A huge full season grid of 47 cars and 140 drivers will take part in this year’s race on the Côte d’Azur, with 8 French teams and 28 French drivers on the grid for their home event. The grid is truly international with teams and drivers representing 30 different nations from all around the world.
LMP2: 11 Cars
The LMP2 class will once again feature 11 cars, with two French teams, reigning champions and current championship leaders Forestier Racing by Panis and 2025 4 Hours of Le Castellet race winners IDEC Sport, and 32 drivers, including 9 drivers racing under the French tricolour.
After securing the win in Barcelona earlier this month, the no29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca-Gibson heads the championship standings, with reigning LMP2 driver’s champions Esteban Masson and Oliver Gray joined by fellow race winner Louis Rousset.
The two-car entry for IDEC Sport sees last year’s winner in Le Castellet Jamie Chadwick joined by Valerio Rinicella and Laurents Hörr in the no18 Oreca, while former LMP2 Champions Paul Lafargue and Paul-Loup Chatin, are joined in the no28 car by their Dutch teammate Job Van Uitert.
24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winner Tom Dillmann will race at home in the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca alongside double Le Mans class winner Kuba Smiechowski. Luca Ghiotto will replace Nick Yellolly in the car for the race in Le Castellet as Yelloly will be racing in the US. 4 Hours of Barcelona pole position holder Reshad de Gerus will race with American Bijoy Garg at home in the no34 car after the duo claimed second place in Spain for the Polish flagged team.
2025 4 Hours of Le Castellet LMP3 winner Adrien Closmenil will race at home for the first time since securing the ELMS LMP3 title last October, racing the no37 CLX Motorsport Oreca alongside fellow LMP3 champion Theodor Jensen and Ian Aguilera. Tristan Vautier will also be racing at home in Le Castellet for Algarve Pro Racing, driving the no25 Oreca with Jake Hughes and Mathias Kaiser.
The LMP2 grid is completed by the no9 Proton Competition, the no22 United Autosports, the no24 Nielsen Racing and no10 Vector Sport.
LMP2 Pro/Am: 12 cars
The LMP2 Pro/Am category will see 36 drivers competing for class honours in Le Castellet with two French teams, TDS Racing and Duqueine Team, and six French drivers.
The no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca was victorious in Barcelona and Danish drivers Michael Jensen and Malthe Jakobsen and their Italian teammate Enzo Trulli head to France as the championship leaders.
The no83 AF Corse was second in Spain, with former ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am champions François Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere racing at home alongside 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco.
The first of the two French teams Duqueine Team scored a podium finish in Barcelona, with Doriane Pin, fresh from her Formula One test with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, joining her teammates Giorgio Roda and Richard Verschoor for the next ELMS race at her home track.
Reigning ELMS LMP2 Driver’s Champion Charles Milesi will be on the grid in the no47 CLX Motorsport, joining teammates Felipe Fraga and Georgios Kolovos, with Kolovos due to return to the driving seat after the first corner accident in Barcelona.
Nielsen Racing won the 4 Hours of Le Castellet LMP2 Pro/Am class last season, with last year’s winner James Allen joining Kriton Lentoudis and Alex Quinn in the no27 Oreca-Gibson.
TDS Racing is the second French team of the grid, with French driver Sami Meguetounif racing with Americans Scott Huffaker II and Steven Thomas in the no14 car. The sixth and final French driver on the LMP2 Pro/Am grid is Marlon Hernandez, racing with Jean Glorieux and Sebastian Alvarez for DKR Engineering.
Reigning class champions AO by TF sees a driver change, with Jonny Edgar replacing Louis Delétraz in the no99 Oreca, the British driver joining Driver champions PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet.
The grid is completed by the no7 Vector Sport, the no19 Rossa Racing by Virage, the no21 United Autosports and the no88 Proton Competition.
LMP3: 10 Cars
The highly competitive LMP3 field will see four French run teams and six French drivers. Reigning ELMS and ALMS LMP3 Champion and 2025 4 Hours of Le Castellet race winner Paul Lanchère returns to race at home for CLX Motorsport alongside fellow Asian Le Mans Series class champion Alexander Jacoby and Brazil’s Bruno Ribeiro.
Championship leaders José Fernandes Cautela, Alvise Rodella and Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen head to Le Castellet to try and build on the 25 points they gained in Barcelona in the no5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier-Toyota.
French team R-ace GP finished second in Spain, with Fabien Michal teaming up again with Luxembourg’s Pierre-Alexandre Provost and reigning MLMC LMP3 champion Hugo Schwarze in the only Duqueine D09-Toyota on the grid.
M Racing is another French team on the grid, with Quentin Antonel and Thomas Imbourg looking for glory at home alongside 2024 LMP3 champion Nick Adcock in the no68 Ligier. Ultimate and Racing Spirit of Léman are the other two French teams on the LMP3 grid.
French driver Romain Favre will be racing for DKR Engineering and Louis Stern will be racing at home in the no8 Team Virage Ligier-Toyota.
Alex Bukhantsov secured the first pole of the season in Spain and joined Henry Cubides Olarte and Chun Ting Chou on the third step of the podium at the end of the 4 Hours of Barcelona.
The 10-car LMP3 field is completed by the no11 Eurointernational Ligier-Toyota which finished fourth in Spain.
LMGT3: 14 Cars
The largest class grid in the 2026 European Le Mans Series with one French team and seven French drivers.
The no75 Proton Competition Porsche was victorious last time out in Spain, with Americans Matt Kurzejewski and Tom Sargent, and Austria’s Richard Lietz, heading to Le Castellet as championship leaders in the car with the special livery celebrating the 75th anniversary of Porsche’s first class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951. The second Proton Competition Porsche sees a change of driver with Joel Sturm replacing Harry King in the no77 911.
The 2025 4 Hours of Le Castellet LMGT3 winning car, the no50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari will see last year’s race winner Lilou Wadoux replace Francesco Castellacci to rejoin her teammates Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini for her home race.
Last year’s LMP2 winner Mathys Jaubert has switched to LMGT3 in 2026. The French driver is racing the no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari for his home race alongside Takeshi Kimura and Daniel Serra, the trio taking a podium finish in Spain earlier this month. The no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari also features a French driver in the lineup, with Romain Leroux joining Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda.
Racing Spirit of Léman is the sole French flagged car on the grid, with Valentin Hasse Clot and Clément Mateu hoping for a better race at home alongside their Andorran teammate Marius Fossard in the no59 Aston Martin Vantage.
Charles-Henri Samani is racing the no51 AF Corse Ferrari at home alongside Denmark’s Conrad Laursen and Italian Davide Rigon.
The no23 United Autosports McLaren 720S had a good run in Spain, with Michael Birch, Garnet Patterson and Wayne Boyd taking second place at the end of the 4 Hours of Barcelona.
Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi became the first Qatari driver to secure an ELMS pole in Spain, with the no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG finishing the race in fourth place. Maxime Martin replaces Adam Christodoulou in the car, the platinum rated Belgian joining Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses for the race in Le Castellet.
Reigning LMGT3 Champions TF Sport had a race to forget in Spain and will be hoping for a better run for the no33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R in Le Castellet for reigning champion Charlie Eastwood and his American teammates Blake McDonald and Alec Udell.
The 14 strong LMGT3 field is completed by the no54 High Class Racing Porsche, the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari, the no63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG and the no86 GR Racing Ferrari.
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will take place on Sunday 3rd May, with Free Practice 1 on Friday 1st May, followed by FP2 and Qualifying on Saturday 2nd May.
