European Le Mans Series

Portimão: the facts behind the ELMS season finale

A look at the venue’s history, notable winners and records ahead of the 2026 four-hour race.

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Portimão has been the European Le Mans Series season finale venue since 2017, when the four-hour race was first held at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

The European Le Mans Series published its Portimão facts and figures on 6 October 2026, ahead of the 2026 edition. The series said that race would be the 11th four-hour ELMS event held at the circuit.

From Estoril to the Algarve

Portugal hosted the ELMS season finale at Estoril from 2014 through 2016. The event moved to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in 2017, and Portimão has been the finale venue since.

The circuit staged the series’ first double-header weekend in 2023. The 4 Hours of Algarve took place on Saturday, 21 October, followed by the 4 Hours of Portimão on Sunday, 22 October. The series said the extra race was scheduled after the Imola round was cancelled because of building work.

Notable team records

United Autosports has won six times at Portimão: four times in LMP2—in 2018, 2021 and twice in 2023—and twice in LMP3, in 2017 and 2020. The team recorded 15 podium finishes across the nine races held there before the 2026 event, according to the series.

Proton Competition also has six Portimão victories. Five came in LMGTE, including both 2023 races, when the team secured first and second place in each. Christian Ried was part of all five winning LMGTE crews. Proton’s other listed win was in LMP2 Pro/Am in 2024, with Giorgio Roda, Bent Viscaal and Rene Binder.

Milestones and records

In 2022, Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Doriane Pin became the first all-female crew to win an ELMS race, driving an Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GTE EVO.

That year, Malthe Jakobsen took his sixth LMP3 pole position from six attempts in the No. 17 COOL Racing Ligier-Nissan. The series described it as the first time one driver had claimed all six pole positions in a season.

Jakobsen later won the 2024 Portimão race overall in LMP2 for COOL Racing alongside Lorenzo Fluxa and Ritomo Miyata. The series noted he had won at the event in three classes: LMP3 in 2022, LMP2 Pro/Am in 2023 and LMP2 in 2024.

A tied championship decided by a result

The ELMS’s closest championship finish cited in the preview came in the 2020 LMGTE season. Proton Competition, represented by Alessio Picariello, Michele Beretta and Christian Ried, and Kessel Racing, with David Perel and Michael Broniszewski, each finished the five-race campaign on 99 points.

Both teams also recorded two wins, two second places and one fourth place. Proton Competition was declared champion because it had won the first race, at Le Castellet.

Newsroom

The historical details and records in this article are drawn from the European Le Mans Series’ Portimão facts-and-figures preview, published on 6 October 2026.

Byline

Oronzo Canà

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Editorial transparency · How this story was created

This article was prepared by the automated Ranko newsroom using tournament data recorded on Ranko Universe at the time of generation. Subsequent updates or corrections may not yet appear here.

This report summarises the results and standings available when it was prepared.

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