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2026 ELMS Rookie Test | Pin tops Portimão running as Kucharczyk stars on LMP2 debut

Karishma Persad09 mins
Doriane Pin tops the 2026 ELMS Rookie Test at Portimão as Tymek Kucharczyk stars on his LMP2 debut and Vic Stevens leads LMP3.
Photo Credit: European Le Mans Series | FocusPackMedia
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Doriane Pin set the fastest time of the 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) Rookie Test at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, while Indy NXT racer Tymek Kucharczyk emerged as the quickest LMP2 newcomer during Sunday’s post-season running.

The annual test took place one day after United Autosports secured the LMP2 championship with victory in the 2026 4 Hours of Portimão. A total of 41 cars participated across LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3, LMGT3 and GT3, giving established drivers and newcomers five hours of track time as teams began looking towards their 2027 programmes.

The final on-track composition differed slightly from the original 41-car Rookie Test entry. Trajectus Motorsport joined the LMP3 field with a new Duqueine D09-Toyota, producing 20 LMP3 entries, while Racing Spirit of Léman represented the additional GT3 category with its Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.

2026 ELMS Rookie Test: Yelloly leads morning session

Nick Yelloly set the benchmark during the opening session aboard the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07-Gibson. The experienced LMP2 driver recorded a 1:33.088 to finish 0.130s ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the #14 TDS Racing Oreca.

Albuquerque’s appearance marked a return to LMP2 machinery after around 12 months away from the category. The 2020 ELMS LMP2 champion used the test as he explores a possible return to the championship in 2027 alongside his expected IMSA commitments.

Hadrien David produced the quickest morning time among the drivers sampling the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca. His 1:33.530 placed the car third overall and only 0.442s behind Yelloly.

Scott Huffaker II followed in fourth for Nielsen Racing and led LMP2 Pro/Am with a 1:33.757. Enea Frey completed the overall top five for Vector Sport, while Matteo Quintarelli and Woohyun Shin placed the two IDEC Sport cars sixth and seventh.

Sebastian Gravlund led LMP3 during the morning aboard the #4 DKR Engineering Ligier JS P325-Toyota. His 1:40.104 left him 0.271s clear of Mattis Pluschkell in BWT Mücke Motorsport’s Duqueine D09, while Vic Stevens placed third in class for the newly crowned LMP3 champions CLX Motorsport.

Gaetano Di Mauro set the morning LMGT3 benchmark for Kessel Racing. The official classification records a 1:42.975 aboard the #57 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, ahead of Nicola Lacorte’s #51 AF Corse Ferrari. The DailySportscar report lists Di Mauro’s lap as 1:42.795, but the official timing and Sportscar365 classification both give 1:42.975.

