On December 15, 1896, a patent for the first rotary engine was granted to Stephen M. Balzer by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On June 23, 1991, Mazda became both the first Japanese manufacturer and the first marque with a rotary engine to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, thanks to the 787B.

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Legendes

24 Heures du Mans

Historique

The European Le Mans Series will feature the largest ever grid of 47 cars, with 11 LMP2, 12 LMP2 Pro/Am, 10 LMP3 and 14 LMGT3 cars ready to do battle on six of Europe’s most challenging circuits.

The LMP2 category is filled with the very best team and driver talent from around the world.

2025 LMP2 Champions Panis Racing will team up with Forestier Racing for the 2026 season and will be known as Forestier Racing by Panis.

2025 Vice Champions, and 24 Hours of Le Mans class winners Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly return with Inter Europol Competition, with the Polish team fielding a second car in the class once again.

IDEC Sport will once again run a two-car squad in LMP2 with one car in partnership with Genesis Magma Racing, while 2023 champions Algarve Pro Racing will field a single Oreca-Gibson in the top class.

Reigning LMP3 champions Theodor Jensen and Adrien Closmenil move up to LMP2 with the team they won the title in 2025 in dominant style, CLX Motorsport.

Proton Competition will field a single LMP2 entry with Jonas Ried, while United Autosports, Vector Sport and Nielsen Racing will also all run a single car to complete the 11 strong LMP2 field.

<h2>LMP2 Pro/Am: 12 Cars for 2026</h2>

LMP2 Pro/Am grid will grow from 8 to 12 cars in 2026, with reigning champions AO by TF fielding an unchanged driver line up of PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron and Louis Del&eacute;traz, with the Swiss driver going for his fifth ELMS title.

2024 Champions AF Corse also return with multiple title holder Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo also returning once again to try and regain his crown.

Algarve Pro Racing will also run a single car in the LMP2 Pro/Am category with former champion and Peugeot Hypercar driver Malthe Jakobsen making a welcome return to the ELMS.

British team Vector Sport are running a second Oreca 07, with the no7 LMP2 Pro/Am entry featuring Pietro Fittipaldi.

Double Michelin Le Mans Cup LMP3 Champion Jean Glorieux will make his ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am debut with DKR Engineering, while class front runners, and former LMP2 Champions, TDS Racing will also run a single entry in the category.

Reigning LMP2 Pro/Am Vice Champions Nielsen Racing will race with Alex Quinn in 2026. United Autosports will enter a single car in the class, with an unchanged driver line up from 2025 of Mario Sato, Oliver Jarvis and Daniel Schneider.

UAE flagged team Rossa Racing by Virage joins the ELMS grid, with former LMP2 Pro/Am and LMP3 champion John Falb being joined by Manuel Espirito Santo and Rik Koen in the no19 Oreca-Gibson.

Reigning LMP2 Champion Charles Milesi joins Felipe Fraga and Georgios Kolovos at CLX Motorsport, while qualifying specialist Giorgio Roda will race the no30 Duqueine Team Oreca-Gibson. Father-Son duo Horst Felbermayr and Horst Felix Felbermayr will race the no88 Proton Competition entry and rounds off the 12-strong grid in LMP2 Pro/Am.

<h2>LMP3: Showcase for Emerging Driver Talent</h2>

The LMP3 grid will feature 10 cars for the 2026 season and is packed with young drivers looking to make their mark in highest levels of endurance racing. The field features nine Ligier JS P325-Toyotas and one Duqueine D09, run by reigning Michelin Le Mans Cup champions R-ace GP.

Reigning champions CLX Motorsport will defend their title once again, the Swiss team entering a single car for Brazilians Alexander Jacoby and Bruno Ribeiro.

Former class champions DKR Engineering will run a Ligier JS P325 for the first time in 2026 after switching from Ginetta in 2025. Romain Favre and Antti Rammo will race for the Luxembourg flagged team.

Former champions Eurointernational will enter a single car with race winner Matthew Richard Bell racing with Belgium&rsquo;s Douwe Dedecker. Long time supporters of the LMP3 category Ultimate return with Matthieu Lahaye being named as the lead driver once again.

