ELMS Recap: 4 Hours Of Le Castellet
- therookiereporters
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
The European Le Mans Series arrived at Circuit Paul Ricard for the second race of this season. This article will give you a recap of the 4 Hours Of Le Castellet, so you know what happened even if you didn’t watch it.
United Returns To The Top
The second race of the ELMS 2026 season took place at Circuit Paul Ricard. The race was full of strategy and a late-race collision and to end it all there was a dramatic shift in the championship standings. The polesitter for this race was Forestier Racing by Panis, they won the last race in Barcelona so they were the once to beat, however United Autosports that keeping your cool during the final hour is just as important as maintaining a good pace.
A Good Start and Safety Car Stress
The tone for this race was clear as soon as the green flag was being waved. While Esteban Masson but car #29 Forestier Racing by Panis on pole, he lost the lead in the first lap to Griffin Peebles who was driving the #22 United Autosport car, Peebles showed a perfect maneuver to grab the lead in this race, setting a good pace that not a lot of people could match in the first hour.
The race finally got into a strategic rhythm until a safety car was deployed because #50 Richard Mille AF Corse lost control of the right-rear wheel. This meant the field got neutralized and set up a 57 minute sprint to the finish, getting rid of the comfortable lead that United Autosports had built over the duration of the race.
The Chicane Clash
With just 26 minutes left on the clock this bizarre moment happened. The #22 United Autosports car, which was being driven by Ben Hanley, was fighting with the #34 Inter Europol Competition car, which had Reshad De Gérus. De Gérus made a bold move around the outside of Turn 8, leading to contact at high-speed that sent both the LMP2 cars into a spin.
Hanley showed amazing presence of mind, doing a perfect 360-degree spin and recovering instantly to maintain his lead of the race. De Gérus wasn’t as lucky, he fell back in the order and eventually he got a 5-second penalty for an unsafe release during recovery. Hanley crossed the finish line and secured the first victory in ELMS for United Autosport since 2023, shared with his teammates Peebles and Grégoire Saucy.
Honors and National Pride
The battle in the overall competition and in the sub-classes were intense. In LMP2 Pro/Am class, Nielsen Racing took the win with the #27 car, which was driven by Kriton Lentoudis, Alex Qiunn and James Allen. They got the win after the #83 AF Corse car got a post-race penalty for a yellow flag infringement during the race.
In the LMP3 class, Inter Europol Competition got their win with the #13 Ligier. They won because the leading DKR engineering car was forced to pit to fix a cockpit door that didn’t want to stay closed. In LMGT3, local fans were cheering for the young French driver Mathys Jaubert, who showed a masterclass in the final stint in the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari, making it go from third place to first and then won in the LMGT3 class by a 17 second gap with second place.
After this intense race, all eyes are going to the 24 hours of Le Mans which is taking place on the 8 of June, for the most intense form of endurance racing.
Article written by Zoë Wokke
