Since 2013, the European Le Mans Series has been attracting teams and drivers from around the world to compete in one of Europe’s leading endurance championships, with success also offering the opportunity to earn an invitation to the biggest endurance race of them all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Contested over six four-hour races at Barcelona, Le Castellet, Imola, Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone and Portimão, the ELMS combines established endurance specialists with some of the sport’s rising names. The 2026 grid has included drivers such as Doriane Pin, Pietro Fittipaldi, Richard Verschoor, Jamie Chadwick and Antonio Fuoco, underlining the strength of a championship that continues to grow.
For the fifth and penultimate round of the season, the series arrived at Silverstone with a 47-car entry spread across LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3. Nine manufacturers were represented across the field, from prototype constructors Oreca, Ligier and Duqueine to Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette, McLaren and Mercedes-AMG.
With every championship still unresolved and just Portimão remaining after Silverstone, there was considerably more at stake than simply winning the race.
Friday’s opening practice offered the first indication of just how competitive the weekend might be. United Autosports led LMP2 with the #22 Oreca, while Algarve Pro Racing topped LMP2 Pro/Am, CLX Motorsport headed LMP3 and Proton Competition set the early LMGT3 pace.
Saturday morning was noticeably cooler, and the lap times dropped with it. Inter Europol Competition emerged as one of the strongest contenders, Tom Dillmann putting the #43 Oreca at the top of FP2, while Wayne Boyd set a new ELMS LMGT3 lap record at Silverstone in the #23 United Autosports McLaren 720S.
The session ended five minutes early when Marlon Hernandez put the #3 DKR Engineering Oreca into the gravel, while one car had already been lost from the weekend. The #50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari was withdrawn following damage sustained during Friday practice, reducing the field to 46 cars for Sunday’s race.
Inter Europol carried its Saturday pace straight into qualifying. Dillmann put the #43 on outright pole, while Louis Iglesias secured LMP3 pole for CLX Motorsport, Steven Thomas topped LMP2 Pro/Am for TDS Racing and Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi claimed LMGT3 pole for Team Qatar by Iron Lynx.
By Saturday evening, the #43 looked like the car to beat.
Silverstone had other ideas.
Sunday morning began wet, but by the time the field lined up for the midday start the rain had stopped. A dry racing line was beginning to appear, although much of the circuit remained damp and the kerbs were still wet. With more rain forecast for later in the afternoon, nobody could be certain how long the improving conditions would last.
Kuba Śmiechowski led the field away from pole in the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca, but the advantage disappeared almost immediately. Theodor Jensen swept past in the #37 CLX Motorsport Oreca at Abbey, while Matthias Kaiser also moved the #25 Algarve Pro Racing car ahead before the end of the opening lap.
Behind them, the difficult conditions were already causing trouble. Jamie Chadwick spun the #18 IDEC Sport Oreca at Maggots, forcing Ryan Cullen in the #10 Vector Sport car off in avoidance. Both recovered, although Chadwick dropped deep into the order and briefly found herself among the LMP3 traffic before beginning the long climb back through the field.
The championship fight was lively from the start. Griffin Peebles was making rapid progress in the #22 United Autosports Oreca, while the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis car was right in the same battle. There was very little room being given by either side, proper elbows-out racing between two teams that had arrived at Silverstone locked together in the title fight.
Peebles continued to charge and climbed as high as second, but his progress came at a cost when contact with the #35 Ultimate Ligier earned the #22 a drive-through penalty for causing a collision.
In LMGT3, Blake McDonald moved the #33 TF Sport Corvette ahead of the pole-sitting #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG on the opening lap and began to build a gap, while championship leader Matt Kurzejewski worked the #75 Proton Competition Porsche up to third during the opening hour.
For a while, the circuit appeared to be improving.
Then the rain returned.
It began falling around the start of the second hour and quickly changed the entire complexion of the race. Grip disappeared, visibility deteriorated and tyre choice became critical as the field tried to judge how quickly conditions would worsen.
One of the first major casualties was the car that had looked strongest throughout Saturday. Nick Yelloly had taken over the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca when its left-rear wheel detached, forcing him to crawl back to the pits on three wheels. A replacement was fitted, but it quickly became clear the car was carrying more serious damage and it was soon back in the garage. An unsafe-release penalty followed, effectively ending any realistic chance of converting pole into victory.
The #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca was another to suffer as the rain intensified, Oliver Gray sliding into the gravel at Brooklands and losing valuable time in the championship battle.
Moments later came one of the biggest accidents of the afternoon. Andrew Gilbert spun the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari into the path of Ameerh Naran’s #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG. The impact caused extensive damage to both cars, ripping a wheel and suspension assembly from the Ferrari and leaving the Mercedes badly damaged at the front. Both drivers climbed out unaided, but the race had to be neutralised while the cars were recovered.
That neutralisation became one of the key strategic moments of the race. Several teams gambled on slick tyres, only for the rain to continue falling. Those cars were forced back into the pits for wets, including the previously leading #37 CLX Motorsport Oreca, which dropped down the order as a result.
By the time racing resumed after a Safety Car period lasting almost 25 minutes, Edward Pearson was leading in the #24 Nielsen Racing Oreca, with Jake Hughes chasing in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing car and Sami Meguetounif heading LMP2 Pro/Am in the #14 TDS Racing Oreca.
Algarve Pro Racing’s race had not been straightforward either. The #25 received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with the #23 United Autosports McLaren earlier in the race. Hughes served it at the next stop and rejoined fifth overall, leaving the team with work still to do.
