SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — The European Le Mans Series produced four hours of drama at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, as Inter Europol Competition claimed overall victory in a race dominated by incidents, Safety Car interruptions and a late post-race shake-up.

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The #43 Oreca 07 of Jakub Śmiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly took the overall and LMP2 victory, bringing Inter Europol Competition back to the top step for the first time since 2024. Behind them, Forestier Racing by Panis finished second, while IDEC Sport completed the LMP2 podium.

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The race was the fourth round of the 2026 European Le Mans Series and featured a 47-car grid across the LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3 categories. What followed was one of the most chaotic races of the season, with multiple incidents and six Safety Car periods during the first half alone.

Drama before the field had even reached Turn 1

The chaos started immediately.

As the 47-car field accelerated towards La Source, the #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca was involved in contact and suffered front-end damage before reaching Turn 1. While the #34 was left to recover from the opening-lap incident, pole-sitter Jamie Chadwick held the lead in the #18 IDEC Sport Oreca.

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The first major accident came shortly afterwards at the end of the Kemmel Straight. The #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier locked up and hit the barriers, bringing out the first Safety Car of the afternoon.

When racing resumed around 15 minutes later, Griffin Peebles in the #22 United Autosports Oreca made a bold move around the outside of Chadwick into La Source to take the overall lead. The opening phase also saw changes in LMP3, with Paul Lanchere in the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier moving ahead of the #85 R-ACE GP for the class lead.

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There was more trouble only minutes later when Ian Aguilera in the #37 CLX Motorsport Oreca attempted a move on the inside of the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis at Les Combes. The move did not come together and Aguilera spun, dropping back through the field.

Safety Cars turn the race upside down

The opening half of the race was repeatedly interrupted, with incidents and recovery operations constantly reshuffling the field.

One of the most spectacular crashes involved Custodio Toledo and the #50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari, which crashed at the exit of Pouhon and brought an early end to the car's race. The incident was one of several collisions that contributed to the heavily disrupted opening hours.

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The repeated Safety Car periods had a major effect on strategy. At one stage, the timing of the interruptions and pit stops allowed several LMP2 Pro/Am cars to run at the front of the overall field, creating an unusual order in the middle of the race.

As the race moved into its final stages, another Safety Car again reshuffled the order and created the opportunity Inter Europol Competition needed.

Inter Europol keeps its cool

The #43 Inter Europol Competition crew gradually worked its way into contention before finding itself at the front following the final sequence of pit stops and another interruption.

With Nick Yelloly behind the wheel for the closing stages, the British driver kept the pressure under control and brought the Oreca home to secure Inter Europol Competition's first ELMS victory since the 2024 season.

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The original on-track battle at the finish was even closer than the final classification suggests. The #43 crossed the line just 3.3 seconds ahead of the #10 Vector Sport Oreca, but Vector Sport later received a substantial post-race penalty after Pietro Fittipaldi was found to be below the minimum required driving time by 1 minute and 15.791 seconds. The resulting 1:50.791 penalty dropped the #10 car to 17th overall and ninth in LMP2.

That promoted Forestier Racing by Panis to second and IDEC Sport to third in the final LMP2 classification.

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AF Corse wins in LMP2 Pro/Am after late drama

The #83 AF Corse Oreca, driven by François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Antonio Fuoco, delivered an impressive recovery to take victory in LMP2 Pro/Am after starting 10th in class.

However, the closing stages were not without controversy.

The #99 AO by TF appeared to be on course for second place, but a late battle with the #83 AF Corse at Les Combes ended with the AO by TF car spinning while AF Corse took the escape road. The incident promoted the #20 Algarve Pro Racing car to second, while AO by TF ultimately completed the podium in third.

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LMP2 Pro/Am podium

  1. #83 AF Corse
  2. #20 Algarve Pro Racing
  3. #99 AO by TF

Post-race disqualification changes the LMP3 result

Perhaps the biggest twist of the entire weekend came after the chequered flag.

The #54 Rinaldi Racing Ligier originally crossed the line as the LMP3 winner, finishing almost a minute ahead of the competition. However, post-race scrutineering found a technical infringement involving the car's fuel tank, resulting in the team's disqualification.

That promoted the #17 CLX Motorsport crew to victory.

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Final LMP3 podium

  1. #17 CLX Motorsport
  2. #85 R-ACE GP
  3. #11 Eurointernational

The result was a dramatic reversal for CLX Motorsport, particularly after the team had already been involved in several incidents during the race.

GR Racing makes history in LMGT3

The LMGT3 category delivered another remarkable story.

Starting only 12th in class, the #86 GR Racing Ferrari fought through the field to take victory, securing the team's first-ever LMGT3 win in the European Le Mans Series. The winning car was driven by Mike Wainwright, Lorcan Hanafin and Matthew Jansen.

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Behind them, Proton Competition's #77 Porsche finished second, just 2.772 seconds behind the winners, while the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG completed the podium, giving Maxime Martin a podium finish on home soil.

LMGT3 podium

  1. #86 GR Racing Ferrari
  2. #77 Proton Competition Porsche
  3. #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG
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A race Spa will not forget quickly

From contact before the first corner to crashes at the Kemmel Straight, Les Combes and Pouhon, the 2026 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was anything but a straightforward endurance race.

The combination of six early Safety Car periods, constantly changing strategies and post-race penalties meant that the final classification looked very different from what spectators initially saw at the chequered flag.

For Inter Europol Competition, however, the result was clear: after a long wait for an ELMS victory, Jakub Śmiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly finally returned the Polish team to the top step of the podium.

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With only two rounds remaining, the European Le Mans Series now moves on to Silverstone, where the championship battle will enter its decisive phase.

Final class winners at the 2026 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps:

  • LMP2 / Overall: #43 Inter Europol Competition — Jakub Śmiechowski, Tom Dillmann, Nick Yelloly
  • LMP2 Pro/Am: #83 AF Corse — François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Antonio Fuoco
  • LMP3: #17 CLX Motorsport — promoted following the post-race disqualification of Rinaldi Racing
  • LMGT3: #86 GR Racing — Mike Wainwright, Lorcan Hanafin, Matthew Jansen

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