ELMS Season Recap: What Happened in 2025's European Le Mans Series

The 2025 season of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) was the 22nd edition of the European endurance racing championship, a racing category which features four-hour races with cars in the LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3 classes. Serving as a feeder series for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the best teams in ELMS receive an automatic invitation to compete in the following year’s event.

The 2025 ELMS season saw teams and drivers compete at six of the most iconic racing circuits in Europe. With racing drivers competing from all over the world, including Brits Jamie Chadwick – one of the five women on the grid this year – and Olli Caldwell, as well as several British teams, like United Autosports and TF Sport. 

In 2025, ELMS returned to Silverstone after a six-year hiatus from the Home of British Motorsport and with it brought endurance racing back to the UK.

The record-breaking, history-making 2025 season was filled with twists and turns from round one in Barcelona to the final round in Portimão. 

Round 1: 4 Hours of Bracelona

The 2025 European Le Mans Series season kicked off in Spain, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at the beginning of April. 44 cars were entered across the four classes and in the LMP2 category, Reshad de Gérus claimed pole. 

The IDEC Sport #18 car, with drivers Jamie Chadwick, Daniel Juncadella and Mathys Jaubert) finished second overall – after a Pro/Am car passed them on the final lap to take the chequered flag first and therefore the overall victory – but first in the LMP2 class; this feat saw Jamie Chadwick make history as she became the first woman to win in the class. 

The LMP2 Pro/Am class drivers of the #83 took the overall race victory after a dramatic overtake on the last lap, after a fresh-tyre advantage powered them from fourth when the race returned to green flag conditions with four laps remaining, to first when the chequered flag fell. This marked the second time a Pro/Am entry won the overall race in ELMS.
 

In LMP3, the #17 CLX Motorsport won their class after running inside the top three for the majority of the race, whilst in the LMGT3 class, the all-female driver lineup of the Iron Dames team led all but three laps and took their first victory of the 2025 campaign.
 

Round 2: 4 Hours of Le Castellet

Held at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, 44 cars were once again entered into the four-hour long race, with the weather playing a significant role in the strategy as conditions changed from wet to dry throughout the race. 

The IDEC Sport #18 team took their second win in a row, and their first overall win of the race, with approximately 107 laps completed by the lead car. The victory margin was extremely slim, with the trio only 1.8 seconds ahead of the P2 car. The win was significant for Jamie Chadwick, who became the first woman to win overall in ELMS. After their second win of the season, the IDEC Sport #18 crew led the championship and became early strong favourites for the title.

In the LMP2 Pro/Am category, the best finishing entry – and second car overall – was the #27 Nielsen Racing, who pushed the winning IDEC Sport entry at the very end, threatening an overtake in the final stages of the race. 

The French edition of the 2025 ELMS season saw another team take their second win of the year, with CLX Motorsport #17 taking their second win of the season, whilst in LMGT3, the Richard Mille AF Corse #50 Ferrari 296 GT3 took the lead in the closing laps of the race and managed to hold on to reaching the flag.

Round 3: 4 Hours of Imola

Held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the 4 Hours of Imola race weekend was filled with on-track and off-track drama. Qualifying was disrupted by a thunderstorm before the race was extended due to a collision in the first hour of the race, a multi-car pile-up at the Tamburello chicane which caused a red flag. 

The overall winner – and therefore, the LMP2 class winner – was the VDS Panis Racing #48, driven by young British driver Oliver Gray and his teammates Charles Milesi and Esteban Masson. The trio finished the race 8.8 seconds ahead of the second place driver in the LMP2 class after they took control of the race after the red flag was lifted and held their lead in the final stint. 

The LMP2 Pro/Am winner was the AO by TF #99 car, who finished in P6 overall in LMP2, but P1 of their class. Meanwhile, in LMP3, the strong trio in the CLX Motorsport #17 car extended their class-lead in the championship after securing their third consecutive win, even after receiving a drive-through penalty for contact during the race.

In the LMGT3 category, the TF Sport #82 car took the class win.
 

Round 4: 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 

The fourth round of the season was held at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, with the pre-race Qualifying session filled with tricky drying conditions. Ferdinand Habsburg, driving the #24 Nielsen Racing, took pole position for the main event. 

The 24 Nielsen Racing trio were unable to convert their pole to P1, and instead the VDS Panis Racing team in the #48 – including Oliver Gray – took their second win of the season, after Gray took the lead early on in the race and pulled away to maintain position at the front of the field. When the race ended, the #48 was over 24 seconds ahead of the car in P2, the #43 Inter Europol Competition, a lineup which includes British driver Nick Yelloly. 

Despite going into the round one point behind championship leaders VDS Panis Racing, the IDEC Sport #18, consisting of Jamie Chadwick, were demoted after a three-minute stop-go penalty for entering the pit lane after a Full Course Yellow. This dropped the IDEC Sport tri to P3 in the championship as they left Spa.

Elsewhere, the LMP2 Pro/Am class was won by the Algarve Pro Racing #20 car, driven by Brits Olli Caldwell and Alex Quinn, with their teammateKriton Lendoudis. They finished the overall race in P4, but won their class for the first time this year. 

In LMP3, the class winner – the #8 Team Virage – finished 20th overall, whilst in LMGT3, the winning car finished 28th overall. However, these two classes are focused on class performance compared to overall results, but the racing is competitive and makes the four-hour races extremely exciting.
 

Round 5: 4 Hours of Silverstone

In September, ELMS endurance racing made its return to the United Kingdom for the first time since 2019. It was a record-breaking weekend at the Home of British Motorsport, even in wet and rainy conditions, with over 40,000 fans filing through the gates at Silverstone. This makes it the most-attended ELMS event outside of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the best-attended race meeting of the entire ELMS 2025 season. 

On track, in the LMP2 category, the #18 IDEC Sport took the chequered flag first. Not only did this reignite their championship fight, but it saw Jamie Chadwick win her home race, and the first ELMS on UK soil in several years. The race was severely impacted by rain, with several stop-starts throughout the four hours, and ultimately ending eight minutes early due to poor on-track conditions, including water and poor visibility. 

In LMP2 Pro/Am, more British racing drivers took the top step on the podium at their home race. The #20 Algarve Pro Racing car, featuring Olli Caldwell and Alex Quinn, won the LMP2 Pro/Am classification.

Previous winners in the LMP3 category, the #17 CLX Motorsport took P1 in their classification, which secured both the Team and Drivers’ championships with one round to go. In LMGT3, the #50 Richard Mille AF Corse car finished first in their classification after battling through the field from P10 on the starting grid.
 

Round 6: 4 Hours of Portimão

The sixth and final race of the 2025 ELMS season was held in October at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão. With the LMP3 title secured at the penultimate round at Silverstone, attention turned to the championships in the LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am and LMGT3 classifications. 

The #48 VDS Panis Racing team won the LMP2 class, and the overall race, which secured their championship win with a total of 106 points, ahead of the second-place team, Inter Europol Competition (#48), who acquired a total of 92 points. The #18 IDEC Sport took P3 in the championship with 90 points, meaning three British drivers finished across the top 3 in the 2025 season of European Le Mans. The teams secured these championship positions after finishing the 4 Hours of Portimão in this same order.

In LMP2 Pro/Am, the #29 TDS Racing team took the win in class, but the LMP2 Pro/Am championship title was secured by the #99 AO by TF trio, despite finishing P2 in their class in Portugal. The pre-race championship leader in LMP2 Pro/Am was Portuguese team Algarve Pro Racing with the #20 car, but after contact during the race, the car dropped down the order, leaving the title to AO by TF.

In LMP3, the title holders – #17 CLX Motorsport – won the race. In LMGT3, the #82 TF Sport took the class win and clinched the championship title in their class. 
 

The 2025 European Le Mans Series season was filled with drama and excitement from start to finish. With numerous British drivers securing wins and taking multiple trips to the podium throughout the year and with the championship titles in three out of the four classes secured only in the final race, this year reminded fans why endurance racing at Silverstone, and worldwide, is loved by so many. 

With the well-loved return of endurance to Silverstone, it’s no surprise that the round will feature on the 2026 European Le Mans Series calendar, alongside the other five tracks that drivers and teams visited this year. 

The 2026 season begins with testing in April at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the Silverstone round will take place on 11th – 13th September.  

Keep up to date with Silverstone’s events to see when ELMS tickets go on sale.