In LMP3, the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier looked capable of taking another major step towards the championship until Alexander Jacoby ran off the road, allowing Pierre-Alexandre Provost through in the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine. That one mistake changed not only the race, but the shape of the championship heading into the final round.
The weather continued to make life difficult. Another Full Course Yellow followed when the #18 IDEC Sport Oreca went into the gravel at Stowe, while the #59 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin later triggered another interruption in equally tricky conditions.
At the front, TDS Racing was producing one of the drives of the weekend. Sami Meguetounif attacked Pearson after a restart and moved the #14 into the overall lead despite competing in LMP2 Pro/Am. The car’s progress was interrupted when Meguetounif suddenly slowed during a later Full Course Yellow, but he managed to recycle the power and get moving again before pitting at the restart.
The final hour became a constantly changing battle for the overall lead. Marino Sato moved the #21 United Autosports Oreca to the front before Ben Barnicoat, now aboard the #25 Algarve Pro Racing car, came through to take control.
It had not been a dominant run from Algarve Pro Racing, but that was almost the point. They had not started from pole, had served a penalty and had watched the race change repeatedly around them. What they had done was remain in contention while other cars spun, suffered mechanical problems, gambled on the wrong tyres or lost time in traffic.
By the closing stages, Barnicoat had finally built enough of an advantage to manage the race from the front. Behind him, TDS Racing remained second overall and firmly in control of LMP2 Pro/Am, while the #21 United Autosports car stayed in the fight for the outright podium.
The overall race was beginning to settle. LMGT3 was doing exactly the opposite.
Mathys Jaubert led late on in the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari, with Julian Hanses in the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG and Charlie Eastwood in the #33 TF Sport Corvette close behind. Jaubert then ran wide at Luffield and dropped behind both cars, setting up one of the best battles of the race.
Hanses and Eastwood traded positions in the closing laps, running side by side as both searched for grip on a circuit that remained treacherous. Hanses eventually gained the upper hand and held it to the flag, giving Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi, Julian Hanses and Ralf Aron the LMGT3 victory.
It was a significant result beyond the race itself. Al-Khelaifi became the first Qatari driver to win in ELMS, while Mercedes-AMG claimed its first victory in the championship’s LMGT3 era. TF Sport finished less than three seconds behind, while Harry King grabbed the final podium place for the #77 Proton Competition Porsche on the last lap.
The result also moved Team Qatar by Iron Lynx into the LMGT3 championship lead, just three points ahead of TF Sport heading to Portimão.
LMP3 produced its own important championship moment. Hugo Schwarze managed the final stint in the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine and brought the car home ahead of the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier. Together with Fabien Michal and Pierre-Alexandre Provost, Schwarze delivered R-ace GP its first ELMS victory since stepping up from the Michelin Le Mans Cup and reduced CLX Motorsport’s championship advantage to nine points.
At the front, Barnicoat finally brought an extraordinary four hours to an end. The #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca crossed the line after 105 laps to give Matthias Kaiser, Jake Hughes and Ben Barnicoat victory, the team’s first ELMS win since Spa-Francorchamps in 2023.
Just 17.995 seconds later came the #14 TDS Racing Oreca. Steven Thomas, Sami Meguetounif and Scott Huffaker II won LMP2 Pro/Am and finished an exceptional second overall, becoming the fifth different winner in the class in five races.
The #21 United Autosports Oreca completed the overall podium, while the #28 IDEC Sport car finished fourth overall but second in LMP2.
Silverstone had started damp, briefly looked as though it might dry and then turned into exactly the kind of endurance race changing weather can create. The fastest lap of the race went to the #37 CLX Motorsport Oreca with a 1:45.480, but outright pace counted for little once weather, strategy and incidents began reshaping the order.
The quickest car did not win. A Pro/Am entry finished second overall. Championship contenders hit trouble, strategies unravelled and the LMGT3 podium was still changing on the final lap.
Through all of it, Algarve Pro Racing stayed in contention and, in the end, managed the changing conditions better than anyone else.
Four hours later, that was enough.
Final Class Results
LMP2
1st. #25 Algarve Pro Racing
Matthias Kaiser / Jake Hughes / Ben Barnicoat
2nd. #28 IDEC Sport
Paul Lafargue / Job van Uitert / Paul-Loup Chatin
3rd. #22 United Autosports
Griffin Peebles / Grégoire Saucy / Ben Hanley
Final Class Results
LMP2
- #25 Algarve Pro Racing. Matthias Kaiser / Jake Hughes / Ben Barnicoat
- #28 IDEC Sport. Paul Lafargue / Job van Uitert / Paul-Loup Chatin
- #22 United Autosports. Griffin Peebles / Grégoire Saucy / Ben Hanley
LMP2 Pro/Am
- #14 TDS Racing. Steven Thomas / Sami Meguetounif / Scott Huffaker II
- #21 United Autosports. Daniel Schneider / Marino Sato / Oliver Jarvis
- #19 Rossa Racing by Virage. John Falb / Manuel Espírito Santo / Rasmus Lindh
LMP3
- #85 R-ace GP. Fabien Michal / Pierre-Alexandre Provost / Hugo Schwarze
- #17 CLX Motorsport. Paul Lanchère / Alexandre Jacoby / Louis Iglesias
- #13 Inter Europol Competition. Alexander Bukhantsov / Héctor Cubides / Chia Wei Ting Chou
LMGT3
- #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx. Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi / Julian Hanses / Ralf Aron
- #33 TF Sport. Blake McDonald / Alec Udell / Charlie Eastwood
- #77 Proton Competition. Martin Berry / Huub van Eijndhoven / Harry King
Images by Chris Holdsworth | Outlaw Photography ©
