The stage is set and so is the field for the final weekend of the 2023 European Le Mans Series at Portimão.
The Grand Finale, which will feature two four-hour races to make up for the cancelled meeting at Imola earlier in the season, will be contested by 41 cars from 26 teams, featuring 120 drivers from 29 nations.
Across the four categories, the changes from the round at Spa-Francorchamps last month are minimal, with an identical list of cars and only two driver changes, both in LMP2 Pro/Am.
The first is in the #20 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA, with Jack Hawksworth set to rejoin the team after missing the races at Aragon and Spa-Francorchamps. In those races, Bent Viscaal stood in for Hawksworth.
Elsewhere in the class, the #83 AF Corse ORECA sees Ben Barnicoat return after he too missed the previous two rounds and was replaced by Alessio Rovera.
Barnicoat is being tasked with assisting Francois Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere in their title challenge in LMP2 Pro/Am. The duo heads into race week just four points behind the Racing Team Turkey trio of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Louis Deletraz.
As expected, the #23 United Autosports ORECA is once again missing from the list, after Jim McGuire sustained an injury at Aragon and opted to withdraw the car from the remaining rounds of the season. There’s no start either for the #10 Eurointernational Ligier JS P320, ending season of speed coupled with misadventure two races early.
The first race of the Grand Finale double-header, the 4 Hours of Algarve, will be held on Friday, 20 October, ahead of the final race of the year, the 4 Hours of Portimão, on Sunday, October 22nd.
