ELMS: Forestier Racing by Panis Wins the 2026 4 Hours of Imola

Round 3 of the 2026 European Le Mans Series was held under blue skies and high temperatures at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari with Esteban Masson taking the chequered flag at the end of the 4 Hours of Imola in the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca-Gibson, over 50 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. 

Vector Sport took their first even ELMS class victory, with Jen Reno Moller, Cem Bölükbaşı and Lorenzo Fluxa standing on the top of the LMP2 Pro/Am podium. Fluxa crossed the line just 4.1 seconds ahead of Malthe Jakobsen in the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca, with the no21 United Autosports Oreca finishing third.

CLX Motorsport secured their first LMP3 victory since Portimão last season, with the reigning champions dominating the category. Louis Iglesias completed a perfect ELMS debut weekend after claiming pole yesterday and the French driver took the chequered flag early 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. He was joined on the class podium by reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Paul Lanchère and Alexander Jacoby. The no5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier and the no8 Team Virage Ligier completed the podium.

Reigning LMGT3 champions TF Sport got their title defence back on track with a perfect 26-point haul in Imola. American drivers Blake McDonald and Alec Udell took the victory alongside their Irish teammate Charlie Eastwood on the same weekend as the 250th birthday of the United States of America, in an American car the Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. Eastwood finished the race 1.8 seconds ahead of Maxime Martin in the no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, with the no77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 in third spot. 

The next race on the calendar is the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday 23 August, which will be Round 4 of the 2026 European Le Mans Series.
In the meantime, relive the highlights of the 2026 4 Hours of Imola by watching the video below.