The 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) will bring a full 47-car field to Spa-Francorchamps as the Belgian event celebrates its 10th anniversary. A total of 140 drivers and 30 teams representing 30 nations will compete across LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3.
Spa will host Round 4 of the 2026 season from 21-23 August, with close championship battles developing across all four classes following the previous round at Imola. Four Belgian drivers will also contest their home event: Jean Glorieux, Douwe Dedecker, Maxime Martin and returning two-time ELMS LMGTE champion Alessio Picariello.
United Autosports holds narrow LMP2 lead
Eleven cars will contest the headline LMP2 category, with every team retaining its driver line-up from Imola. United Autosports arrives at Spa with the championship lead after Ben Hanley, Grégoire Saucy and Griffin Peebles finished second in Italy.
The No. 22 Oreca-Gibson crew holds 58 points, but Forestier Racing by Panis has closed to within six points after Esteban Masson, Louis Rousset and Oliver Gray claimed a commanding victory at Imola. The No. 29 trio has now won two of the opening three races and enters Spa with 52 points.
Inter Europol Competition will again field its two Oreca-Gibsons. Reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winners Jakub Śmiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly will share one entry, while Bijoy Garg and Reshad De Gerus form the only two-driver LMP2 combination on the grid.
Meanwhile, former champions Algarve Pro Racing arrive with renewed momentum. Matthias Kaiser, Tristan Vautier and Jake Hughes secured the team’s first podium of the season at Imola after finishing third in the No. 25 Oreca-Gibson. Vector Sport, Nielsen Racing, CLX Motorsport, Proton Competition and a second IDEC Sport entry complete the 11-car category.
Chadwick, Hörr and Rinicella target first podium
IDEC Sport’s Jamie Chadwick, Laurents Hörr and Valerio Rinicella have produced one of the most consistent starts in the LMP2 field without yet reaching the podium.
The No. 18 trio finished fourth in Barcelona, Le Castellet and Imola, leaving them with three consecutive top-four results across the opening half of the season. However, they will now aim to convert that consistency into their first podium at Spa.
With United Autosports and Forestier Racing by Panis setting the championship pace and Algarve Pro Racing returning to the podium at Imola, IDEC Sport faces another closely contested battle as the LMP2 title fight enters its second half.
Algarve Pro Racing and Vector Sport tied in LMP2 Pro/Am
The LMP2 Pro/Am championship arrives at Spa with nothing separating the leading two crews.
Barcelona winners Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Malthe Jakobsen hold 43 points in the No. 20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca-Gibson. However, Imola winners Jens Reno Møller, Cem Bölükbaşı and Lorenzo Fluxá have drawn level after taking maximum points for Vector Sport in Italy.
Former championship leaders Doriane Pin, Richard Verschoor and Giorgio Roda remain firmly in contention for Duqueine Team. The No. 30 crew sits five points behind the joint leaders, while former LMP2 Pro/Am champions AF Corse hold fourth with François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Antonio Fuoco on 36 points.
United Autosports also enters Spa after its strongest result of the season. Oliver Jarvis, Daniel Schneider and Marino Sato claimed their first podium at Imola and moved to 25 points. Le Castellet winners Kriton Lentoudis, James Allen and Alex Quinn also hold 25 points for Nielsen Racing.
Belgian driver Glorieux will contest his home event for DKR Engineering, where Julien Andlauer joins him and Marlon Hernandez in the No. 3 Oreca-Gibson. TDS Racing, reigning champions AO by TF, CLX Motorsport, Proton Competition and Rossa Racing by Virage add further depth to the 12-car field.
Rinaldi Racing retakes LMP3 championship lead
Ten cars will compete in LMP3, with nine Ligier JS P325-Toyotas taking on the sole Duqueine D09-Toyota from R-ace GP.
Rinaldi Racing returns to the head of the championship after Barcelona winners Alvise Rodella, Jose Fernandes Cautela and Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen finished second at Imola. The No. 5 Ligier crew now holds 49 points and an eight-point advantage over Inter Europol Competition.
Alex Bukhantsov, Henry Cubides Olarte and Chun Ting Chou sit second after winning at Le Castellet, while reigning champions CLX Motorsport moved back into title contention with victory at Imola.
Paul Lanchère, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias collected maximum points in Italy and now hold third with 40 points, leaving only nine points between the leading three crews.
The category also features one driver change at Spa. Alfie Briggs joins Thomas Imbourg and former champion Nick Adcock in the No. 68 M Racing Ligier.
Home driver Dedecker will represent Eurointernational, while DKR Engineering, Ultimate and Racing Spirit of Léman also return for the fourth round.
Six manufacturers contest 14-car LMGT3 field
LMGT3 again provides the largest individual class, with 14 cars representing six manufacturers.
Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche will all compete at Spa as one of the closest championship battles on the grid continues.
TF Sport moved to the top of the standings after Blake McDonald, Alec Udell and Charlie Eastwood won at Imola in the No. 33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. Their victory made Corvette the third different manufacturer to win during the opening three rounds and lifted the crew to 44 points.
However, only one point separates TF Sport from Barcelona winners Richard Lietz, Matt Kurzejewski and Thomas Sargent. The No. 75 Proton Competition Porsche sits second on 43 points.
Le Castellet winners Takeshi Kimura, Daniel Serra and Mathys Jaubert remain close behind for Kessel Racing. Their No. 57 Ferrari holds third with 40 points, meaning only four points cover the leading three crews heading into Belgium.
Martin returns home after historic Imola podium
Maxime Martin will compete in front of his home supporters in the No. 62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG alongside Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Julien Hanses.
The crew arrives with momentum after securing second place at Imola. That result made Al-Khelaifi the first Qatari driver to stand on an ELMS podium after he had already claimed pole positions in both Barcelona and Le Castellet.
Their strong Italian weekend lifted the No. 62 crew to fourth in the championship with 32 points.
Martin also adds another major home presence to the field after winning the LMGTE Pro category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020.
Meanwhile, the No. 77 Proton Competition Porsche and No. 55 Spirit of Race Ferrari occupy fifth and sixth respectively as the crowded LMGT3 title fight continues into Spa.
Picariello returns as LMGT3 line-ups change
Spa will also feature three changes among the LMGT3 driver line-ups.
Double ELMS LMGTE champion Picariello returns to the championship on home soil, replacing Harry King in the No. 77 Proton Competition Porsche. Martin Berry will also remain with the No. 77 crew for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Racing Spirit of Léman has changed two members of its No. 59 Aston Martin line-up. Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson replace Clément Mateu and Valentin Hasse-Clot for the Belgian round.
The rest of the LMGT3 field includes GR Racing, United Autosports, High Class Racing, Iron Lynx, AF Corse and Kessel Racing’s second Ferrari.
With three different LMGT3 winners from the opening three races and only four points separating the leading three crews, Spa could provide another major shift in the championship order.
ELMS celebrates 10 years at Spa
The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps first took place in September 2016 and has since become an established part of the ELMS calendar. Ten years later, the series returns with another maximum-sized field and championship contests that remain open throughout all four categories.
United Autosports carries a six-point LMP2 advantage into Belgium, while Algarve Pro Racing and Vector Sport arrive level in LMP2 Pro/Am. Rinaldi Racing holds only eight points over its nearest LMP3 challenger, and just four points cover the leading three LMGT3 crews.
As a result, the anniversary event offers more than a celebration of a decade of ELMS competition at Spa. With three rounds remaining after the Belgian weekend, the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps could also play a decisive role in shaping each of the 2026 championship battles.
The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps takes place from Friday, 21 August to Sunday, 23 August, with the four-hour race scheduled for Sunday.
