Algarve Pro Racing Wins Rain-Affected 4 Hours of Silverstone
September 14, 2026Words by: Andy Lloyd
Images by: Paren Raval
Ben Barnicoat brought the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca home to take the first ELMS victory for the Portugal-based squad in 2026 in the car he shared with Matthias Kaiser and Jake Hughes. Second in the LMP2 class was the #28 IDEC Sport entry driven by Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin and, taking the chequered flag, Job Van Uitert. Completing the LMP2 podium was the #22 United Autosports entry with Gregoire Saucy driving the final stint on the car he shared with Griffin Peebles and Ben Hanley.
In the LMP2 Pro/Am class, victory went to the #14 TDS Racing entry piloted by Steven Thomas, Sam Meguetounif and Scott Huffaker, the American driver taking the chequered flag ahead of the #21 United Autosports entry in which Marino Sato drove the final stint in the car he shared with Daniel Schneider and Oliver Jarvis. The final podium position was taken by #19 Rossa Racing by Virage entry in which John Falb, Manuel Espirito Santo and Rik Koen shared the driving duties.
LMP3 honours went to the #85 R-Ace GP entry, the sole Duqueine D09 chassis, in which Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarze drove to victory, crossing the line over 14 seconds ahead of the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier in which Paul Lanchere, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias shared the driving duties. Third in class was the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier piloted by Alexander Bukhantsov, Henry Cubides Olarte and Chun Ting Chou.
The highly competitive LMGT3 field saw victory go to the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 driven by Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi, Julian Hanses and Ralf Aron with the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3 of Blake McDonald, Alec Udell and Charlie Eastwood finishing less than three seconds behind. The final podium position was taken by the #77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R.
LMP2
Algarve Pro Racing delivered a tactical masterclass to secure a sensational victory in a weather-affected 4 Hours of Silverstone. Starting from mid-grid, the #25 ORECA 07 Gibson driven by Matthias Kaiser, Jake Hughes, and Ben Barnicoat overcame an early 10-second pit-stop penalty for a start procedure infraction. When heavy rain arrived at mid-distance, Barnicoat demonstrated supreme wet-weather car control, carving through the field on Goodyear wets to establish a commanding 30-second lead.
IDEC Sport brought home second place with the #28 car (Job van Uitert, Paul Lafargue, and Paul-Loup Chatin) after executing a clever strategy, opting to pit early for full wet tyres as the rain intensified. The #22 United Autosports entry secured third place.
The title fight took a massive turn as championship contenders Forestier Racing by Panis suffered heartbreak when Oliver Gray spun off into the gravel at Luffield during the height of the downpour. They could only salvage a distant finish out of the points. This allowed United Autosports’ #22 crew (Grégoire Saucy, Griffin Peebles, and Ben Hanley) to take sole possession of the championship lead with just a sixth-place finish.
LMP2 Pro/Am
TDS Racing put on a dominant display in LMP2 Pro/Am, converting class pole position into a brilliant victory that also saw them finish an extraordinary second place overall.
The #14 Oreca crew of Sami Meguetounif, Scott Huffaker, and Steven Thomas controlled the race pace early on, but their afternoon was almost derailed when Meguetounif suffered an electronic dashboard reset, forcing him to coast trackside at Vale before successfully cycling the master switch.
Once back underway, Huffaker drove a stellar double stint in changing conditions, navigating treacherous aquaplaning risks through Becketts. They crossed the line well clear of the #21 United Autosports entry (Daniel Schneider, Marino Sato and Oliver Jarvis), while Rossa Racing by Virage rounded out the podium in third. The result keeps the Pro/Am title fight wide open heading to the final round.
LMP3
R-ace GP scored a breakthrough maiden ELMS victory in the LMP3 class, with their #85 Duqueine D09 Toyota putting on a flawless performance in unpredictable weather. The trio of Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost, and Hugo Schwarze executed a tight strategy, staying clear of the early chaos.
The race turned upside down at mid-distance when long-time points leaders CLX Motorsport suffered a costly spin on slick tires just as the heavens opened. Provost pounced on the opportunity to take the class lead. Schwarze then took over for the final stint, managing severe tire degradation on a drying track to cross the line 14 seconds ahead of the recovering #17 CLX Ligier.
Inter Europol Competition inherited third place in the dying seconds when the #5 Rinaldi Racing entry ground to a halt with a fuel pressure issue on the final lap. The victory slashes CLX Motorsport’s championship lead down to just nine points with one race remaining.
LMGT3
The LMGT3 division produced an absolute classic, culminating in Team Qatar by Iron Lynx securing Mercedes-AMG’s first-ever ELMS class victory. The #62 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo—shared by Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi, substitute driver Ralf Aron, and Julian Hanses—remained a threat throughout a chaotic four-hour stint filled with multiple Full Course Yellows.
With 15 minutes remaining, a four-way battle for the lead erupted between Iron Lynx, Kessel Racing, TF Sport, and GR Racing. Hanses made the winning move with ten minutes on the clock, capitalizing on a subtle mistake by Kessel Racing’s Mathys Jaubert, who ran wide over the kerbs at Luffield.
Hanses snatched the lead and held off a charging Charlie Eastwood in the #33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to take the win by a mere 2.9 seconds. Proton Competition drove their Porshe 011 GT3 R to third. The dramatic victory vaults Team Qatar by Iron Lynx to the top of the LMGT3 standings ahead of the season finale.
After the 4 Hours of Silverstone, the United Autosports trio of Peebles, Saucy and Hanley lead the LMP2 drivers standings on 85 points, 13 points ahead of Forestier Racing by Panis’s Louis Rousset, Oliver Gray and Esteban Masson.
In the LMP2 Pro/Am title standings, AF Corse’s Francois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Antonio Fuoco have a five-point advantage over TDS Racing’s Thomas, Meguetounif and Huffaker while Alexander Jacoby and Paul Lanchere, drivers of the # 17 CLX Motorsport entry.
Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi, Julian Hanses lead the LMGT3 drivers standings on 73 points, three points ahead of Alec Udell, Blake McDonald and Charlie Eastwood.
The final round of the 2026 European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Portimão, gets underway over the weekend of October the 8th and 9th.