Rinaldi racing, Team Virage, Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man and M Racing will each run a single car to complete the 10-car grid that will be seen in Barcelona in April.

<h2>LMGT3: Six Manufacturers Represented on 14-Car Grid</h2>

2025 LMGT3 Champions TF Sport will also return to defend their hard-won title with a single Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R for Blake McDonald and Matthew Bell.

The Corvette is one of six manufacturers represented on the grid in 2026, with six Ferrari 296 EVO LMGT3s, three Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3s, two Mercedes-AMG LMGT3s, one McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo and one Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3.

Iron Lynx will run a pair of Mercedes-AMGs with the no62 car running the Qatari colours of the QMMF and driven by Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi.

Multiple ELMS Champions Proton Competition will run a pair of 911s, with the no91 Porsche being driven by 2024 MLMC GT3 Champion Matthew Kurzejewski. The third Porsche will race under the High Class Racing banner, with Iceland&rsquo;s Audunn Gudmundsson being named as the first driver.

United Autosports will run a single McLaren 720S with an unchanged driver line up from the 2025 season of Wayne Boyd, Garnet Patterson and Michael Birch. Cl&eacute;ment Mateu and Valentin Hasse Clot will be joined by Marius Fossard in the Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man Aston Martin Vantage.

Reigning LMGT3 Vice Champion Custodio Toledo returns with Richard Mille AF Corse in the no50 Ferrari 296 EVO. ELMS Race winner Duncan Cameron also returns with the no55 Spirit of Race 296 EVO LMGT3.

AF Corse and GR Racing will run a single Ferrari for two long standing competitors in the ELMS, Charles-Henri Samani in the no51 296 EVO LMGT3 and Michael Wainwright in the no86 Ferrari.

Kessel Racing will enter a pair of Ferrari 296s, with Japan&rsquo;s Takeshi Kimura in the no57 entry and Andrew Gilbert in the no74 296 EVO.

<a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/doc-prod/RBkfPvHxFWWwg2NIUosSlPHC.pdf" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to view the provisional entry list for the 2026 European Le Mans Series.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest:&nbsp;&ldquo;The 2026 European Le Mans Series entry list underlines the championship&rsquo;s outstanding vitality and its central role within the endurance racing pyramid. A record grid of 47 cars, strong representation across all categories and a compelling mix of established teams and new contenders once again highlight the ELMS as a benchmark platform for performance, competition and driver development. This level of commitment from teams and manufacturers is a clear sign of the championship&rsquo;s appeal, and we look forward to another highly competitive and exciting season, starting in Barcelona.&rdquo;

Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Lequien, CEO of Le Mans Endurance Management:&nbsp;&quot;The 2026 European Le Mans Series will see the largest ever entry, with a huge grid of 47 cars. We are extremely pleased to see this important championship reach new heights and attract the best teams and drivers from around the world.

&ldquo;LMP2 stands out, with a total of 23 cars across the two categories, with 11 cars for LMP2 and 12 in LMP2 Pro/Am. With six brands once again in LMGT3 and the Toyota powered LMP3 cars providing the perfect platform for emerging driver talent, it is no wonder that teams and drivers want to compete in the ELMS.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to extend a warm welcome to both the teams and drivers who are returning to the ELMS and to those who will make their series debut in Barcelona. We can&rsquo;t wait for 2026 and the first race in April.&rdquo;

The six-round 2026 European Le Mans Series will start at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday 12th&nbsp;April, with visits to Le Castellet, Imola, Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone before concluding in Portim&atilde;o in October.

A milestone 47-car grid for the 2026 ELMS season

In 2025, Ferrari-AF Corse won the FIA World Endurance Championship and claimed a third 24 Hours of Le Mans victory. Next year, the prancing horse will be back, ready to merit another chapter in the race annals.

2025 was the year of the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-ferrari-499p-hypercar-under-the-microscope-making-of-a-le-mans-icon-59719" target="_blank">499P</a>. The Italian team improved its consistency and fully deserved the FIA WEC manufacturer and driver titles. Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson&rsquo;s win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans &ndash; the third in succession &ndash; earned the team the right to take the trophy home for good. As 2026 approaches, Ferrari is already preparing to defend its world title and hoping for four in a row at Le Mans in the increasingly competitive Hypercar class.

