The 2023 European Le Mans Series was the twentieth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) European Le Mans Series. The six-event season began at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 23 April and finished at Algarve International Circuit on 22 October.
The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes, divided into the LMP2 and LMP3 classes, and grand tourer-style racing cars in the LMGTE class. The season was the last for the LMGTE class.
The provisional calendar for the 2023 season was announced on 22 September 2022. MotorLand Aragón was added to the calendar for the first time, replacing the round at Monza, which left after serving as a late replacement for the Hungaroring during the 2022 season. The Portimão round was later postponed one week to alleviate a clash with the 2023 Petit Le Mans.
On 11 April it was announced the 4 Hours of Imola would be postponed due to ongoing works on the pit lane and paddock areas. On 14 April, the 4 Hours of Imola were officially cancelled, with the Portimão round becoming a double-header to fill the void.
All cars in the LMP2 class used the Gibson GK428 V8 engine and Goodyear tyres. Entries in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, set aside for teams with a Bronze-rated driver in their line-up, are denoted with icons.
All cars in the LMP3 class used the Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine and Michelin tyres.
All cars in the LMGTE class used Goodyear tyres.
Bold indicates overall winner.
The season began in Barcelona, where sophomore Reshad de Gerus took his maiden pole position in the No. 47 Cool Racing entry. The race for the overall win developed into a fight between the No. 30 Duqueine of Neel Jani and the Pro-Am class No. 34 Racing Team Turkey car of Louis Delétraz. Despite an unscheduled stop to replace his rear bodywork, Delétraz caught up to Jani and passed him with 15 minutes to go, allowing him, Charlie Eastwood, and Pro-Am polesitter Salih Yoluç to claim the overall win. Jani in the Duqueine settled for second, while the Pro-Am No. 83 AF Corse crew completed the podium in third. In LMP3, the No. 17 of Cool Racing won after the No. 31 Racing Spirit of Léman, which Antoine Doquin had held in front of the chasing Marcos Siebert during the closing laps, was penalised for a full-course yellow infringement. The LMGTE race was controlled by the No. 16 Proton Competition Porsche of Alessio Picariello, Zacharie Robichon, and Ryan Hardwick.
At Le Castellet, Cool Racing's No. 47 continued its pole streak, this time with José MarÃÂa López. Originally, the No. 28 IDEC Sport Oreca had looked on course to take the win, before Paul-Loup Chatin was forced to pit with a puncture. This promoted Delétraz in the No. 34 to the front, only to be overtaken by Algarve Pro Racing's James Allen after suffering a de-laminating tyre; the No. 25 Algarve Pro of Allen, Alex Lynn, and Kyffin Simpson went on to win ahead of Neel Jani's No. 30 Duqueine and the No. 34 RTT, which held on to third despite a late onslaught by the No. 43 Inter Europol entry. The No. 34 nevertheless took a Pro-Am victory ahead of the No. 37 Cool Racing and No. 83 AF Corse crews. The LMP3 battle went the way of RSL's No. 31, which benefited from a mid-race safety car that removed WTM by Rinaldi Racing's 30-second lead gap. In LMGTE, Proton won again, this time with the No. 77 lineup of Julien Andlauer, Giammarco Levorato, and team owner Christian Ried.
The ELMS went to Aragón for the first time in its history. Phil Hanson took pole in the No. 22 United Autosports entry, and went on to win alongside Oliver Jarvis and Marino Sato, in part due to a quick final pit stop. The No. 28 IDEC car of Chatin finished 15 seconds behind, with the French driver successfully defending second place against Algarve Pro's Alex Lynn. LMP2 Pro-Am, won by the No. 83 AF Corse crew of Matthieu Vaxivière, François Perrodo, and stand-in driver Alessio Rovera, proved dramatic, as the No. 34 RTT entry dropped out of contention with a late pit stop problem, while the No. 37 Cool Racing car of Malthe Jakobsen retired after hitting the sister No. 47 car of López. A clean run allowed the Cool Racing No. 17 to win an attrition-filled LMP3 class, while the No. 57 Kessel Racing triumphed in LMGTE.
Algarve Pro's Alex Lynn claimed pole position for the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. At the race start, Panis Racing's Manuel Maldonado misjudged his braking spot and caused a four-car collision, for which he later received a one-minute stop-and-go penalty. The polesitting No. 25 of Algarve Pro retained the lead in spite of several race neutralisations and went on to win, extending its championship advantage. The No. 37 Cool Racing Pro-Am entry finished second overall and won its class, meanwhile a late overtake from Matthieu Vaxivière on Louis Delétraz allowed the AF Corse No. 83 to finish third overall. LMP3 was again won by the No. 17, meanwhile the Iron Lynx No. 60 led by Matteo Cairoli won in LMGTE after a post-race penalty for the original winners, the Proton No. 16.
At the 4 Hours of Algarve, held as a double-header alongside the season finale, James Allen took pole in the championship-leading No. 25. In a wet race meanwhile, a late overtake and subsequent defense by Oliver Jarvis on Alex Lynn allowed the No. 22 United crew to narrowly beat the No. 25 to victory. With a penalty awarded to the No. 24 Nielsen Racing entry, the Cool Racing No. 37 inherited the win in the Pro-Am class, teeing up a title decider between it, the third-placed No. 83 AF Corse crew, and the No. 34 RTT car, which had gotten beached during the first hour at the hands of Yoluç. While the WTM by Rinaldi No. 12 won in LMP3, a fourth place was enough for Marcos Siebert, Alex GarcÃÂa, and Adrien Chila to win the title for Cool Racing. LMGTE was decided in a battle between the two Proton Porsches, with the No. 77 of Andlauer coming out on top versus the No. 16 of Picariello.
Going into the final race at Portimão, Paul-Loup Chatin achieved pole position for IDEC Sport. The race got going after a rain delay and was won by the No. 22 United crew, although the Algarve Pro No. 25 prevailed in the championship by finishing second, despite being attacked in the hectic final laps by third-placed Job van Uitert. Victory for the No. 16 Proton entry earned them the LMGTE title, meanwhile EuroInternational won in LMP3. In LMP2 Pro-Am, a late charge by the Cool Racing No. 37 of Malthe Jakobsen was stopped by the No. 83's Ben Barnicoat, whose defense allowed full-time drivers Vaxivière and Perrodo to clinch the championship.
Points are awarded according to the following structure:
Points are awarded according to the following structure: