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Tuesday, 10 November 2026 21:02

ACO and LMEM introduce a unified category system

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New category names and colours will apply from today at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup and Asian Le Mans Cup. FIA World Endurance Championship categories remain unchanged.

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and Le Mans Endurance Management (LMEM) are introducing a common naming and colour system across their endurance racing championships, designed to help spectators, fans and media identify every class at a glance.

The system rests on a single principle: the category name alone designates Pro/Am line-ups, which must include at least one Bronze-rated driver under the FIA Driver Categorisation, while the “Pro” suffix identifies categories with no such requirement. Each category also carries its own colour, consistent from one championship to the next.

“Le Mans has always been several races in one. Our role is to make each of them easy to follow, whether you are in the grandstands, in front of a screen or on the other side of the world. A shared language of names and colours, from Europe to Asia, serves exactly that purpose,” said Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.

LMP2

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the European Le Mans Series, the current LMP2 category becomes LMP2 Pro, and the current LMP2 Pro/Am category becomes LMP2. They adopt new colours: navy blue and light blue respectively.

In the Asian Le Mans Series, where LMP2 line-ups are already Pro/Am, the category keeps its name and adopts light blue.

LMP3

In the Michelin Le Mans Cup, the current LMP3 category becomes LMP3 Pro and keeps its gold colour. The current LMP3 Pro/Am category becomes LMP3, with orange replacing purple. The Asian Le Mans Cup adopts the same names and colours.

In the European Le Mans Series, the LMP3 category keeps its name and driver line-up rules, with orange replacing purple.

GT3

The GT3 category in the Asian Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup and Asian Le Mans Cup adopts the colour already used for LMGT3 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the European Le Mans Series and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (green). GT3 now shares one identity across every ACO and LMEM platform.

At a glance

Championship                                                      Current name          New name                    Colour

24 Hours of Le Mans / ELMS                                          LMP2                  LMP2 Pro                   Navy blue

24 Hours of Le Mans / ELMS                                   LMP2 Pro/Am              LMP2                       Light blue

Asian Le Mans Series       LMP2                           LMP2 (unchanged)                                         Light blue

Michelin Le Mans Cup / Asian Le Mans Cup                       LMP3                  LMP3 Pro             Gold (unchanged)

Michelin Le Mans Cup / Asian Le Mans Cup                LMP3 Pro/Am                LMP3               Orange (was purple)

European Le Mans Series                                                LMP3           LMP3 (unchanged)      Orange (was purple)

Asian LMS / Michelin LMC / Asian LMC                               GT3             GT3 (unchanged)         Green (was black)

FIA WEC                                                            Hypercar / LMGT3           Unchanged                Unchanged

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