<h2>The 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy takes pride of place in Maranello</h2>

Ferrari-Af-Corse&rsquo;s goal for 2025 was clear: to gain in consistency and win the world endurance championship. &ldquo;We have made several organisational changes and continue to do so. I believe we have taken a crucial step forward, particularly in our technical knowledge of the car. Let&rsquo;s remember that the technical development of the 499P took place in an exceptionally fast-paced and intense timeframe ahead of its race debut in 2023,&rdquo; said Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti at the start of this season.

Although the championship was the main goal, Ferrari was also bent on winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third year running. The #83 499P, fielded privately by AF Corse and driven by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson ticked that box. The &ldquo;hat trick&rdquo; earned Ferrari the right to keep the trophy &ndash; joining the happy few manufacturers Porsche, Audi and Toyota to have achieved the same feat. At 25, Yifei Ye is the first Chinese driver to win the race. &quot;The 499P was fantastic, we were put in a position from the start to fight for the win. We also made up for last year&rsquo;s bad luck, when we led the race for 83 laps, like the car number, but a technical problem forced us to retire. Winning Le Mans with Ferrari is something unique,&rdquo; said the man who left home at the age of 14 to join the FFSA Academy. We are proud to say he passed his school exams and his driving test in Le Mans.

<h2>The path to success began last winter</h2>

Ferrari-AF Corse demonstrated their superiority from the beginning of the championship season, with three wins in a row: Qatar 1812km, 6 Hours of Imola and the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa. The #51 499P, the only Hypercar to win two races in 2025, added the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/fia-wec-ferrari-crowned-fia-world-endurance-champions-in-bahrain-60097" target="_blank">manufacturer and driver trophies</a>&nbsp;to the Maranello silver cabinet. &quot;We have fulfilled the dream of becoming world champions, working hard and with humility to reach this goal. In 2023, by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we immediately realised the strength of the project, and the victories in France over the following two years confirmed that we were on the right path. We built this world success especially last winter, when we worked tirelessly to understand how to fully exploit the potential of this car. I would like to thank the whole Ferrari-AF Corse team and everyone who, both on the track and in Maranello from the remote garage, made it possible for us to experience this joy,&rdquo; said Head of Endurance Race Cars Ferdinando Cannizzo after the Bapco Energie 8 Hours of Bahrain.

After such a successful year, the team can only pin high hopes on 2026. They will be defending their world title and aiming for a fourth consecutive triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It wouldn&rsquo;t be the first time: Ferrari won the race an impressive six times in a row between 1960 and 1965. Ford put an end to that streak in 1966, with the iconic GT40 Mk II. In a pleasing nod to the past,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ferrari-vs-ford-the-fabled-face-off-set-to-be-revived-at-the-2027-24-hours-of-le-mans-60141" target="_blank">Ford will be back the highest level of endurance in 2027</a>, fielding a Hypercar entry. In the meantime, Ferrari has plenty of other rivals to contend with: Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Genesis, Peugeot and Toyota.

We are lucky to be witnessing endurance history in the writing. So don&rsquo;t miss the 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-14 June 2026), round 4 of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Ferrari-AF Corse: first Le Mans, then the world. What next?

The Italian team won the first two Asian Le Mans Series races this weekend at the 4 Hours of Sepang. Both LMP3 and GT classes lived up to expectations, offering excitement and suspense right up to the chequered flag.

The two 4 Hours of Sepang races were the ideal Asian Le Mans Series season opener. Rain, race strategy and track tactics provided excellent spectator entertainment as the LMP2, LMP3 and GT pecking order was established. Cetilar Racing outshone the rest of the field by winning both races. CLX Motorsport took the lead in LMP3, and Kessel Racing tops the GT table. 
Competitors meet again on 31 January and 1 February for two more races at the 4 Hours of Dubai.

<h2>race 1: Cetilar Racing clinches the win after a nail-biting finish</h2>

A Malaysian rain shower in the first hour shook up many a team&rsquo;s race strategy on Saturday. Four Safety Cars and two Full Course Yellows (FCY) reduced gaps to a hair&rsquo;s breadth, making the race a close-run affair across the board.

