ilT·2 September
ELMS Silverstone 2026: 47 cars, four titles wide open
The European Le Mans Series reaches a critical juncture on 13 September when the fifth round takes place at Silverstone, with all four championship titles still undecided. The grid will feature 47 cars, 139 drivers, 30 teams and representatives from 30 nations, underlining the depth of competition and the significance of the British round ahead of the season finale. The home contingent will be substantial, with 20 British drivers and five teams competing under the Union Flag. For many crews, Silverstone represents both a home advantage and a pivotal moment in the fight for LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3 honours. LMP2: Forestier Racing and United Autosports level on points The LMP2 class will field 11 cars with an exceptionally tight championship battle. Defending champions Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports arrive at Silverstone tied on 70 points. Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Louis Rousset lead the standings in the Forestier Oreca, having claimed victories at Barcelona and Imola, while Ben Hanley, Griffin Peebles and Grégoire Saucy hold an identical points tally with United Autosports after their Le Castellet win. Jamie Chadwick will race at home for IDEC Sport, sharing the Oreca with Valerio Rinicella and Laurents Hörr following their first podium of the season in Belgium. The British driver won the Silverstone four-hour race in 2025. Other notable British entries include Nielsen Racing with Ed Pearson, Roy Nissany and Formula 1 reserve Jack Doohan; Vector Sport fielding Ryan Cullen, Vlad Lomko and Pietro Fittipaldi; and Sebastian Priaulx competing for Proton Competition alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Jonas Ried. Nick Yelloly will race for Inter Europol Competition, the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 champions and recent Spa-Francorchamps winners. Yelloly finished second at Silverstone last year and will aim to convert that into victory. The LMP2 grid is completed by entries from IDEC Sport and CLX Motorsport. LMP2 Pro/Am: Algarve and AF Corse tied at the top The LMP2 Pro/Am category will see 12 cars compete, with Algarve Pro Racing and AF Corse locked together on 61 points. Algarve's Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Malthe Jakobsen lead on countback after victories at Barcelona and two second-place finishes, while AF Corse's François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Antonio Fuoco come off a round-four win. Doriane Pin, Richard Verschoor and Giorgio Roda, the former championship leaders with Duqueine Team, arrive seeking a return to the podium. Nielsen Racing's Kriton Lentoudis, Alex Quinn and James Allen won the class at Silverstone in 2025 and will attempt to repeat on a circuit they know well. AO by TF, the defending champions, arrive after a second podium of the season in Belgium; their car finished just 0.141 seconds behind the winner at Silverstone last year. DKR Engineering will make the only driver change in the category, with Maceo Capietto replacing Julien Andlauer on the Oreca for the second time this season, partnering Jean Glorieux and Marlon Hernandez. LMP3: CLX Motorsport holds 15-point lead The LMP3 field comprises 10 cars, with CLX Motorsport holding a more commanding position than their counterparts in other classes. The defending champions and 2025 Silverstone winners arrive with a 15-point advantage after Paul Lanchère, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias secured their second victory of the season in Belgium. The Duqueine R-ace GP of Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarze sits second on 50 points, just one point ahead of Rinaldi Racing's Ligier, which was disqualified from the Belgian round for a fuel tank irregularity. Inter Europol Competition, winner at Le Castellet and third at Barcelona, must rebuild momentum in the title fight. British drivers Matthew Richard Bell (Eurointernational), Terrence Woodward (Ultimate) and the two-driver crew of Lenny Ried and Ralph Meichtry (Racing Spirit of Léman, making their first appearance of the season) will also compete. LMGT3: Porsche and Corvette separated by one point The LMGT3 class will be the largest, with 14 cars from six manufacturers and a strong British presence of seven drivers and three teams. Matt Kurzejewski, Thomas Sargent and Richard Lietz lead in the Proton Competition Porsche by just one point over the defending category champions TF Sport's Corvette, driven by Charlie Eastwood, Blake McDonald and Alec Udell. GR Racing will contest the home race with a Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, fresh from their first ELMS victory since 2015 at Spa-Francorchamps. The team fields Mike Wainwright, Lorcan Hanafin and Mex Jansen. United Autosports will run a McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo with Wayne Boyd, Michael Birch and Garnet Patterson. Proton Competition will see Harry King return to the Porsche in place of Alessio Picariello, joining Martin Berry and Huub Van Eijndhoven. Other changes include Benjamin Paque replacing Anders Fjordbach at High Class Racing, and François Hériau taking over from Tony McIntosh at Racing Spirit of Léman, with Valentin Hasse Clot returning after missing Spa. Ralf Aron, Estonian former Team Manager champion with Prema Racing in 2022, makes his ELMS driving debut in the Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, replacing Maxime Martin alongside Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses. The 2025 Silverstone LMGT3 winners—Custodio Toledo, Lilou Wadoux and Riccardo Agostini—return with Richard Mille AF Corse's Ferrari. Kessel Racing fields two Ferrari 296s, including the Le Castellet winner with Takeshi Kimura, Daniel Serra and Mathys Jaubert. Silverstone as a turning point With all four championships finely balanced—LMP2 and LMP2 Pro/Am both featuring tied leaders, CLX Motorsport holding a narrow LMP3 advantage, and Porsche leading LMGT3 by a single point—the Silverstone round promises to be decisive. Traffic management, strategic execution and consistency over four hours will prove as important as outright pace on a circuit where the championship picture could shift significantly.