The 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) heads to Silverstone from 11–13 September for the penultimate round of the season, with all four class championship battles still open.
A maximum 47-car field will contest the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone, comprising 11 LMP2 entries, 12 in LMP2 Pro/Am, 10 LMP3 cars and a 14-strong LMGT3 contingent. The entry features 139 drivers and 30 teams representing 30 different nations.
The United Kingdom is particularly well represented at the Home of British Motorsport, with 20 drivers and five teams competing under the Union Flag. Several arrive with realistic prospects of victory, while reigning Silverstone winners feature across the classes.
At the front, Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports enter the weekend tied on 70 points in LMP2. LMP2 Pro/Am is similarly close, with Algarve Pro Racing and AF Corse level on 61, while CLX Motorsport holds the clearest advantage of any championship leader with a 15-point cushion in LMP3. LMGT3 remains even tighter as Proton Competition leads TF Sport by just one point.
Forestier Racing and United Autosports tied in LMP2
The fight for the outright ELMS title could hardly be closer heading into Silverstone.
Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports both have 70 points after four rounds, although Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Louis Rousset occupy the championship lead on countback. Their No. 29 Oreca has already won twice, taking victories at Barcelona and Imola.
Ben Hanley, Griffin Peebles and Grégoire Saucy have one victory for United Autosports, which came at Le Castellet. Nevertheless, their consistent scoring has allowed the No. 22 crew to draw level heading into the final two rounds.
IDEC Sport remains mathematically involved in third on 52 points. Its No. 18 Oreca carries additional home interest through Jamie Chadwick, who won the 2025 Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone. She shares the car with Valerio Rinicella and Laurents Hörr after the trio secured their first podium of 2026 at Spa-Francorchamps.
Inter Europol Competition also heads to Britain with momentum. Nick Yelloly, Tom Dillmann and Kuba Śmiechowski won the previous race at Spa in the No. 43 and now sit fifth in the championship on 42 points. The trio also arrives as reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winners, while Yelloly returns to his home event after finishing second at Silverstone in 2025.
Inter Europol’s second entry will feature the weekend’s only two-driver LMP2 combination, with Bijoy Garg and Reshad de Gerus sharing the No. 34.
British drivers feature throughout LMP2 grid
Several other British competitors will race at home in the headline category.
Nielsen Racing fields the No. 24 for Ed Pearson, Roy Nissany and Jack Doohan. The Australian joins the crew alongside Pearson and Nissany as the British squad looks to add to its 21 championship points.
Vector Sport also races under the Union Flag with Ryan Cullen joined by Vlad Lomko and Pietro Fittipaldi in the No. 10 Oreca.
Sebastian Priaulx represents another British presence in Proton Competition’s No. 9, which he shares with Mike Rockenfeller and Jonas Ried. Jake Hughes will also compete on home soil with Algarve Pro Racing alongside Tristan Vautier and Matthias Kaiser in the No. 25.
The LMP2 field is completed by the second IDEC Sport Oreca and the No. 37 CLX Motorsport entry.
With Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports level at the top, Silverstone has the potential to provide the first meaningful separation between the two title favourites before October’s Portimão finale.
Algarve Pro Racing and AF Corse level in LMP2 Pro/Am
The LMP2 Pro/Am championship mirrors the outright category, with two crews tied at the top.
Algarve Pro Racing’s No. 20 and AF Corse’s No. 83 both have 61 points. Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Malthe Jakobsen hold the lead on countback after winning at Barcelona and recording two second-place finishes. François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxivière and Antonio Fuoco have one victory, which came at Spa, and one second place.
Behind them, several established crews remain capable of closing the gap.
Reigning champions PJ Hyett, Louis Delétraz and Dane Cameron arrive after taking their second podium of the season at Spa with AO by TF. Their No. 99 Oreca, known as ‘Spike the Dragon’, also came within 0.141 seconds of winning at Silverstone last season.
Duqueine Team hopes to return to the podium with Giorgio Roda, Richard Verschoor and Doriane Pin. The crew previously led the championship, while Roda will chase his fourth Pro/Am pole of 2026.
Three British teams contest LMP2 Pro/Am
United Autosports, Nielsen Racing and Vector Sport each add a Pro/Am entry alongside their LMP2 programmes.
Nielsen’s No. 27 brings together defending Silverstone class winners Kriton Lentoudis and Alex Quinn with former ELMS champion James Allen. Lentoudis and Quinn won the class at the circuit in 2025 and return with the opportunity to repeat that success.
United Autosports retains Daniel Schneider, Marino Sato and Oliver Jarvis in its No. 21, while Vector Sport continues with Jens Reno Møller, Cem Bölükbaşı and Lorenzo Fluxá after their class victory at Imola.
DKR Engineering makes the only driver change within the class. Maceo Capietto replaces Julien Andlauer and reunites with Jean Glorieux and Marlon Hernandez for the second time this season.
TDS Racing, Rossa Racing by Virage, CLX Motorsport and Proton Competition complete the 12-car field.
CLX Motorsport carries largest championship advantage into Silverstone
LMP3 produces the biggest points gap among the four championship leaders, but the title remains far from secure with two rounds remaining.