In LMP2, Inter Europol Competition, United Autosports and Algarve Pro Racing wrangled for the top spot until the #47 Cetilar Racing Oreca 07-Gibson closed in. With FIA WEC Ferrari-AF Corse driver Antonio Fuoco at the wheel, the Italian car stormed ahead despite a five-second penalty incurred during a FCY. Fuoco sustained impressive pace, carving a sufficient gap to take the penalty on the last pit stop and still retain the lead. He fended off pressure from Tom Dillmann (Algarve Pro Racing) in the #25 to take first place. CrowdStrike Racing by APR claimed third.

A spectacular crash on the second turn affected half of the LMP3 field. Inter Europol Competition clawed back from the bottom to claim victory by a whisker for Henry Cubides, with High Class Racing a mere 0.218 seconds behind. Hampered by a technical issue, CLX Motorsport had to be content with the third step.

Things were just as close-run in the GT class. A post-race penalty for the #10 Porsche Manthey due to contact on the last turn handed victory to the Getspeed #9 Mercedes-AMG. Manthey and Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn emerged second and third from a hard-fought battle.

<div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZbMKtGCs_Rc?si=lsny7w7pqlDmaaqV" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

&nbsp;

<h2>Race 2: more rain and another Cetilar win</h2>

On Sunday, rain played a bigger part, dictating the pace of the race and causing a red flag 15 minutes before the end due to a flooded track.

Cetilar Racing confirmed its expertise in the adverse conditions. Roberto Lacorte, Charles Milesi and Antonio Fuoco managed the hold-ups, switching tactics with ease to claim a second win in LMP2, with Algarve Pro Racing and CrowdStrike Racing by APR in second and third place in a repeat result of the previous day.

In LMP3, CLX Motorsport&rsquo;s risk-taking paid off. The Swiss team took advantage of a Virtual Safety Car period to slip in the two obligatory 100-second stops, which opened up a path to victory over 23Events Racing and Forestier Racing by VPS.

Kessel Racing clinched the podium in GT, making a superb comeback from 15th place. The Swiss-run Ferrari&rsquo;s fine-tuned tyre choices proved a winning strategy, putting it ahead of the Team WRT #69 BMW M4 GT3, resuscitated after an engine change, and the Porsche Origine Motorsport, thanks to a slick performance by Bo Yuan.

<div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_0sWvoFH6xg?si=W-mQG1NQrfQT7cR1" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

&nbsp;

The leaders&rsquo; table as it stands:

<h4>LMP2&nbsp;</h4>

<ol>
	<li>Cetilar Racing &ndash; 50 points</li>
	<li>Algarve Pro Racing &ndash; 36 points</li>
	<li>Crowdstrike Racing by APR &ndash; 30 points</li>
</ol>

<h4>LMP3</h4>

<ol>
	<li>CLX Motorsport &ndash; 42 points</li>
	<li>Inter Europol Competition &ndash; 37 points</li>
	<li>Forestier Racing by VPS &ndash; 25 points</li>
</ol>

<h4>GT</h4>

<ol>
	<li>Kessel Racing &ndash; 35 points</li>
	<li>GetSpeed &ndash; 33 points</li>
	<li>Origine Motorsport &ndash; 23 points</li>
</ol>

Cetilar Racing leaves Malaysia the uncontested leader having won both races. The next stage in the Asian Le Mans Series is the 4 Hours of Dubai on 31 January and 1 February. The two races promise to be equally exciting!

Asian Le Mans Series: Cetilar Racing’s perfect weekend at Sepang

With victory at the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo and Hyperpole at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA left its mark on the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season. For the 2026 campaign, the Cadillac V-Series.R will be back sharper and hungrier than ever, and nursing the ambition of writing its own legend at the French endurance classic.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA&nbsp;sent out several strong signals during the 2025 season. Three Hyperpoles, including the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, victory at the Rolex 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo, and a regular place in the top five. The US outfit has confirmed that it is a force to be reckoned with in the FIA WEC field and, while a 24 Hours of Le Mans win has so far proved elusive, it does have impetus on its side. For the second year of the Cadillac-JOTA partnership in 2026, adjustments will be made to the American hypercar&rsquo;s aerodynamic set-up. The quest for Le Mans success has begun!

