2023 and 2024 LMP2 Pro/Am Champions AF Corse head into the 4 Hours of Portimão at the head of the championship standings, with double champions François Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere riding high with their Italian teammate, 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco on 67-points. The Spa-Francorchamps winners have only one other podium to their tally, so is François Perrodo a little surprised to be leading the championship?
“I did not expect to be leading the championship,” he admitted. “I mean, I was hoping to be leading the championship, but we certainly did not expect it because, as you said, it's truly been up and down the whole season. We finished P7 in Silverstone, with a disappointing end of the race, with some tricky tyres to manage. Anyway, it just wasn't our race, although at one stage it was looking really good.
“But then our direct competitor, which is car 20, also had some issues, and they fell even further down. So, this completely redistributed the cards and now there are four cars within six points now going into Portimão. We're in the lead, so we can't complain, but knowing the level of the championship it is going to be an interesting weekend.”
The nearest challengers to the no83 Oreca is the no14 TDS Racing Oreca after Steven Thomas, Scott Huffaker and Sami Meguetounif took maximum points at Silverstone, their first podium of the season. The Franco-American trio head into the final race on 62 points, just five behind the AF Corse crew and victory for either team would secure the title and the automatic invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With the championship standings being so close, are the TDS Racing crew going to approach the race in Portugal any differently?
“We will go to Portimão going for the win because we want those trophies,” said Sami Meguetounif. “I think we deserve more as we only have one trophy so far, so we will go and try and get another one. If that result leads us to win the championship, then of course it will be a big plus.
“We will change nothing, the team is really working well with us, giving us a good car every weekend. We will work with Steven, giving him the best advice, trying to prepare him for a good qualifying, like he did in Silverstone, and maximise our chances.”
The 4 Hours of Portimão will be Algarve Pro Racing’s home event and 4 Hours of Barcelona winners Michael Jensen, Malthe Jakobsen and Enzo Trulli are tied on 61-points with the Duqueine Team crew of Giorgio Roda, Richard Vershoor and Doriane Pin, but they have yet to win this season.
Vector Sport is still in the hunt for the 2026 title, with Imola race winners Cem Bölükbasi, Jens Reno Møller and Lorenzo Fluxa just 14-points behind the leaders and 2-points ahead of the no19 Rossa Racing by Virage Oreca of former class champion John Falb and his teammates Rik Koen and Portuguese racer Manuel Espírito Santo.
Two other teams have an outside chance of taking the title. Reigning champions AO by TF are on 45-points, 22-points behind AF Corse and 1-point ahead of the no21 United Autosports Oreca.
The 4.653km Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit is one of the most technical tracks on the calendar; what does championship leader François Perrodo think of it? “I think Portimão is a nice track. I like the elevation changes and there are a couple of really cool fast corners. I love T1 and the last corner; these two corners are really mega; it's very technical. I think personally, from AF's point of view, it's not our best track. Even though we've won there a few times, it's one of those tracks where we've never really managed to match the top teams. For APR it's their home race, so they usually have a super nice car there, and there’s TDS. So, it'll be challenging for sure.”
The 4 Hours of Portimão is round six of the 2026 European Le Mans Series and will be the deciding event for all four ELMS titles on Saturday 10 October.
CLICK HERE for the LMP2 Pro/Am championship standings after Round 5, the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone.
Tickets are still available for the 4 Hours of Portimão from only 8€. CLICK HERE for more information.
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