CLX Motorsport and R-ace GP will take their season-long battle for the 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) LMP3 title to the final race at Portimão, with only nine points separating the leading teams.
Reigning champions CLX arrive in Portugal with 84 points following victories at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps before finishing second at Silverstone. R-ace GP enters the finale with renewed momentum after Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarze secured their first victory of the campaign during the rain-hit 4 Hours of Silverstone. Pit Debrief That breakthrough reduced CLX’s advantage and ensured the fight remains open heading into the final four hours.
Rinaldi Racing also retains a mathematical opportunity with 59 points. Alvise Rodella, José Fernandes Cautela and Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen sit 25 points behind the leaders and require victory combined with problems for both CLX and R-ace GP. LMP3 therefore joins the other three categories in heading to Portugal with its championship undecided, with all four ELMS titles still to be settled at Portimão. Pit Debrief The final round will consequently bring several simultaneous championship battles to a conclusion.
CLX carries nine-point advantage into Portimão
Paul Lanchère and Alexander Jacoby lead the LMP3 Drivers’ Championship with 84 points, while teammate Louis Iglesias sits third among the individual drivers after joining the programme later in the season. CLX has built its Teams’ Championship lead through a combination of victories and consistent scoring, leaving the No. 17 Ligier in control of its own destiny.
The team’s first win arrived during the Imola round, where Louis Iglesias also secured LMP3 pole. Pit Debrief CLX then added another victory at Spa-Francorchamps after Rinaldi Racing lost the class win following post-race scrutineering, promoting Lanchère, Jacoby and Iglesias to the top step. The Spa result strengthened CLX’s championship position before the battle shifted to Silverstone. Pit Debrief
CLX did not take a third victory in Britain, but the team still produced another strong weekend. Iglesias secured pole for the No. 17 Ligier before the crew led portions of the four-hour race and eventually finished second behind R-ace GP. Jacoby believes that performance provided several encouraging signs despite missing out on the win.
Jacoby said, “It was defiantly a difficult race but there were many positives that we could take from the race. While we did not win, we led for a good part of the race and our pace was very good even, on a track that did not suit the Ligier.”
The result left CLX with 84 points to R-ace GP’s 75. The post-Silverstone ELMS standings confirm the nine-point advantage, while Rinaldi remains third on 59. Pit Debrief A second-place finish at Portimão would therefore guarantee CLX the championship regardless of R-ace GP’s result.
R-ace GP arrives with momentum after Silverstone breakthrough
R-ace GP has demonstrated front-running pace throughout the campaign, but the team had to wait until the penultimate round to convert that speed into a victory.
Michal, Provost and Schwarze had led at various stages of every race before Silverstone, only for a combination of incidents and circumstances to repeatedly deny them the top step. Their breakthrough finally arrived in Britain, where R-ace GP beat CLX to claim the 25 points for victory and cut the championship deficit to nine.
The Silverstone race saw R-ace GP finally convert its pace into an ELMS LMP3 victory, while CLX limited the damage by finishing second. Pit Debrief The result means R-ace GP arrives at Portimão with its strongest momentum of the season and a realistic opportunity to overturn the reigning champions.
Schwarze said, “Silverstone was not only great for the championship but also gave confidence to the whole team going into the final round at Portimão.
He continued, “We have led every race so far this season but multiple things out of our control never allowed us to win up until Silverstone. We will approach Portimão the same as the previous five races. We will do everything in our control to extract the maximum performance from the car, the drivers and the crew – the rest we can’t control!”
Despite the increased stakes, R-ace GP does not plan to fundamentally change its approach. The team instead intends to focus on extracting the maximum from the No. 85 Duqueine-Toyota and allow the championship situation to develop around it.
Jacoby targets second LMP3 championship of 2026
For Jacoby, the Portimão finale provides an opportunity to complete a championship double after already winning the Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 title earlier in 2026 alongside CLX Motorsport and Lanchère.
