After 23 long weeks since the final race of the 2023 season in Portugal, the entry list for the opening round of the 2024 European Le Mans Series has been unveiled with a mammoth grid of 43 cars.
The 4 Hours of Barcelona will take place on Sunday 14 April and the grid will feature the largest entry of LMP2 competitors anywhere in the world, with 22 across the LMP2 and LMP2 Pro/Am classes. It will also sees the return of GT3 cars to the ELMS for the first time since 2015 in the new LMGT3 category.
The grid in Spain will feature 29 teams and 128 drivers representing 29 different nations from all corners of the globe, including Europe, North America, Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia.
Spanish fans will be supporting three local drivers in the opening race of the six-round ELMS season, Lorenzo Fluxa (no37 COOL Racing – LMP2), Albert Costa Balboa (no24 Nielsen Racing – LMP2 Pro/Am), and Belen Garcia (no4 DKR Engineering – LMP3).
The LMP2 category for all pro driver line-ups doubles up from 7 entries in 2023 to 14 this season.
Reigning champions Algarve Pro Racing return to defend their title, with 2023 drivers champion Alex Lynn being joined by Olli Caldwell and Matthias Kaiser in the no25 Oreca 07-Gibson.
Former champions United Autosports are running two cars in LMP2, as are COOL Racing and Inter Europol Competition. Single car entries in the LMP2 category are from Iron Lynx - Proton, Vector Sport, AO by TF, Nielsen Racing, IDEC Sport, Duqueine Team and Panis Racing.
The driver’s LMP2 list is an impressive array of champions and race winners from every disciple of motor sport and includes Robert Kubica, Felipe Drugovich, Ritomo Miyata, Louis Delétraz, Paul Di Resta, Frederik Vesti, Ferdinand Habsburg, Will Stevens and many others, making this arguably the most competitive ELMS LMP2 grid ever.
There are 8 entries in the LMP2 Pro/Am category, which feature the same cars as the LMP2 class, but with one bronze driver in the line-up. It is worth remembering that the 2023 4 Hours of Barcelona was won overall by an LMP2 Pro/Am car (Racing Team Turkey), with three Pro/Am cars in the top 4 finishers.
2023 LMP2 Pro/Am Team Champions AF Corse return with their championship winning drivers Francois Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere, with 4 Hours of Aragon race winner Alessio Rovera rejoining the team in Spain.
Algarve Pro Racing, Nielsen Racing and United Autosports are running a single car entry in LMP2 Pro/Am alongside their LMP2 entries, while Proton Competition are also running a Pro/Am Oreca alongside the Iron Lynx - Proton LMP2 entry.
Multiple LMP3 Champions DKR Engineering return to the LMP2 Pro/Am class, with Team Virage and Richard Mille by TDS bringing the entry up to 8 cars for the 4 Hours of Barcelona.
The LMP3 category will feature ten cars with some of the most promising up and coming endurance racing drivers. The grid for the 2024 season is certainly one of quality.
COOL Racing return to defend their 2022 and 2023 Team titles with a single Ligier JS P320 with Portugal’s Miguel Cristóvão and Manuel Espirito Santo joining up with Switzerland’s Cédric Oltramare.
Reigning MLMC LMP3 Champions Julien Gerbi and Gillian Henrion step up to the ELMS with Team Virage.
2018 LMP3 Champions RLR MSport are running a two-car effort in 2024, while 2019 Team Champions Eurointernational are entering a single car effort, retaining their Canadian-British duo Adam Ali and Matthew Bell, who finished as Vice Champions in 2023.
2021 Team Champions DKR Engineering are running a single Duqueine M30-D08 for 2022 MLMC LMP3 Champion Alexander Mattschull, Spain’s Belen Garcia and American Wyatt Brichacek. 2023 4 Hours of Algarve winners WTM by Rinaldi Racing are the only other team running the Duqueine chassis this season, with an unchanged driver line up of Torsten Kratz, Leo Weiss and Oscar Tunjo.
2022 MLMC Champions Racing Spirit of Léman, Ultimate and Inter Europol Competition complete the LMP3 grid with a single Ligier JS P320 for each team.
Eleven cars will contest the LMGT3 category in 2024, the first time GT3 cars have started an ELMS race since the 4 Hours of Estoril in 2015.
The grid for the 2024 European Le Mans Series will see Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche and Lamborghini go head-to-head.
2023 LMGTE Champions Proton Competition will run a single Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 for Claudio Schiavoni and double 2023 ELMS race winner Julien Andlauer. The other Porsche on the grid is entered for the Iron Dames crew of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting, the all-female crew returning to the ELMS for the first time since Bovy and Gatting took a historic win alongside Doriane Pin at the 4 Hours of Portimão in 2022.
Reigning MLMC GT3 champions Racing Spirit of Léman are entering a single Aston Martin Vantage with Grid Motorsport by TF entering a second Aston Martin on the 4 Hours of Barcelona grid.
2021 LMGTE champions Iron Lynx are entering the only Lamborghini Huracan in this year’s ELMS with Andrea Caldarelli being joined by Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Axcil Jefferies.
The rest of the grid is made up of no less than six Ferrari 296 LMGT3s. 2015 LMGTE Champions Formula Racing return, with Father and Son duo Johnny and Conrad Laursen being joined by 2019 LMGTE champion Nicklas Nielsen.
2017 Champions JMW Motorsport will also race the 296 this season with fellow British team GR Racing switching to the Prancing Horse in 2024.
Kessel Racing, Spirit of Race and AF Corse will all run the Ferrari 296 and feature strong driver line ups who will provide some great racing action in the first season of LMGT3 in the European Le Mans Series.
The 4 Hours of Barcelona will take place on the 12-14 April, with the official pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th April.
CLICK HERE for the provisional entry list for the 4 Hours of Barcelona.
TICKETS ON SALE for the first event of the 2024 European Le Mans Series Season.
