Two-time MLMC LMP3 and 2021 ELMS LMP3 Champion Laurents Hörr returns to IDEC Sport for the 2026 European Le Mans Series, joining three-time ELMS race winner Jamie Chadwick and 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion Valerio Rinacella in the no18 Oreca-Gibson.
Hörr raced for the former ELMS LMP2 Championship winning team in 2023, scoring two podiums and finishing the season in fifth overall alongside Paul Lafargue and Paul Loup Chatin.
The German driver has spent the past two seasons at DKR Engineering, the team he won his three LMP3 titles with, in the LMP2 Pro/Am category. He now returns to the top class to challenge with his two teammates for the overall ELMS crown in 2026.
Q1: You are back with the IDEC Sport team after two seasons with DKR Engineering.You raced in LMP2 with IDEC in 2023, so you know how the team operates. Will this familiarity help you with the preparations for the 2026 ELMS season?
Laurents Hörr: “Certainly, yes. I've been there when they’d just entered the new workshop facilities in Paul Ricard. Obviously, some changes have been made over the past few years, but because I know a lot of key personnel in the team, this really helps.”
Q2: You are racing the no18 Oreca-Gibson alongside Jamie Chadwick and Valerio Rinicella. Jamie made an impact in her debut season with IDEC, taking three wins and becoming the first female driver to take an overall ELMS victory. Valerio is the 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion. How are you getting on with your new teammates and have you raced with either of them before?
LH: “No, I've been competing against Valerio in the Asian Le Mans Series. I don't know if you can say I raced against Jamie last year, because we were not in the same category.
“I met Valerio last year, because during the rookie test, he was also doing laps with DKR, where I helped him. Obviously, I've been the lead driver last year in the car, so during the test, I was available to the team, and whoever was in the car. So, we've had some contact before. We've gotten along well, with each other already last year and I spent a lot of time with him in Paul Ricard. He’s a really, really nice guy and a lot of fun.
“Jamie is also super nice, very calm, very professional. So far, we've really had a good time together.”
Q3: Your two 2023 teammates, Paul Lafargue and Paul Loup Chatin, are also racing in the ELMS with IDEC this season in the no28 Oreca. Is it good to be working with them again?
LH: “IDEC is a team, not in the sense of it's just an operation, but we all work strongly together. I had a great time in 2023 with Paul and Paul Loup. I've received a lot of help from Paul Loup, and I’m very good friends with Paul ever since. So it's really nice to be with them again, even if sometimes I will have to go against them. But this is racing.
Q4: Tell us more about the Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory Program and what it means for your career.
LH: “From last year to this year, there are some differences in the programme. Last year it was really to bring staff into WEC, and to get a clearer choice on drivers.
“So now this year, this has changed.We have no more Genesis staff on our car, so it's mainly focusing on driver development. We are receiving help from Genesis on this side with media. Obviously, we have the reach of being in the programme. We will be in place during some WEC events, and we will try to help the WEC programme as much as we can.
“Jamie is already the test and reserve driver, and I would say Valerio is the future. Genesis is clearly trying to form their future lineups with this programme.
“I don't want to call things too early, but of course, for me personally, the goal is to do the best job possible to make sure that I will be in their car next year. There's no guarantee, but it means that they look at me and if I do a good job this year, I have the opportunity to be there.”
Q5: The LMP2 category is extremely competitive, even more so this season. What are your thoughts when you look at the teams and drivers who will be competing in this year’s ELMS?
LH: “I always try to focus on my capabilities and the capabilities of us as a team. No doubt there's a lot of strong cars, a lot of strong teams, but with the work the team has done and the work we've done so far this year, all together, I think we are very capable lineup, and we have nothing else to target but winning.
“To know that you're one of the best, you need to compete against the best so you have no choice. The ELMS is one of the most competitive championships in the world, the level of drivers we have, the level where the teams are operating. So, it's the place to be if you want to be a factory driver.”
Q6: The first race of the season is in Barcelona, where you scored an LMP2 podium there in 2023 with IDEC. What are your thoughts on the circuit, and do you have a favourite corner or sequence?
LH: “I have really good memories from Barcelona all over the years. Is a nice classic, old school flowing track. I have to say, I'm a big fan of the modifications they have made in the last sector, especially Turn 10, which I think is really nice now. However, for me the first sector is the best part of the track, with the long corner and the sequence of combined corners. It's a lot of fun.”
Q7: Looking at the rest of the circuits on the calendar, which ones stand out for you as a driver?
LH: “Generally, I think we have a really nice selection of tracks in the ELMS, it’s very hard to beat, but my personal favourite will always be Spa. I've spent so much time there, and let's say from Germany, this is my home track for us. Actually, I think I've spent more time in Spa than in any track in Germany. So, for me, the favourite is clearly Spa and when I leave the pit lane, I feel at home.”
