The no90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P was the eventual winner after leading for almost the entire race, with Nicklas Nielsen crossing the line just six second ahead of Antonio Fuoco in the no47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 499P.
The LMP2 victory went to the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca, with newly crowned ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am champions Michael Jensen, Malthe Jakobsen and Enzo Trulli standing on the top step of the podium after Trulli had to get the car to the finish with very little fuel left in the tank. At the end of the race the top three LMP2 cars were split by just 2.2 seconds.
The GT3 victory went to the no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG after Abdulla Ali Al-Khelafi had to start at the back of the grid because the car had missed qualifying following an accident in FP2. Julian Hanses and Maxime Martin brought the car home, with Mercedes-AMG taking the top three places in the GT3 standings at the end of the race.
A NEW ERA FOR THE ALMS DAWNS
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet also marked the first race for the hypercar category with the no47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 499P and no90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P leading the 46-car field at the start of the race.
With rain falling on the track as the cars began their formation lap the race director called for a second formation lap in the tricky conditions, with the race beginning on the second lap. Roberto Lacorte in the no47 Ferrari led from pole position into Turn 1, with the no90 499P driven by Luis Perez Companc challenging the Italian. Lacorte ran wide on the exit and Companc swept into the lead, followed by Giorgio Roda in the LMP2 pole sitting no22 United Autosports. Lacorte used the power to get back ahead of Roda on the run down to Turn 3.
In GT3 Steve Jans in the no9 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG led the 28-car grid, with Charles Dawson in the no46 2Seas Motorsports Mercedes-AMG moving up to second from 5th on the class grid and the no65 Haupt Racing Team Ford of Hubert Haupt in third.
At T3 chaos ensued as several cars went off track to avoid spinning cars, with the no21 Herberth Motorsport Porsche and no64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang returning to the pits with damage, with the later car retiring without completing a single lap.
Giorgio Roda started to pull out a gap to the chasing LMP2 field led by the no30 Duqueine Team Oreca of Antti Rammo and the no20 APR Oreca of Jens Moller. Luis Perez Companc was also pulling a gap to Roberto Lacorte at the head of the field, the two Hypercars moving away from the no22 United Autosports Oreca.
As the rain continued to fall more cars went off track, including the no46 Mercedes-AMG, dropping Dawson from 2nd to 19th in class and the no34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca pitting for a replacement front clip after suffering bodywork damage in a collision.
The no33 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG of Darren Leung was also in the wars, suffering damage from a collision with the no91 Manthey Porsche at T4, with Leung forced into the pits and into the garage for repairs.
The battle for the GT3 lead was also intense with Steve Jans being challenged by Stephane Tribaudini in the no7 Petrolife Racing Team Mercedes-AMG, with Tribaudini eventually getting ahead of Jans after swapping positions several times. The no50 AF Corse Ferrari also took up the challenge with Rafa Duran getting past Jans on the next lap.
The no70 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage driven by Giacomo Petrobelli was also making good progress but was starting to lose grip from his Michelin wet tyres. On the exit of Turn 7, the rear of the Aston came round, and the car hit the tyre wall backwards, coming to a halt with heavy damage and debris spread across the runoff area. Petrobelli emerged from the car unharmed, but the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to allow the car and debris to be cleared up safely.
At the restart the LMP2 lead was held by the no37 CLX Motorsport Oreca of Adrien Closmenil, with Sting Ray Robb in the no22 United Autosports, Malthe Jakobsen in the no25 APR and Laurin Heinrich in the no4 Crowdstrike by APR all closing up to the leader. Jakobsen was closing on the Robb, passing the American and then catching and passing Closmenil for the lead. Victor Martins in the no11 Proton Competition was also rapidly moving up the field, the Frenchman passing Heinrich and then Jakobsen for the lead.
With heavy rain now falling and the spray causing visibility to drop to a dangerous level, a Safety Car was declared, which lasted until 15-minutes before the end of the race as the conditions improved enough for racing to restart.
When the race went green for the final run to the flag the no27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin of Zac Robichon led the GT3 field but was caught and passed by the no7 Petrolife Mercedes-AMG of Frederik Schandorff. However, Maxime Martin at the wheel of the no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG was catching and was soon leading the class, with the Belgian taking the chequered flag 1.9 seconds ahead of the no9 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG of Fabian Schiller, with the no88 Craft-Bamboo Iron Lynx making it a Mercedes-AMG 1-2-3 on the GT3 podium.
However, a post-race penalty of 126 seconds for Getspeed (Stewards Decision no65) promoted the no88 Craft-Bamboo Iron Lynx to second and the no46 2Seas Motorsports Mercedes-AMG to third, meaning it was still a Mercedes-AMG lockout of the first GT3 podium of the season.
Enzo Trulli in the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca was 7.8 seconds ahead of Louis Deletraz in the no4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR but the reigning ALMS LMP2 champion had to pit for a splash of fuel, which allowed Matthieu Vaxiviere in the no37 CLX Motorsport to move up to second place. The French driver set off after Trulli, who was desperately trying to save fuel while keeping ahead of the chasing Vaxiviere. Trulli made it to the chequered flag just 0.6 seconds ahead, with Nick Yelloly bringing the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca home a further 1.5 seconds back to claim the final podium position.
