The 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) reaches its conclusion at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve this weekend, with a maximum 47-car field and all four class championships still undecided heading into Saturday’s 4 Hours of Portimão.
Nineteen entries remain mathematically involved across LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3, creating a fitting conclusion to a season in which the rain-hit Silverstone round reshaped all four championship battles. United Autosports carries the largest advantage into Portugal in LMP2, while the margins remain considerably smaller elsewhere.
The 47-car Portimão field consists of 11 LMP2 cars, 12 LMP2 Pro/Am entries, 10 LMP3s and 14 LMGT3 machines, with 140 drivers representing 30 teams and 29 nations. Alongside four championships, several automatic invitations to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans remain at stake.
United Autosports controls LMP2 title fight
The overall LMP2 championship has narrowed to a straight fight between the #22 United Autosports Oreca and the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis entry. Ben Hanley, Griffin Peebles and Grégoire Saucy lead with 85 points, while reigning champions Esteban Masson, Oliver Gray and Louis Rousset sit 13 points behind on 72.
United Autosports built its advantage through remarkable consistency. The crew has taken four podiums from five rounds, winning at Le Castellet while adding top-three finishes at Barcelona, Imola and Silverstone and fourth at Spa-Francorchamps. Their recovery during the challenging Silverstone weekend proved particularly valuable, as the #22 climbed back to third while Forestier Racing by Panis managed only ninth.
A third-place finish or better will guarantee United Autosports the championship regardless of the #29 result. Forestier Racing by Panis must therefore maximise a package that has already produced victories at Barcelona and Imola while hoping its rival encounters the kind of setback it has largely avoided this year.
The stakes extend beyond the title. United Autosports has already secured one of the two automatic LMP2 invitations to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans, while Forestier Racing by Panis can guarantee the second by finishing fifth or higher. However, the fight for LMP2 honours in Portimão also involves Algarve Pro Racing, IDEC Sport and Inter Europol Competition in the battle for second overall.
Algarve Pro Racing targets home success with Lynn
Algarve Pro Racing arrives at its home event with momentum after Matthias Kaiser, Jake Hughes and Ben Barnicoat won the wet 4 Hours of Silverstone. That result propelled the #25 Oreca to third in the standings on 54 points and placed the Portuguese operation at the head of the group chasing Forestier Racing by Panis for the second Le Mans invitation.
Alex Lynn replaces Barnicoat for the finale and joins Kaiser and Hughes in the #25. The British driver therefore returns to ELMS competition while also preparing for his FIA WEC comeback with Cadillac, giving Algarve Pro Racing another experienced addition for its home event.
IDEC Sport follows on 52 points with Jamie Chadwick, Valerio Rinicella and Laurents Hörr, while the #34 Inter Europol Competition sits another point behind on 51. The post-Silverstone championship picture leaves only three points covering those teams, meaning any trouble for Forestier Racing by Panis could completely reshape the fight for runner-up honours.
The LMP2 entry also features Pipo Derani, who replaces Jack Aitken alongside Ed Pearson and Roy Nissany in Nielsen Racing’s #24 Oreca. Spa winners Nick Yelloly, Tom Dillmann and Kuba Śmiechowski return in the #43 Inter Europol Competition, while IDEC Sport’s #28 arrives following its second-place finish at Silverstone.
Eight crews remain in extraordinary LMP2 Pro/Am fight
No category enters Portimão with more championship contenders than LMP2 Pro/Am. Eight crews retain a mathematical chance of taking the title, while only six points cover the leading four after five rounds.
AF Corse leads with 67 points as François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxivière and Antonio Fuoco chase the championship. Perrodo and Vaxivière could secure their third class title in four seasons, but their advantage has shrunk significantly after TDS Racing collected the maximum available points at Silverstone.
Steven Thomas, Sami Meguetounif and Scott Huffaker II now sit on 62 points, while Algarve Pro Racing and Duqueine Team follow on 61. Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Malthe Jakobsen therefore enter the finale level with Giorgio Roda, Richard Verschoor and Doriane Pin in an exceptionally tight battle immediately behind the leaders.
The championship contenders gathering in Portugal extend even further down the order, with Vector Sport on 53 points, Rossa Racing by Virage on 51, AO by TF on 45 and United Autosports’ #21 on 44. All eight therefore retain at least a mathematical route to the title.
Home interest will also extend beyond Algarve Pro Racing. Portuguese driver Manuel Espírito Santo shares the #19 Rossa Racing by Virage Oreca with John Falb and Rik Koen, giving one of the championship outsiders additional motivation at the finale.
