The 2026 Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone might have been the second year of the event’s return to the European Le Mans Series calendar, but it ended up being a race of firsts.
The first win of the year for all four class winners. First ever class win for R-ace GP, the Duqueine D09 and Mercedes-AMG. The first pole position for Tom Dillmann, followed by the first outright victory for all three winning drivers, and the first class win for 10 of the 12 victorious pilots, just to name a few.
Those three new overall winners were Matthias Kaiser, Jake Hughes and Ben Barnicoat of the #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07 – Gibson LMP2, who managed to prevail despite having far from a flawless run, with a nose change and time penalty for contact having to be overcome on a day when making the fewest mistakes, instead of being perfect, was what mattered.
The first sign of pace from the #25 ORECA, which has struggled for speed at times this season, came in the opening stint, when Kaiser put together arguably his best run to-date in LMP2 machinery to climb from sixth on the grid to second.
“The track was still a bit damp in some places, and was quite cold on the temperature,” he explained.
“I tried to warm the tyres as much as I could for the race start, and it really worked. I seemed to have a bit more grip at the start and could make up some positions. Unfortunately, I think I burned a little bit through the front tyres, which caused me to lose out a little bit in the second stint. But overall, I think I went pretty well, and then we timed the driver change quite well to the start of the rain and handed it over to Jake.”
Hughes, who is in his first season of sportscar racing, was therefore in the car as the field was reset behind a long Safety Car, with the order shuffled based on when teams switched to wet Goodyear tyres as the rain intensified.
Not only was this his first ELMS win, but also his first sportscar racing win and his first anywhere in over six years, made all the sweeter by being achieved on home soil.
“I’m really proud to do it with these boys,” Hughes commented. “It was definitely about survival in the middle part of the race for me.
“I think depending on how wet it was, you could see some cars were quicker than others. Some cars were looking for spray, some cars weren’t. You saw quite a fluctuation of pace within the grid from the middle part of the race to the end.
“It’s the first time I’ve driven the car in the wet in race condition, so managing traffic and trying to see if the GT cars and LMP3 cars have even seen you coming is quite a new phenomenon for me. I managed to navigate that quite well, and pass it over to Ben.”
Barnicoat, making his first start with Algarve Pro Racing in a one-off appearance, proved to be the ideal. One of the quickest drivers on the circuit in the final hour, he climbed up from sixth to take the win in comfortable fashion.
“It wasn’t too bad for a GT driver, I guess,” he joked.
“We’ve had a really fun weekend, first and foremost, which is a big part of endurance racing. We had a great team, great car, great teammates, and were able to get the job done. The car was flying, and maybe a bit of home advantage. I love the rain, and was able to get to lead and win the race.
“It was not easy. It’s never easy, but I definitely made the most of the fast car today. In some ways it was a bit easier for me because I’m not in this championship. I wasn’t going to do anything silly like crash the car, but I probably had a bit less pressure than these two. For me, it was all about trying to win. I don’t know if I’m coming back for the last race or not, so I was making the most of the opportunity I had.”
Speaking of the championship, it was a difficult race for all of the key contenders towards the top of the LMP2 standings, something which has enabled the #25 ORECA to rise to third in the championship, a result which would be Algarve Pro Racing’s best in LMP2 since their title-winning 2023 campaign should they hold on to it in Portimão next month.
Unfortunately, however, the 2026 crown is now out of reach for the Portuguese outfit, with a straight fight between the #22 United Autosports and #29 Forestier Racing by Panis ORECAs on the cards in the Algarve.
The pair entered this weekend equal on points, but with an off for Oliver Gray at Brooklands limiting the #29 ORECA to ninth in LMP2, and United Autosports salvaging a podium spot on a weaker day for its #22 effort, the Anglo-American squad now holds a 13-point advantage.
This means that a fifth podium finish of the year in Portugal will guarantee United its first ELMS LMP2 title since 2020, whilst Forestier Racing by Panis will need to hope for a return to podium form (or, at a minimum, fourth and pole) alongside a slip-up from its rival.
United though don’t have to wait until Portimao to celebrate though. Their current points total means that they can now finish no lower than second in the standings, enough to confirm that they have secured an automatic invitation to the 2027 Le Mans 24 Hours in LMP2.
In LMP2 Pro/Am, meanwhile, the championship remains much more open.
The #14 TDS Racing ORECA 07 – Gibson LMP2 of Steven Thomas, Sami Meguetounif and Scott Huffaker capitalised on Thomas’ maiden ELMS pole to make it four different winners from as many races, despite a scare at the end of the penultimate hour when Meguetounif was forced to recycle the car.
It ends a run of three fourth-place finishes, punctuated by a retirement in Imola, for the French squad, and vaults them firmly into the midst of what is set to be an eight-car showdown in Portimão.
“TDS have done great all year,” Huffaker said. “Things just haven’t really come to us, unfortunately. It feels like we could have been fighting for the win every race, but we’re finally here and getting one.”
Joining them on the podium were the #21 United Autosports and #19 Rossa Racing by Virage entries, with the latter the ninth different car to finish on the LMP2 Pro/Am podium this year.
As with LMP2, the championship leaders entering Silverstone all struggled, with the #20 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA failing to score after encountering multiple issues, whilst the #83 AF Corse passed on a golden opportunity to put one hand on the championship trophy as it sank from the podium places to seventh in the closing stint.
The Italian squad has moved into the lead of the standings, but is only five points ahead of TDS Racing, with Algarve Pro Racing and #30 Duqueine Team tied for third a further point behind. Unless AF Corse’s François Perrodo claims his maiden LMP2 Pro/Am pole in Portugal, all four would be guaranteed the title with race victory.
Behind, the #7 Vector Sport, #19 Rossa Racing by Virage, #99 AO by TF and #21 United Autosports ORECAs all remain in with a shot, although their championship challenges are now out of their hands.
Images courtesy of David Lord and Sami Meguetounif/Twenty One Creation
