Six cars remain mathematically capable of winning the 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) LMGT3 championship as one of the season’s closest title fights heads to the 4 Hours of Portimão. Team Qatar by Iron Lynx leads defending champion TF Sport by only three points after taking its first ELMS victory at Silverstone, with the #62 Mercedes-AMG sitting on 73 points compared with 70 for the #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R.
Both Proton Competition Porsches, Kessel Racing and GR Racing also remain within mathematical reach, with 26 points still available in Portugal. Victory at Portimão would guarantee either Team Qatar by Iron Lynx or TF Sport the championship regardless of the results behind, along with the coveted automatic invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Team Qatar takes three-point advantage to Portugal
Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses arrive at Portimão at the top of the LMGT3 Drivers’ Championship after a dramatic breakthrough at Silverstone. The #62 Mercedes-AMG spent much of the wet final hour fighting Kessel Racing’s #57 Ferrari and TF Sport’s #33 Corvette before Hanses emerged at the front.
He eventually defeated Charlie Eastwood by 2.938 seconds to secure Mercedes-AMG’s first ELMS LMGT3 victory and make Al-Khelaifi the first Qatari driver to win an ELMS race. The Silverstone victory moved the team from championship challenger to leader with only Portimão remaining, although only Al-Khelaifi and Hanses are eligible to win the Drivers’ Championship from the #62 crew because Ralf Aron joined the programme at Silverstone.
Hanses sees no reason to change approach
Despite entering the finale with the championship lead, Hanses does not expect Team Qatar by Iron Lynx to alter the approach that carried it to the top of the standings. Instead, the focus remains on the preparation process that has worked throughout the season and on maximising the areas where the crew believes further improvement remains possible.
“Honestly, we won’t change much,” he said. “Our approach has worked all season, so there’s no reason to reinvent it now. Preparation has always been the key for us, and we put a huge amount of work in before every event. With five race weekends behind us, we now have a really clear picture of where we still have potential. We’ve focused on exactly those areas so we can arrive in Portimão with the complete package.
“Of course, fighting for the title against five other teams adds some pressure, but that’s the kind of pressure you want. We’ll stay focused on our own job and try to deliver a clean, strong race.”
Team Qatar’s advantage is narrow enough that simply protecting points could prove dangerous. However, TF Sport sits only three behind, while four additional teams can still capitalise if both of the leading entries run into trouble.
TF Sport targets back-to-back titles
TF Sport enters the finale attempting to successfully defend the LMGT3 crown it won in 2025. Alec Udell, Blake McDonald and Eastwood have accumulated 70 points in the #33 Corvette and sit only three behind Al-Khelaifi and Hanses in the Drivers’ standings.
The Corvette crew moved to the championship lead earlier in the season and remained firmly involved through the following rounds. Although Team Qatar overtook it at Silverstone, finishing second in Britain ensured the championship remained almost evenly balanced heading to Portugal, leaving TF Sport in a position where victory would guarantee another title.
Eastwood sees opportunity in success ballast
Eastwood believes the relative success ballast carried by the leading cars could work in TF Sport’s favour at Portimão, particularly with the Mercedes-AMG carrying more weight than the Corvette. He also expects the circuit characteristics to suit the #33, although he remains aware that the Proton Porsches sit close enough to punish any mistake from the two leading teams.
“We are in a great position heading into Portimão,” he said. “We have been carrying a lot of success ballast in the last two events and for the first time the Mercedes-AMG will have 15kg more than us. With that in mind we have a great chance to go for the win as the Corvette really suits the Portimão track but also, we need to keep an eye on the Porsches, as they are not far behind on points. As always in the ELMS, it’s super tight going into the final event.”
The reigning LMGT3 Drivers’ Champion therefore arrives with the possibility of claiming consecutive titles, but the two Proton Competition cars immediately behind mean TF Sport cannot afford to focus exclusively on the Mercedes-AMG.
Proton keeps both Porsches in contention
Proton Competition has two opportunities to overturn the leading pair, with the #77 Porsche sitting third on 62 points and the sister #75 following only one point further back on 61. The two cars trail Team Qatar by 11 and 12 points respectively, keeping both firmly within range with 26 points available.
The two entries have followed different paths into the finale. The #75 started the season strongly and won LMGT3 at Barcelona, while the #77 has increasingly established itself near the front during the second half of the campaign. Harry King brought the #77 onto the podium at Silverstone with a final-lap pass on the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari, earning three additional points that could prove particularly important at Portimão.
Six teams retain mathematical chance
With 26 points still available through victory and the bonus point for pole, the LMGT3 Teams’ Championship remains open to six entries. Team Qatar and TF Sport therefore control their own destinies, while every other contender requires a combination of a strong result and trouble for the teams ahead.
- 1. #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG — 73 points
- 2. #33 TF Sport Corvette — 70
- 3. #77 Proton Competition Porsche — 62
- 4. #75 Proton Competition Porsche — 61
- 5. #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari — 52
- 6. #86 GR Racing Ferrari — 50
The spread from first to sixth is only 23 points, meaning every mathematically eligible team arrives in Portugal with at least a theoretical route to the championship.
