ELMS Confirms 2027 Calendar: Same Six Circuits, Earlier Start

The European Le Mans Series will return to the same six circuits in 2027, but with the season starting a month earlier than this year, headlined by an early March trip to Barcelona.

The ACO has confirmed the calendar for the 2027 European Le Mans Series, and the headline change is timing rather than location. The series will visit the same six venues as this year, but the whole season shifts forward, starting with a Prologue on 8 and 9 March ahead of the 4 Hours of Barcelona on 14 March, a full month earlier than the 2026 opener.

Round two heads to the Circuit Paul Ricard for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet from 30 April to 2 May, and there is a genuine change here beyond the date. The chicane on the Mistral Straight will be removed for 2027, meaning teams tackle the full 1.8km blast down to Signes for the first time since 2024.

Imola follows for round three, from 2 to 4 July, slotting in after the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 12 and 13 June. Round four takes the series back to Spa-Francorchamps, marking ten years of ELMS racing at the Belgian circuit, before round five brings a third visit to Silverstone from 3 to 5 September, timed to coincide with the WEC's own return to the British track in April 2027. The season then closes, as it always does, in Portugal, with the 4 Hours of Portimao running from 30 September to 2 October.

ACO president Pierre Fillon said the calendar shows the series continuing to grow "in stature, driven by rising audiences and ever-increasing fan attendance." Le Mans Endurance Management chief executive Frederic Lequien was more direct about the thinking behind it: the series is not broken, so there was no need to fix it, and the 2027 calendar is about giving teams and partners a stable platform to build on.

The full 2027 entry list and detailed session times are expected closer to the new season. For now, round four of 2026 is up next, with the series heading to Spa-Francorchamps on 23 August.

By Adam Prescott