Asian Le Mans Series begins its ‘European tour’ this weekend

Asian Le Mans Series races are usually staged at venues in Asia and the Middle East, but ongoing political strife and resulting logistical issues have made them untenable this season. Nonetheless, the series is going ahead with a trio of four-hour doubleheader races in Europe for 2026-27, starting this weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.

Saturday and Sunday’s 4 Hours of Le Castellet by ALMS, both of which will air live on RACER Network and the RACER+ App, will mark the first time the Hypercar class has raced on the former home of the French Grand Prix, with two Ferrari 499Ps entered for the new season. They will be fielded by 2025/26 LMP2 ALMS runner-up Cetilar Racing, with father and son Roberto and Nicola Lacorte being joined by 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and Ferrari factory driver Antonio Fuoco in the No. 47 Ferrari. The No. 90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P will be raced by Argentine driver Luis Perez Companc, with 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Yifei Ye and Nicklas Nielsen joining the team as the pro drivers.

Alongside the Hypercars, a strong 16-car LMP2 field will be competing for the 2026/27 Asian Le Mans Series title and the coveted automatic invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans that goes with it.

Reigning champions Crowdstrike Racing by APR are back and will be challenging for a third ALMS title this season. 2025/26 champions George Kutz and Louis Deletraz team up again, with Laurin Heinrich joining them in the No. 4 ORECA 07-Gibson. 

Newly crowned European Le Mans Series LMP2 Pro/Am champions Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Malthe Jakobsen will be racing the No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing, with Jensen looking to add a second ALMS title to the one he won in 2024/25 with APR and Jakobsen, while the younger Dane will be challenging for a fourth ALMS LMP2 title in a row this season. 

APR will also enter a second car for 2024/25 LMP3 champions Jens Reno Moller and Theodor Jensen, who will race alongside Austrian Charlie Wurz in the No. 20 ORECA.

2026 ELMS LMP2 champions United Autosports will also enter a pair of cars, the No. 22 for Giorgio Roda, Ian Aguilera and Sting Ray Robb, with Phil Fayer, Hunter McElrea and Mikkel Jensen in the No. 2 entry. 

2023 ALMS LMP2 champions DKR Engineering will enter a single car for Tom Van Rompuy and Laurents Horr. 2022 champions Nielsen Racing will also run a single car in the LMP2 class for an all-American line-up of Steven Thomas, Max Garcia and Scott Huffaker. 

Reigning ALMS LMP3 champions CLX Motorsport will enter a single car, as will Duqueine Team and Team Virage.

Three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winners Inter Europol Competition will enter a pair of ORECA-Gibsons at Le Castellet, with double Le Mans winner Nick Yelloly racing in the No. 43 car with fellow British racer Cian Shields, with Bijoy Garg and Niels Koolen in the No. 34 entry.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Phil Hanson will join ex-F1 racer Jack Doohan and Alex Dimirdjian in the No. 55 AF Corse entry, with the Italian team running a second ORECA-Gibson.  Father and son duo Horst and Horst Felix Felbermayr will race the No. 66 Proton Competition ORECA with Ferdinand Habsburg, with the German team running a second car for Greek racer Giorgios Kolovos and former ELMS champion and ALMS race winner Charles Milesi.

A 28-car GT3 field at Paul Ricard will feature no less than eight manufacturers, with seven Mercedes-AMGs, six Porsches, four Ferraris and four Aston Martins. A pair of McLarens, Lamborghinis and Fords along with a single BMW join them in the field.

Reigning ALMS GT champions Kessel Racing will be running a single Ferrari 296 in the distinctive Car Guy livery for Takeshi Kimura, Mathys Jaubert and Esteban Masson. 

2025/26 ALMS GT driver champions Dustin Scott Blattner and Dennis Marshall will switch from Ferrari to McLaren and will race for British team Garage 59 in car No. 58 alongside Tom Fleming. Garage 59 will also run a second McLaren 720S. 

2024/25 ALMS GT champions Manthey will run a pair of Porsche 911s, with double champion Klaus Bachler joining fellow Austrian Raphael Rennhofer and German racer Max Moritz in the No. 92 entry. Six-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Richard Lietz will race the No. 91 entry alongside Flynt Schuring and Joel Monegro.

AF Corse is the only team to run cars in all three ALMS classes this season, with the Italian team running a pair of Ferrari 296 GT3 EVOs alongside the two LMP2 entries and the Ferrari 499P in the Hypercar class. David Perel, Rafa Duran and Peter Dempsey will race the No. 50 296 for the Italian team, with the No. 51 Ferrari featuring Francesco Piovanetti, Jef Machiels and Alessio Rovera.

The seven Mercedes-AMGs on the grid will be raced by Malaysian team Petrolife Racing Team, ALMS race winners Getspeed, two cars for Bahraini team 2Seas Motorsports, and one each for Team Qatar by Iron Lynx, Craft Bamboo Iron Lynx and Winward Racing. 

Belgian squad Team WRT will enter the only BMW M4 GT3 EVO on the grid for Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson and Max Hesse.  Haupt Racing Team will enter a pair of Ford Mustangs, with Hubert Haupt, David Schmacher and Fabio Scherer sharing the No. 65 Mustang and Arjun Maini, Finn Wiebelhaus and Michael Tosi in the No. 64 entry by the German team.

A pair of Lamborghini Temerario GT3s will be making their ALMS debut in Le Castellet with Leipert Motorsport running the No. 63 Lamborghini, while Italian squad Dfyne Racing Team will race the No. 93 entry. 

After racing in LMP2 last season, Japanese team Ponos Racing return with a GT3 entry, the No. 45 Ferrari 296 for Yorikatsu Tsujiko, Takura Shinohara and Tadasuke Makino. 

Three more Porsche 911 GT3 R EVOs will be run by German teams Proton Competition and Herberth Motorsport, along with Danish squad High Class Racing. 

American squad Heart of Racing will bring its two Aston Martin Vantage to make their ALMS debut in Le Castellet. Roman De Angelis, Eduardo Barrichello and Gary Newell will race the No. 26 entry, while Ian James, Zac Robichon and Mattia Drudi will pilot the No. 27 Aston Martin. 

French team RSL is partnering with IMSA team Car Blanche to enter a single car for their home event for Valentin Hasse Clot, Arnold Robin and Jonny Edgar.  The final entry on the GT3 grid will be the distinctive livery of the Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Vantage, with Giacomo Petrobelli and Kobe Pauwels.

The 4 Hours of Le Castellet by ALMS will feature two 4-Hour races on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14-15, with both races airing live on RACER Network and the RACER+ App starting at 7:15am ET.