Morning Test results

  1. #43 Inter Europol Competition — LMP2 — Cian Shields / Tom Dillmann / Nick Yelloly — 1:33.088
  2. #14 TDS Racing — LMP2 — Conrad Laursen / Sami Meguetounif / Scott Huffaker II / Filipe Albuquerque — 1:33.218
  3. #29 Forestier Racing by Panis — LMP2 — Tymoteusz Kucharczyk / Hadrien David / Esteban Masson — 1:33.530
  4. #27 Nielsen Racing — LMP2 Pro/Am — Naveen Rao / Steven Thomas / Jules Caranta / Matthew Bell / Scott Huffaker II — 1:33.757
  5. #7 Vector Sport — LMP2 — Enea Frey — 1:33.801
  6. #28 IDEC Sport — LMP2 — Matteo Quintarelli / Gillian Henrion — 1:34.008
  7. #18 IDEC Sport — LMP2 — Woohyun Shin / Danial Frost — 1:34.053
  8. #47 CLX Motorsport — LMP2 — Henry Cubides Olarte — 1:34.149
  9. #88 Proton Competition — LMP2 Pro/Am — Franz Binder / Lenny Ried / Matt Kurzejewski — 1:34.294
  10. #34 Inter Europol Competition — LMP2 — Lucas Fluxá Cross / Chun Ting Chou — 1:34.375
  11. #30 Duqueine Team — LMP2 — Hugo Schwarze / Max van der Snel / Doriane Pin — 1:34.497
  12. #37 CLX Motorsport — LMP2 Pro/Am — Louis Stern / Louis Iglesias / Arthur Pavie — 1:34.854
  13. #3 DKR Engineering — LMP2 Pro/Am — Antti Rammo / Quentin Antonel / Esteban Muth — 1:35.496
  14. #83 AF Corse — LMP2 — Giovanni Maschio / Colin Queen / Matteo Franco Segre — 1:35.604
  15. #4 DKR Engineering — LMP3 — Sebastian Gravlund / Danny Buntschu / Gillian Henrion — 1:40.104
  16. #8 BWT Mücke Motorsport — LMP3 — Mattis Pluschkell / Tobias Bille Clausen — 1:40.375
  17. #17 CLX Motorsport — LMP3 — Vic Stevens / Paul Alberto / Gabriel Doyle-Parfait / Adrien Closmenil — 1:40.674
  18. #79 Forestier Racing by VPS — LMP3 — Pacome Weisenburger / Emily Cotty / Stylianos Taxiarchis Kolovos — 1:40.698
  19. #31 Racing Spirit of Léman — LMP3 — Mark van der Snel / Gregory Servais / Oskar Kristensen — 1:40.892
  20. #35 Ultimate — LMP3 — Matthieu Lahaye / Arthur Rogeon — 1:40.950
  21. #11 Eurointernational — LMP3 — Nazareno Lopez Cesaratto — 1:41.035
  22. #85 R-ace GP — LMP3 — Matus Ryba / Sebastian Bach — 1:41.143
  23. #5 Rinaldi Racing — LMP3 — Santiago Baztarrica / Isaac Barashi — 1:41.211
  24. #70 Team Virage — LMP3 — Samuel Ifrid / Maximilian Kammerlander — 1:41.577
  25. #13 Inter Europol Competition — LMP3 — Joao Vergara / Lucas Fecury / Ivan Ovsienko / Geronimo Gomez Azza — 1:41.644
  26. #86 R-ace GP — LMP3 — Maksymilian Angelard / Kyuho Lee — 1:41.728
  27. #92 Forestier Racing by VPS — LMP3 — Adrien Bastide / Tomas Pompidou / Jason Pribyl — 1:42.101
  28. #20 High Class Racing — LMP3 — Marcus Terkildsen / Christian Dannemand Jørgensen / Henrique Oliveira — 1:42.276
  29. #68 M Racing — LMP3 — Martin Lacquemanne / August Therbo — 1:42.462
  30. #22 Trajectus Motorsport — LMP3 — Vincent Bouteiller / Nickolas Ellis / Tomas Pompidou — 1:42.494
  31. #6 ANS Motorsport — LMP3 — Ethan Pharamond / Nicolas Schatz — 1:42.575
  32. #12 Brutal Fish by Campos — LMP3 — Jason Ambrose / Kacper Sztuka / Matteo Giaccardi — 1:42.714
  33. #57 Kessel Racing — LMGT3 — Gaetano Di Mauro / Paul Alberto / Andrea Bristot — 1:42.975
  34. #16 Team Virage — LMP3 — Alex Gardner / Sebastien Kawpeng / Simon Schranz — 1:43.041
  35. #62 Bretton Racing — LMP3 — Miroslav Mikes / Jan Koller / Maxmilian Karhan — 1:43.620
  36. #51 AF Corse — LMGT3 — Andrew Morrow / Nicola Lacorte — 1:43.846
  37. #54 High Class Racing — LMGT3 — Stefan Aust / Jens Reno Møller / George King — 1:44.570
  38. #55 Spirit of Race — LMGT3 — Alexandre Leroy — 1:44.613
  39. #33 TF Sport — LMGT3 — Andrew Gilbert / Fran Rueda / Romain Leroux — 1:44.642
  40. #24 Racing Spirit of Léman — GT3 — Sebastian Moreno / Esteban Beckmann — 1:46.530
  41. #75 Proton Competition — LMGT3 — Jonas Ried — 1:47.995

2026 ELMS Rookie Test: Pin moves Duqueine Team to the top

Times improved during the three-hour afternoon session, with Pin taking the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca to the fastest lap of the entire test.

The French driver recorded a 1:32.840 on lap 47, becoming the only driver to break into the 1m32s during the post-season running. Pin finished 0.682s clear of the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca and almost a quarter of a second faster than Yelloly’s morning benchmark.

Although Pin had already raced the Oreca during the 2026 ELMS season, the main rookie story came from Kucharczyk. The Indy NXT driver improved substantially from his 1:34.450 morning lap to a 1:33.522 in the afternoon, putting Forestier Racing by Panis second overall.