Kessel retains outside chance
Kessel Racing remains mathematically involved on 52 points after a season that has included a victory at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet and several further appearances near the front of the LMGT3 field. Its championship position would have been even stronger had Silverstone played out differently.
Mathys Jaubert led the LMGT3 battle late in the race before running wide at Luffield, allowing Hanses and Eastwood through. King then passed the Ferrari on the final lap, dropping Kessel from a potential podium to fourth. That leaves the #57 21 points behind Team Qatar and needing a near-perfect finale combined with poor results for most of the teams ahead.
GR Racing remains mathematically alive
GR Racing completes the group of six contenders with 50 points, keeping the #86 Ferrari mathematically in the title fight despite a 23-point deficit to the championship lead. Its route to the crown is difficult, but the 26 points available at Portimão mean it cannot be eliminated before the finale begins.
The team moved itself into championship contention by winning an unpredictable 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, where changing conditions and repeated shifts in the order produced its biggest points haul of the campaign. That result is the main reason GR Racing still travels to Portugal with a mathematical chance.
Portimão suits Eastwood’s Corvette confidence
The 4.653km Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is commonly nicknamed the “Portimão Rollercoaster” because of the dramatic elevation changes that define much of the lap. Its mixture of fast direction changes, heavy braking areas and flowing sections creates a demanding rhythm, but Eastwood believes those characteristics suit the Corvette particularly well.
Portimão also carries personal significance for the TF Sport driver because he lives nearby, effectively turning the season finale into a home event.
“I love Portimão,” said Eastwood. “I live only 40 minutes away so it’s somewhat a home race for me with lots of friends & family coming to watch the race. The Corvette is brilliant in high-speed flowing tracks like Portimão so it’s a great place to try win the championship for us!”
His familiarity with the circuit and the expected balance of the Corvette gives TF Sport added confidence, although the narrow championship margin means any advantage still has to be converted cleanly across four hours.
Hanses embraces relative lack of experience
Hanses enters the finale with considerably less experience of Portimão, but that situation has become familiar during his 2026 campaign. Several circuits on the calendar have been relatively new to him, yet he has still managed to compete near the front and help Team Qatar build its championship challenge.
“I don’t have much experience at Portimão yet, but that was also the case at Imola and Silverstone, so it’s a challenge I’m used to this season,” Hanses admitted. “The track is a great mix of high-speed and low-speed sections, and I really enjoy that. The last sector is my favourite: you have those tight, technical slow corners, and then you have to carry as much speed as possible through the fast final corner onto the straight. It’s very rewarding when you get it right.
“In general, the Mercedes-AMG is very strong in medium- and high-speed corners thanks to its long wheelbase, and it also performs well on long straights. So, I think we should be in good shape, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
His lack of extensive circuit experience did not prevent him from fighting at the front at either Imola or Silverstone. Team Qatar finished second in Italy before winning in Britain, results that played a major role in carrying the team to its current three-point advantage.
Countback could decide championship
With six contenders packed into a 23-point window, Portimão also creates the possibility of the title being decided without a clear points advantage. One particularly notable scenario could leave three teams tied on 88 points, forcing officials to turn to countback.
If the #77 Proton Competition Porsche wins from pole, TF Sport finishes second and Team Qatar takes third, all three would reach the same total. TF Sport would retain the championship because the #33 Corvette would have one victory and two second-place finishes, compared with one win and one second place for both the #62 Mercedes-AMG and #77 Porsche.
The scenario underlines just how small the margins have become after five rounds and how even a bonus point for pole could influence the eventual title outcome.
ELMS has previous countback history
A championship tie would not be unprecedented in ELMS competition. The closest previous finish came in 2020, when Proton Competition and Kessel Racing both ended the LMGTE season on 99 points after producing almost identical records across the campaign.
Both teams had accumulated two victories, two second places and one fourth-place finish, forcing the championship to go deeper into the countback procedure. Proton ultimately prevailed because it had taken its first victory earlier in the season at Le Castellet, setting a precedent that could become relevant again if the 2026 finale produces another dead heat.
Le Mans invitation adds another prize
The significance of the finale extends beyond the ELMS trophies because the LMGT3 Teams’ Champion also earns an automatic invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans. That gives the leading crews another major prize to fight for alongside the championship itself.
For Team Qatar by Iron Lynx, the opportunity comes only weeks after taking its first ELMS win. TF Sport, meanwhile, can complete a successful title defence, while Proton has two separate chances to intervene. Kessel Racing and GR Racing remain capable of producing a dramatic late upset if the leading teams encounter trouble.
After Silverstone left every ELMS championship undecided, the 4 Hours of Portimão will settle them all. In LMGT3, only three points separate the two favourites, six cars can still take the title and even a countback remains entirely possible.
