two hours, just as the temperature dropped even more and the threat of rain loomed overhead. He enjoyed a brilliant three-way battle with Porsche and Corvette machinery, prior to him making his last trip to the pitlane with an hour left on the clock.
Emerging in third, he hunted down his former Ginetta Junior rival Seb Priaulx and pulled off a great overtake for second place, before quickly pulling away from his pursuers. The LMGT3 leader was out of reach though, so Harper focused on bringing the car home safely for a brilliant podium finish.
Dan Harper: “We’re absolutely buzzing with that result. We did not except to be standing on the podium in Brazil, so it’s a very nice surprise and we’re very, very happy to be back where we belong after a couple of difficult and frustrating WEC weekends at Spa and Le Mans.
“We didn’t give up and kept pushing to maximise the package we had available to us. Tony and Parker drove brilliantly and gave me the car in a fantastic position. I had a nice couple of stints, getting to pull off a couple of overtakes and complete a pretty faultless race from the whole team.
“The tyre degradation was critical and we suffered with that in free practice, but the cooler conditions for the race really helped us. It’s great to be back on the podium and to score some big points, now we need to keep that momentum going. A huge thank you to everyone at Team WRT for their efforts.
“It was also very cool to be sharing the podium with fellow Northern Irishman Charlie Eastwood, and his team-mate Peter Dempsey. Congratulations to them for the victory, I sadly couldn’t quite close the gap to Charlie to fight for the win at the end. A very special day for Northern Ireland and Ireland.”
The FIA World Endurance Championship will next be in action with the Lone Star Le Mans race at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas (04-06 September). Next for Harper though is the next GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup event at the Nürburgring (28-30 August).
The images included are from BMW M Motorsport.