Asian Le Mans Series in the 2026/27 season in Southern Europe

The Asian Le Mans Series has been well established for many years and, just like the European Le Mans Series, for example, forms part of the world of Le Mans organiser the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest). In recent years, the Asian Le Mans Series has mainly been held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – but for reasons that are well known, it is currently quite difficult to plan races in this region. For example, the FIA WEC has moved its last two races of the 2026 season from Qatar and Bahrain to Barcelona-Catalunya and Monza.

The Asian Le Mans Series is now following a similar path and will be held in southern Europe during the 2026/27 season. The season opener is scheduled to take place from 13 to 15 November 2026 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet (southern France). The series will then move on to the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto in Spain from 15 to 17 January 2027. The final round is scheduled for 19–21 February 2027 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão (Portugal).

Naturally, none of these three circuits are located in Asia, which could potentially cause confusion given the series’ name, the ‘Asian Le Mans Series’. Consequently, the ‘Winter Le Mans Series’ banner has also been announced for the 2026/27 season.

The FIA WEC has previously held its Prologue (i.e. the pre-season test) at Le Castellet. WEC races have even taken place at Portimão before. Both circuits have also been venues for the European Le Mans Series for some time. Jerez, on the other hand, is new to the Le Mans calendar.

“2026 has proved to be an exceptional year. External constraints, which were entirely beyond our control, forced us to make decisions in the interests of all under difficult circumstances. After weighing up all the facts and consulting with all stakeholders, it was decided to relocate the Asian Le Mans Series to Europe for the 2026/27 season,” said ACO President Pierre Fillon. “The Winter Le Mans Series offers teams and drivers the best platform to compete for one of the most coveted prizes in endurance racing: the Asian Le Mans Series title – and, for the LMP2 and GT3 winners, an automatic invitation to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

Hypercars, LMP2 and GT3 as classes

The class structure of the Asian Le Mans Series will also be revised for the 2026/27 season. This means that Hypercars will compete in the championship for the first time. They will be joined by the familiar LMP2 and GT3 classes. The supporting programme will feature a new series called the ‘Asian Le Mans Cup’, in which LMP3 and GT3 cars will compete.

Planned calendar for the 2026/27 Asian Le Mans Series