Kucharczyk’s lap also made him the fastest genuine LMP2 newcomer. He edged David’s morning benchmark by just 0.008s, while Frey followed with a 1:33.700 in Vector Sport’s #7 Oreca. Henry Cubides Olarte sat only 0.012s behind Frey for CLX Motorsport, with Laursen fifth overall for TDS Racing.

Huffaker remained the quickest LMP2 Pro/Am runner, setting a 1:33.863 in Nielsen Racing’s #27 Oreca. Lenny Ried placed the #88 Proton Competition entry second in class on a 1:34.375, while Quentin Antonel moved DKR Engineering into third with a 1:34.421.

Stevens edges Gravlund for LMP3 benchmark

The battle for the fastest LMP3 time remained extremely close.

Stevens improved to a 1:40.096 in the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier, beating Gravlund’s morning benchmark by only 0.008s. Arthur Rogeon moved Ultimate into second during the afternoon with a 1:40.158, while Pacome Weisenburger took the #79 Forestier Racing by VPS Ligier to a 1:40.196.

Weisenburger’s performance made him the fastest of the genuine LMP3 rookies. The young driver finished ahead of Isaac Barashi’s #5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier and Kyuho Lee’s #86 R-ace GP Duqueine in the afternoon classification.

Trajectus Motorsport also completed significant mileage with its newly acquired Duqueine D09. The team added the car to the test at short notice after campaigning a Ligier in the Michelin Le Mans Cup during 2026, with Vincent Bouteiller, Nickolas Ellis and Tomas Pompidou sharing driving duties. The programme allowed Trajectus to evaluate the Duqueine as a possible 2027 replacement for its Ligier as it continues working towards an eventual ELMS programme.

Di Mauro remains quickest in LMGT3

The LMGT3 cars did not improve on Di Mauro’s morning benchmark.

Lacorte led the category during the afternoon with a 1:43.723 for AF Corse, only 0.012s faster than Di Mauro’s afternoon time in the Kessel Racing Ferrari. Paul Alberto followed with a 1:43.838 in the same #57 machine.

Di Mauro’s morning 1:42.975 therefore remained the quickest LMGT3 lap of the test, with the Brazilian Stock Car racer leading the GT runners on his first appearance in the car.

