In total there are 129 drivers and 31 teams representing 27 different nations from all corners of the globe. The grid will include four Portuguese drivers and one local team.
(Algarve Pro Racing is leading LMP2 Pro/Am ahead of the team's home race in Portimão)
LMP2: A Three-Way Fight for the Title
The 13-strong LMP2 grid will see a titanic battle for the overall ELMS title between the no48 VDS Panis Racing (Oliver Gray, Charles Milesi, Esteban Masson), the no18 IDEC Sport (Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert, Daniel Juncadella) and the no43 Inter Europol Competition (Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann, Nick Yelloly) with all three cars split by just 7 points.
Not only is there the championship title at stake, the top two teams will receive automatic invitations to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans next June.
Away from the title race, there is still event honours to be won, with the three Portuguese drivers all looking for a home victory in Portimão to end their season on a high note.
2020 ELMS Champion Filipe Albuquerque has a 100% podium finishing record at his home race and he will be looking for another with his teammates Cem Bölükbaşı and Ferdinand Habsburg in the no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca.
Last year’s 4 Hours of Portimão LMP3 winner Manuel Espirito Santo has moved up to the LMP2 category with CLX Motorsport this year, with the young driver partnering Enzo Fittipaldi in the no47 Oreca-Gibson, the only two driver line up on the grid. The Portuguese-Brazilian duo will be hoping to emulate their podium finishing performance at Le Castellet.
Pedro Perino is the third Portuguese driver on the LMP2 grid, who will be joining Luca Ghiotto and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer in the no34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca.
Portuguese team Algarve Pro Racing will be on the grid, with Matthias Kaiser, Lorenzo Fluxa and Théo Pourchaire racing for the former ELMS LMP2 Team Champions.
The LMP2 grid is completed by Iron Lynx – Proton, Vector Sport, United Autosports, the second IDEC SPORT car, Duqueine Team and CLX-Pure Rxcing.
LMP2 Pro/Am: Algarve Pro Racing Going for the Title at Home Race
The battle for the LMP2 Pro/Am title will be a three-horse race between championship leaders Kriton Lentoudis, Alex Quinn and Olli Caldwell in the no20 Algarve Pro Racing, the no99 AO by TF crew of PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron and Louis Delétraz, who will be looking to lift his fourth ELMS title in five years in Portugal.
The two cars are split by just 9-points, so there is all to play for in Portugal, with the winning team receiving an automatic 24 Hours of Le Mans entry.
The outside contender are the reigning champions, François Perrodo, Alessio Rovera and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the no83 AF Corse Oreca, but with a 25-point gap between them and the APR Oreca, they will have to win the race from pole position and hope their two rivals have a problem during the race.
The rest of the eight strong field is headed by the no29 TDS Racing in 4thoverall with two podium finishes for Rodrigo Sales, Mathias Beche and Clément Novalak. Oliver Jarvis, Marino Sato and Daniel Schneider have a best result of second in Spa in August.
The LMP2 Pro/Am grid is completed by Proton Competition, Nielsen Racing and DKR Engineering.
(CLX Motorsport - 2025 ELMS LMP3 Champions)
LMP3: With the Championship Secured, Portimão is now about Race Glory
After wrapping up the 2025 LMP3 titles at Silverstone last month, Theodor Jensen, Paul Lanchère and Adrien Closmenil will be looking for their fifth win of the season in the no17 CLX Motorsport Ligier-Toyota, but there are nine other cars all looking to take the top spot in Portimão to finish their season on a high note.
The no68 M Racing and no88 Inter Europol Competition crews are unchanged from the last race in the UK, with both cars tied on 58 points, but two second places for Stéphane Tribaudini and Quentin Antonel put them in second spot ahead of the IEC crew of Timothy Creswick, Douwe Dedecker and Reece Gold.
2024 4 Hours of Portimão LMP3 race winner Miguel Cristóvão returns to the ELMS, the Portuguese driver joining Fabien Michal and Ian Aguilera in the no11 Eurointernational Ligier.
The 10 strong grid is completed by DKR Engineering, Spa-Francorchamps race winners Team Virage, WTM by Rinaldi Racing, last year’s champions RLR MSport, Racing Spirit of Léman and Ultimate.
LMGT3: Seven Contenders for 2025 Title
The 13-strong LMGT3 field has been ultra-competitive this season, with half the grid still mathematical capable of securing the 2025 ELMS class title and automatic invite to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Portugal.
After becoming the first team to win twice this season, Lilou Wadoux, Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini are heading the title race by a 12-point margin in the no50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 over Round 4 winners Clément Mateu, Erwan Bastard and Valentin Hasse Clot in the no59 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage.
The 4 Hours of Imola winning no82 TF Sport Corvette is in third spot, with Hiroshi Koizumi, Rui Andrade and Charlie Eastwood just 14 points behind the leading Ferrari in third spot.
Round 1 winners Célia Martin, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting are in fourth spot in the no85 Iron Dames Porsche, 19 points behind the leaders and will have to go all out for the victory in Portugal. Three years ago, Bovy and Gatting secured their first ELMS class victory in Portimão, racing alongside fellow Iron Dames teammate Doriane Pin.
The no57 Kessel Racing crew are tied with the Iron Dames on 47-points, with the no55 Spirit of Race and no86 GR Racing Ferrari’s the final two outside contenders for the 2025 ELMS title.
The rest of the grid will be looking to end their season on a high note, with the 13-strong grid being completed by AF Corse, Iron Lynx, Proton Competition, the second Kessel Racing Ferrari, JMW Motorsport and United Autosports.
The 4 Hours of Portimão will take place from Thursday 16 until Saturday 18 October 2025 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
