ELMS goes to Paul Ricard
- therookiereporters
- Apr 28
- 2 min read
From the 1st to the 3rd of May, the European Le Mans series hosts its second round of the year this time heading to Paul Ricard, here is everything you need to know.
The circuit is located in Le Castellet, France and recently hosted the opening round of GT World Challenge EU. It’s becoming known as a thrilling track for GT and endurance style racing. It is 5.861km and consists of 15 turns.
This is the second round of the season after the opening round in Barcelona where the number 29 Forestier Racing won the race by over 13 seconds. Jamie Chadwick came in as the 2nd place female with her and her team finishing p4 and narrowly missing the podium. Doriane Pin was the top place female with her and her team coming in to finish P3, taking the last podium spot.
This weekend, there are over 40 cars entering the grid with 9 different manufacturers including Aston Martin and Mercedes, with all aiming to prove that they are the best.
Here is the schedule for the weekend
Friday
11:50 - Free Practice 1
Saturday
10:10 - Free Practice 2
15:10 - Qualifying LMGT3
15:32 - Qualifying LMP3
15:54 - Qualifying LMP2 PRO/AM
16:16 - Qualifying LMP2
Sunday
12:00 - Race
(All times are in CET)
The teams will be wanting to carry on with their momentum they brought to Barcelona, they’ll be aiming to build on the last race weekend hoping to be quicker and better. They’ll have worked on any mistakes from then and be hoping for them to not reoccur.
Watch out for fuel and tyre stops. As always, in these longer races they can make or break points. The driver changes will affect the way strategy plays out, a mistake here can be costly for track time. With the use of refueling, keep an eye on these as the amount of fuel added each time can determine a team's running plan for the rest of the race, pay attention and see what happens.
On track, watch out for Ligne Droit du Mistral (the straight in sector 2). The long straight makes it a desirable place for overtakes. It is a place that creates action, the length of the straight makes it an ideal place for overtakes, the long run gives the chance to catch up with a competitor or attempt to build a gap on one.
Article written by Imogen Moggridge © Imogen Moggridge 2026