Afternoon Test results

  1. #30 Duqueine Team — LMP2 — Hugo Schwarze / Max van der Snel / Doriane Pin — 1:32.840
  2. #29 Forestier Racing by Panis — LMP2 — Tymoteusz Kucharczyk / Hadrien David / Esteban Masson — 1:33.522
  3. #7 Vector Sport — LMP2 — Enea Frey — 1:33.700
  4. #47 CLX Motorsport — LMP2 — Henry Cubides Olarte — 1:33.712
  5. #14 TDS Racing — LMP2 — Conrad Laursen / Sami Meguetounif / Scott Huffaker II / Filipe Albuquerque — 1:33.717
  6. #27 Nielsen Racing — LMP2 Pro/Am — Naveen Rao / Steven Thomas / Jules Caranta / Matthew Bell / Scott Huffaker II — 1:33.863
  7. #34 Inter Europol Competition — LMP2 — Lucas Fluxá Cross / Chun Ting Chou — 1:34.106
  8. #88 Proton Competition — LMP2 Pro/Am — Franz Binder / Lenny Ried / Matt Kurzejewski — 1:34.375
  9. #3 DKR Engineering — LMP2 Pro/Am — Antti Rammo / Quentin Antonel / Esteban Muth — 1:34.421
  10. #28 IDEC Sport — LMP2 — Matteo Quintarelli / Gillian Henrion — 1:34.472
  11. #37 CLX Motorsport — LMP2 Pro/Am — Louis Stern / Louis Iglesias / Arthur Pavie — 1:34.536
  12. #18 IDEC Sport — LMP2 — Woohyun Shin / Danial Frost — 1:34.629
  13. #43 Inter Europol Competition — LMP2 — Cian Shields / Tom Dillmann / Nick Yelloly — 1:34.806
  14. #83 AF Corse — LMP2 — Giovanni Maschio / Colin Queen / Matteo Franco Segre — 1:35.801
  15. #17 CLX Motorsport — LMP3 — Vic Stevens / Paul Alberto / Gabriel Doyle-Parfait / Adrien Closmenil — 1:40.096
  16. #35 Ultimate — LMP3 — Matthieu Lahaye / Arthur Rogeon — 1:40.158
  17. #79 Forestier Racing by VPS — LMP3 — Pacome Weisenburger / Emily Cotty / Stylianos Taxiarchis Kolovos — 1:40.196
  18. #5 Rinaldi Racing — LMP3 — Santiago Baztarrica / Isaac Barashi — 1:40.578
  19. #86 R-ace GP — LMP3 — Maksymilian Angelard / Kyuho Lee — 1:40.614
  20. #70 Team Virage — LMP3 — Samuel Ifrid / Maximilian Kammerlander — 1:40.904
  21. #85 R-ace GP — LMP3 — Matus Ryba / Sebastian Bach — 1:40.942
  22. #6 ANS Motorsport — LMP3 — Ethan Pharamond / Nicolas Schatz — 1:40.973
  23. #13 Inter Europol Competition — LMP3 — Joao Vergara / Lucas Fecury / Ivan Ovsienko / Geronimo Gomez Azza — 1:41.024
  24. #22 Trajectus Motorsport — LMP3 — Vincent Bouteiller / Nickolas Ellis / Tomas Pompidou — 1:41.024
  25. #8 BWT Mücke Motorsport — LMP3 — Mattis Pluschkell / Tobias Bille Clausen — 1:41.049
  26. #31 Racing Spirit of Léman — LMP3 — Mark van der Snel / Gregory Servais / Oskar Kristensen — 1:41.122
  27. #12 Brutal Fish by Campos — LMP3 — Jason Ambrose / Kacper Sztuka / Matteo Giaccardi — 1:41.214
  28. #4 DKR Engineering — LMP3 — Sebastian Gravlund / Danny Buntschu / Gillian Henrion — 1:41.277
  29. #11 Eurointernational — LMP3 — Nazareno Lopez Cesaratto — 1:41.303
  30. #92 Forestier Racing by VPS — LMP3 — Adrien Bastide / Tomas Pompidou / Jason Pribyl — 1:41.534
  31. #20 High Class Racing — LMP3 — Marcus Terkildsen / Christian Dannemand Jørgensen / Henrique Oliveira — 1:41.540
  32. #16 Team Virage — LMP3 — Alex Gardner / Sebastien Kawpeng / Simon Schranz — 1:41.626
  33. #68 M Racing — LMP3 — Martin Lacquemanne / August Therbo — 1:41.711
  34. #62 Bretton Racing — LMP3 — Miroslav Mikes / Jan Koller / Maxmilian Karhan — 1:42.713
  35. #51 AF Corse — LMGT3 — Andrew Morrow / Nicola Lacorte — 1:43.723
  36. #57 Kessel Racing — LMGT3 — Gaetano Di Mauro / Paul Alberto / Andrea Bristot — 1:43.735
  37. #55 Spirit of Race — LMGT3 — Alexandre Leroy — 1:43.979
  38. #33 TF Sport — LMGT3 — Andrew Gilbert / Fran Rueda / Romain Leroux — 1:44.374
  39. #54 High Class Racing — LMGT3 — Stefan Aust / Jens Reno Møller / George King — 1:44.439
  40. #24 Racing Spirit of Léman — GT3 — Sebastian Moreno / Esteban Beckmann — 1:45.590
  41. #75 Proton Competition — LMGT3 — Jonas Ried — 1:45.666

Portimão test offers first look towards 2027

While lap times provided an immediate comparison between the drivers, the Rookie Test also gave teams the opportunity to evaluate potential 2027 line-ups following the conclusion of the ELMS season.

Kucharczyk produced the most notable performance among the LMP2 newcomers, finishing second overall and within seven tenths of Pin despite making his first appearance in the Oreca. David and Frey also immediately adapted to LMP2 machinery, while Cubides Olarte placed another new prototype driver near the front.

Further down the field, the test gave drivers including Shin, Frost, Henrion, Iglesias, Sztuka and Weisenburger additional experience in higher-level machinery. Several also sampled more than one category during the day, with Henrion running both IDEC Sport’s LMP2 Oreca and DKR Engineering’s LMP3 Ligier, while Alberto appeared in CLX Motorsport’s LMP3 and Kessel Racing’s LMGT3 Ferrari.

With the 2026 titles decided only a day earlier, Portimão therefore provided the first significant indication of how several ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup teams could approach 2027. Pin ended the day with the outright benchmark, but Kucharczyk’s pace on his LMP2 debut made the Indy NXT frontrunner one of the standout newcomers from the final official ELMS running of the year.

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