Reigning champion CLX Motorsport leads on 65 points after Paul Lanchère, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias secured their second victory of the season at Spa. They originally crossed the line behind Rinaldi Racing, but the No. 5 Ligier was later disqualified for a fuel-tank infringement.
That result gave CLX a 15-point advantage over R-ace GP.
Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarze have 50 points in the No. 85 Duqueine, while José Fernandes Cautela, Alvise Rodella and Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen sit only one point further behind for Rinaldi Racing.
Inter Europol Competition remains another potential contender. Alexander Bukhantsov, Henry Cubides Olarte and Chun Ting Chou won at Le Castellet and finished third at Barcelona but have lost ground since. Silverstone offers an opportunity to bring the No. 13 back towards the championship leaders.
CLX returns to scene of 2025 Silverstone success
CLX carries more than a championship lead into Britain.
The team won the LMP3 class at Silverstone last season and returns as both the reigning class champion and current points leader. Another victory would place Lanchère, Jacoby and Iglesias in an extremely strong position before Portimão.
Only two British drivers appear among the 10 LMP3 crews. Matthew Richard Bell shares Eurointernational’s No. 11 Ligier-Toyota with Douwe Dedecker and Max van der Snel, while Terrence Woodward partners Lucas Fecury and Sebastian Gravlund in Ultimate’s No. 35.
Racing Spirit of Léman also changes its usual configuration. Lenny Ried and Ralph Meichtry will share the No. 31 as a two-driver crew for the first time this season.
DKR Engineering, Team Virage and M Racing complete the prototype class.
One point separates Proton Competition and TF Sport in LMGT3
LMGT3 brings the largest individual field to Silverstone and arguably the closest championship battle.
Matt Kurzejewski, Thomas Sargent and Richard Lietz lead with the No. 75 Proton Competition Porsche, but reigning champion TF Sport sits only one point behind.
Charlie Eastwood shares TF Sport’s No. 33 Corvette with Blake McDonald and Alec Udell. Eastwood enters the weekend as the defending Drivers’ champion, giving the team considerable experience as the title battle reaches its final two races.
The class contains 14 cars from six manufacturers, with seven British drivers and three British teams represented.
GR Racing returns home after Spa breakthrough
GR Racing arrives at Silverstone directly from its first ELMS victory in more than a decade.
Mike Wainwright and Lorcan Hanafin share the No. 86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo with Dutch driver Mex Jansen. Their Spa success was GR Racing’s first ELMS victory since Silverstone in 2015, making the team’s return to its home circuit particularly timely.
United Autosports also brings home representation through its McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo. Wayne Boyd and Michael Birch share the car with Australian Garnet Patterson.
British driver Harry King joins another championship-relevant entry. He replaces Alessio Picariello in the No. 77 Proton Competition Porsche alongside Martin Berry and Huub van Eijndhoven.
Aron set for ELMS driving debut with Iron Lynx
Several driver changes add further interest to the LMGT3 field.
Ralf Aron replaces Maxime Martin in Team Qatar by Iron Lynx’s No. 62 Mercedes-AMG. The Estonian previously enjoyed championship success as PREMA Racing’s Team Manager in 2022 but will now make his ELMS debut behind the wheel alongside Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses.
High Class Racing brings Benjamin Paque into its No. 54 Porsche in place of Anders Fjordbach.
Racing Spirit of Léman also alters its Aston Martin line-up. François Hériau replaces Tony McIntosh in the No. 59, while Valentin Hasse-Clot returns after missing Spa.
Ameerh Naran provides further British representation in the No. 63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG alongside reigning LMGT3 champion Rui Andrade and Sérgio Sette Câmara.
Duncan Cameron also returns in Spirit of Race’s No. 55 Ferrari with Matt Griffin and David Perel.
Defending Silverstone winners return with Richard Mille AF Corse
The drivers who won LMGT3 at Silverstone last season will attempt to repeat the result in the No. 50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296.
Custodio Toledo, Lilou Wadoux and Riccardo Agostini return as an unchanged combination after claiming the 2025 class victory.
Kessel Racing adds two more Ferraris, including the No. 57 of Takeshi Kimura, Daniel Serra and Mathys Jaubert. That crew won at Le Castellet earlier in the season and remains another potential victory contender.
AF Corse’s No. 51 Ferrari completes the 14-car LMGT3 field.
Silverstone could reshape every 2026 ELMS title fight
The championship remains unusually open with only Silverstone and Portimão left.
Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports enter Britain completely level in LMP2, while Algarve Pro Racing and AF Corse have produced an identical situation in LMP2 Pro/Am. CLX holds more breathing room in LMP3, but R-ace GP and Rinaldi Racing remain close enough to capitalise on any setback.
LMGT3 leaves even less margin for error, with just one point separating the No. 75 Proton Porsche from TF Sport’s No. 33 Corvette.
Silverstone also presents a significant opportunity for the home contingent. Chadwick returns as a defending race winner, Yelloly arrives after winning at Spa and Le Mans, while GR Racing carries momentum from its first ELMS victory since 2015. Five British teams and 20 British drivers will compete across the four classes.
The Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone takes place on Sunday, 13 September, before the championship heads to Portimão from 8–10 October for the 2026 finale.
The weekend will also include the ELMS Charity Run for the Luca Guintoli Foundation on Friday, 11 September at 18:50, with proceeds supporting families and children affected by cancer.