<h2>Bridging the gap</h2>

There were occasions during the 2025 season that caused the heart to beat a little faster. There was that unforgettable Thursday evening in June when the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-cadillac-v-series-r-under-the-microscope-ready-to-roar-for-america-at-le-mans-59659" target="_blank">Cadillac V-Series.R</a>, driven by Alex Lynn, scooped a historic Hyperpole&nbsp;at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans. There was that shot of the two American hypercars starting side-by-side on the front row of the grid in front of the packed grandstands. But the race itself did not quite pan out as planned. Lacking grip, the track was not best suited to the two V-Series.R that nonetheless fought valiantly to the chequered flag. The #12 finished in fourth place (on the same lap as the winning Ferrari) while the #38 took seventh place, one lap behind the leading group.

JOTA Sport director&nbsp;Sam Hignett&nbsp;found signs of hope and encouragement in the disappointing outcome:&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy to think about what could have been right now but we need to take a moment to focus on how far we&rsquo;ve come in the few short months since we&rsquo;ve formally been working together with Cadillac. (...) The whole team has worked phenomenally hard to get to this point and whilst we know we still have a way to go we have 365 days to prepare for this one next year. Obviously, we want to be on the podium, we want to win but this is a really solid start to a long-term project.&rdquo;

S&eacute;bastien Bourdais, the clear-headed driver of the #38 Cadillac, added:&nbsp;&quot;We&rsquo;ve got some work to do; we made some mistakes.&nbsp; We got a bit unlucky at times. But, overall, we need to be stronger to win a WEC race right now. We are showing some good things and just need to build on the strengths and fill the gap for the weaknesses.&quot;

So, what was achieved in the 2025 season? A one-two in S&atilde;o Paulo, three Hyperpoles, and a fourth place in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers&rsquo; Championship behind Ferrari, Toyota and Porsche.

<h2>A more finely honed hypercar for 2026</h2>

Cadillac has decided to tweak its hypercar in an attempt to bridge the gap. In&nbsp;2026, <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/cadillac-improves-v-series-r-hypercar-aero-for-2026-60108" target="_blank">the aero package of the V-Series.R will be upgraded</a>&nbsp;to achieve a faster peak speed. A necessary ingredient to tame Le Mans&rsquo; long, unforgiving straights.

As for the drivers, continuity will be the watchword. The wheel of the #12 Cadillac will be shared by the same solid trio of&nbsp;Alex Lynn,&nbsp;Norman Nato&nbsp;and Will Stevens. This line-up scored points in every race of 2025. A newcomer will bring a breath of fresh air to the Bamber-Bourdais&nbsp;pairing in the #38 car:&nbsp;Jack Aitken. This season, the pure speed, consistency and maturity of the 30-year-old British racer caught the eye. Both line-ups certainly have winning credentials.

In 2026, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA ought to shed its outsider tag and become a regular winner. The 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-14 June 2026)&nbsp;could be the one where the V-Series.R finally steps up and makes the grade.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – all sights trained on Le Mans

24 Heures du Mans 1991

The sound of a rotary engine, which you either love or can&#39;t stand, is like no other. And&nbsp;its reliability is fleeting at best, so it was quite a suprise when Mazda won the 59th edition of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. In the wake of problems encountered by the&nbsp;Peugeots and&nbsp;Saubers, Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot (both active in F1 at the time) and&nbsp;Volker Weidler claimed the top step on the podium. Well Herbert did so in spirit, he had to be transported to the medical center for dehydration as soon as he crossed the finish line and missed the podium ceremony&hellip;

Photo: Copyright - Archives/ACO

24H LE MANS

Today's Photo Story - Mazda wins the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans with a rotary engine

Related News

A milestone 47-car grid for the 2026 ELMS season

Ferrari-AF Corse: first Le Mans, then the world. What next?

Asian Le Mans Series: Cetilar Racing’s perfect weekend at Sepang

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – all sights trained on Le Mans

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