At the head of the field the no90 AF Corse of Niklas Nielsen was ahead of Antonio Fuoco in the no47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 499P. The two cars crossed the line just 6.3 seconds apart at the end of the four-hour race, with Luis Perez Companc, Yifei Ye and Nicklas Nielsen becoming the first ever ALMS Hypercar winners.
Round 2 of the 2026/27 Asian Le Mans Series will take place at 13h15 on Sunday 15 November.
CLICK HERE for the result from Race 1 of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet by ALMS.
QUOTES FROM THE HYPERCAR WINNERS
Luis Perez Companc - No90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: “It was very difficult; tough conditions with rain and new car. An hyper car for me was the first time, only to test, but I was lucky to test also in rain, so I knew the car a little bit. But all the team, Nicklas and Yifei, they made a really nice job, no mistakes, and I think that was the key for the victory today.
“I like rainy conditions. I always feel very comfortable in the rain. So, for me, it was just to manage the power of the car. I could do some good times and just keep the car between the lines, and that was the key.”
Yifei Ye - No90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: “I cannot dream about anything more than having a good gap behind. The track was very tricky to drive with the grip, and the overtaking other LMP2 cars was also tricky. I was happy about the stint; I managed to increase the gap and give the car to Nicklas. I am grateful for the great job of the team and of my two teammates.”
Nicklas Nielsen - No90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: "On the TV, it looked quite okay, and then, once I jumped into the car, I realised that it actually wasn't. Luis did an amazing job because just to keep the car on track was difficult today, and keeping the tyre temperature up was just as difficult. So, I think the key today was not to do any mistakes and just to bring the car home, and we managed to do that.
“We're happy to drive with Luis. I spent a few years driving with him already, and it's a pleasure to be back, especially with this car. You know they're very complicated. So, like I said, he did an amazing job because they're difficult, not only to drive but also to operate.”
QUOTES FROM THE LMP2 WINNERS
Michael Jensen – no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07-Gibson: “It was a tough day in the office; it was very long four hours. My stint was the same for everybody, but pretty difficult. It was about keeping it clean, making no mistakes, and keeping good lap times. But it was tricky conditions out there. A tough day, but obviously very, very happy with the result.
Watching Enzo I was just waiting and hoping for a full course yellow or a safety car, but Enzo did a stellar job. The team kept him calm and relaxed, and yeah, it was just a fantastic team effort. Obviously, Enzo did the hard work in the car. Just amazing to watch and so super proud of him.”
Malthe Jakobsen – no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07-Gibson: “We started the first stint on carrying over Michael's tyres, and then we had the virtual safety car very quickly afterwards and, luckily, we had a big gap behind, so we decided to change tyres. We came out third afterwards and managed to get my way forward up to the lead very quickly.
“But then as the track dried up, I think we struggled a little bit with the tyres, and Victor Martins was very, very fast. I definitely couldn't keep up with him. Then we had a nice battle with the car four as well our sister car, Lauren came past. Then at the end of the stint they had to box a little bit before us because of fuel consumption, and I managed to push on hard and we managed to stay ahead after the pitstop. Enzo just had to get his head down; he managed to do so even though the team had to tell him to fuel save. So very proud of him. Thank you, Enzo.”
Enzo Trulli – no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07-Gibson: “I was talking every lap with my engineer David. He tried to keep me cool. He gave me the gap, and with the gap, I tried to manage how much I had to feel safe. That was tough because I had to fuel save a lot, and I had no temperature in the tyres and brakes. So, in the last few laps, it was quite tough, but I tried to stay calm, keep my head cool.
“Michael and Malthe did an amazing stint. They gave me the car basically in the lead, and I just tried to drive. This was for first time for me on Michelin wet tyres, so on the first lap I tried to adapt, and then the car was amazing. It's a good run for me winning three races in a row with Portimao Sepang last week and now this one. There is a lot to improve in myself but it's nice to start the ALMS like this.”
QUOTES FROM THE GT3 WINNERS
Abdulla Ali Al-Khelafi - no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO: “I'm super happy about this win, it was very special for us. Starting from the back, we took it really easy and safe; kept it clean. I'm impressed by my teammates and also by our engineers coming up with this tight, tight strategy. Considering all the changes in the weather and how everyone was confused and maybe exceeded the driving time. So, thank you. It was it was pretty hard for the engineers, and congrats to them for getting this win.”
“I'm very happy with the win because we missed qualifying yesterday and we missed a full day of testing. So, we really were nowhere to be found pace-wise, but we pulled it together when it matters most.”
Julien Hanses - no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO: “Yes, jumped in the stint which started with the safety car when it went directly to green flag. It was quite difficult to find a rhythm, especially with so many cars around you after the safety car. I somehow found my pace and was driving decent lap times, I would say, consistent, no mistakes, and handed the car over to Maxime, who did an awesome job. The pace he had in the car was insane, and also Abdullah, he did a great job today, as did the whole team with the strategy. With missing qualifying and starting from last and finishing with the victory, it's something that you have probably just once in your life.”
Maxime Martin - no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO: “I think the final safety car was needed at that point as it was starting to be quite dangerous with a lot of aquaplaning everywhere. So it was the right call at that time. For sure, it helped us a little bit. But we had to have a bit of luck, you know. It's always like this in racing. We started from the back of the grid and we came through to P1. So a great team effort, it's amazing.”