CLX and R-ace GP resume LMP3 duel
The LMP3 championship presents another close fight, with reigning champion CLX Motorsport carrying a nine-point advantage over R-ace GP. Paul Lanchère, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias have amassed 84 points in the #17 Ligier after victories at Imola and Spa and second place at Silverstone.
R-ace GP closed the gap dramatically in Britain when Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarze claimed their maiden ELMS victory. Their 75-point total means another strong performance could overturn CLX’s advantage, although second place would guarantee the championship for the #17 regardless of its rival’s result.
Rinaldi Racing remains mathematically alive on 59 points but faces a considerably tougher task. José Fernandes Cautela, Alvise Rodella and Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen need victory and significant trouble for both leading crews, although Cautela will tackle that challenge on home soil.
Team Qatar and TF Sport separated by three points in LMGT3
LMGT3 provides another finely balanced title fight after Team Qatar by Iron Lynx transformed the standings with its breakthrough victory at Silverstone. Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses lead on 73 points and will again share the #62 Mercedes-AMG with Ralf Aron at Portimão.
Defending champions TF Sport sit only three points behind with the #33 Corvette of Alec Udell, Blake McDonald and Charlie Eastwood. Victory at Portimão would guarantee them the championship, making the equation straightforward even if the four-hour contest itself promises to be anything but.
Both Proton Competition Porsches remain within striking distance. The #77 of Martin Berry, Huub van Eijndhoven and Harry King has 62 points, while Barcelona winners Matthew Kurzejewski, Thomas Sargent and Richard Lietz sit on 61 in the sister #75. The Silverstone results left six LMGT3 crews mathematically involved, with Kessel Racing on 52 and GR Racing on 50 completing the group.
Kessel and GR Racing require victory to keep their championship possibilities alive. Takeshi Kimura, Mathys Jaubert and Daniel Serra won at Le Castellet in the #57 Ferrari, while Michael Wainwright, Lorcan Hanafin and Mex Jansen took the #86 Ferrari to victory at Spa, leaving both crews with proven race-winning pace despite entering Portugal as outsiders.
Portimão remains a familiar ELMS title-deciding stage
Portugal has hosted the ELMS finale every year since 2014, initially at Estoril before the championship moved to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in 2017. The history and statistics surrounding Portimão underline how firmly the circuit has become associated with championship deciders, with 2026 marking the 11th four-hour ELMS race at the venue.
United Autosports possesses an especially strong record there, with six Portimão victories across LMP2 and LMP3 and 15 podium finishes. Proton Competition has also claimed six wins at the circuit, including five in LMGTE and the 2024 LMP2 Pro/Am contest.
Several drivers on the current grid have previously won at Portimão. Forestier Racing title contenders Gray and Masson won the LMP2 race in 2025, while Eastwood returns as the defending LMGT3 winner. Jakobsen has also achieved the unusual feat of taking Portimão victories in three separate categories: LMP3, LMP2 Pro/Am and LMP2.
2026 ELMS 4 Hours of Portimão schedule
The weekend begins on Thursday before qualifying takes place on Friday and the championship concludes with four hours of racing on Saturday. All times are local.
- Thursday, 8 October — 11:00: Free Practice 1
- Thursday, 8 October — 14:40: Bronze Driver Collective Test
- Friday, 9 October — 10:15: Free Practice 2
- Friday, 9 October — 15:15: LMGT3 Qualifying
- Friday, 9 October — 15:40: LMP3 Qualifying
- Friday, 9 October — 16:05: LMP2 Pro/Am Qualifying
- Friday, 9 October — 16:30: LMP2 Qualifying
- Saturday, 10 October — 14:30: 4 Hours of Portimão
One championship point remains available for pole position in each category before 25 points go to Saturday’s class winners, leaving a maximum of 26 points available across the deciding weekend.
How to watch the 4 Hours of Portimão
Qualifying and the race will be available through the championship’s broadcast platforms, while regional broadcasters will also carry the season finale. The complete Portimão viewing information includes the available options across Europe and other international markets.
After five rounds, the 2026 season has left every championship unresolved and placed 19 crews in mathematical contention. United Autosports enters with the clearest advantage in LMP2, but the margins in LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3 leave far less room for conservative racing.
Portimão has repeatedly provided the backdrop to ELMS championship celebrations, but this year’s finale arrives with an unusually wide range of possible outcomes. Four titles, Le Mans invitations and a maximum 26 points in every category remain available, ensuring the final four hours of the season will determine considerably more than the last race winners of 2026.