Adding the ELMS crown would complete an especially successful year while reinforcing CLX’s position as one of the leading teams in the category. It would also carry an important additional reward, with the championship-winning team earning an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Asked what adding the ELMS title would mean, Jacoby said, “It would be a dream come true. A double championship victory really would be a great thing to keep in my pocket for the future along with the entry that the team gets for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It also shows the hard work of all of the staff at CLX who work so hard every day to deliver on track.”
CLX enters Portugal as the reigning ELMS LMP3 champion, but the significantly reduced margin following Silverstone leaves little room for a major setback. The team has controlled much of the championship battle, yet one difficult finale could still allow R-ace GP to overturn the advantage.
CLX refuses to focus solely on second place
Although the championship mathematics give CLX a relatively straightforward target, Jacoby does not believe the team should approach the race simply trying to secure second.
The No. 17 crew can guarantee the title by finishing runner-up even if R-ace GP wins, but focusing too heavily on that minimum requirement could force the team away from the processes that carried it to the championship lead.
Jacoby said, “I think that the approach should be no different than any other race. A second place would be enough, but that would be a mistake to focus on the result. We will just follow the process of a race weekend, the stakes will be higher, but this is exactly what we race for.”
Qualifying could also influence the championship before the race begins because pole position carries an additional point. At Silverstone, Iglesias beat Schwarze by only 0.069s to claim the LMP3 pole, with the closely fought qualifying battle demonstrating how little currently separates the title contenders. Pit Debrief Another close session in Portugal could alter the margin before Saturday’s four-hour contest.
Rinaldi Racing retains outside title chance
While CLX and R-ace GP enter as the principal contenders, Rinaldi Racing remains mathematically involved after accumulating 59 points across the opening five rounds.
Rodella, Cautela and Pedersen started their campaign with victory at Barcelona and have remained close enough to keep their title hopes alive into the finale. However, their 25-point deficit leaves virtually no margin for anything less than a perfect result at Portimão.
The No. 5 Ligier needs to win the race while both of its championship rivals encounter significant problems. CLX would need to score very little, while R-ace GP would also need to finish sufficiently far down the order for Rinaldi to overcome the deficit.
The Portimão championship preview places CLX, R-ace GP and Rinaldi as the three remaining LMP3 contenders, although the latter enters as the clear outsider. Pit Debrief Nevertheless, its presence adds another variable to a finale in which the leading two teams cannot afford to focus solely on each other.
Portimão provides familiar territory for Schwarze
R-ace GP will arrive at a circuit Schwarze already enjoys, with the German drawing comparisons between Portimão’s undulating character and some of his favourite circuits.
Schwarze said, “Portimão is a cool track, reminding me of some of my favourites such as Brands Hatch and the Nordschleife and which treated us well last year. I really enjoy turns 7 and 8 due to the change in elevation combined with a high- and low-speed corner.”
The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve presents a distinctly different challenge from Silverstone, with significant elevation changes, blind crests and a mixture of high and low-speed corners. R-ace GP will hope the Duqueine can continue the pace that produced its Silverstone breakthrough, while CLX will aim to return to the form that brought victories earlier in the campaign.
Nine points separate CLX and R-ace GP before 2026 ELMS finale
After five rounds, CLX Motorsport leads the LMP3 Teams’ Championship with 84 points, while R-ace GP follows on 75 and Rinaldi Racing remains third on 59. The current championship standings after Silverstone underline how effectively R-ace GP has brought itself back into contention. Pit Debrief Only nine points now separate the main title rivals heading into the final weekend.
CLX remains in the strongest position because second place guarantees the championship, but Jacoby, Lanchère and Iglesias do not intend to approach Portimão simply protecting their advantage. R-ace GP carries the momentum from its first win into Portugal and knows another strong performance could overturn the deficit if CLX slips back.
The 4 Hours of Portimão takes place on Saturday, 10 October and will conclude the six-round 2026 ELMS season. After a campaign in which both teams have repeatedly demonstrated front-running pace, the final four hours will determine whether CLX retains its LMP3 crown or R-ace GP completes its late-season charge.
