United Autosports, Forestier Racing by Panis, Algarve Pro Racing, CLX Motorsport and TF Sport have received automatic invitations to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans after the 2026 European Le Mans Series season, with Algarve’s LMP2 Pro/Am place settled by a final-lap penalty at last weekend’s Portimao finale. The five teams are the five ELMS invitees confirmed by the organisers for the 95th running of the French endurance race.
The invitations do not complete the Le Mans field. The organisers said further automatic places will be awarded through the 2026-27 Asian Le Mans Series, which begins on 13 November, while the final entry list will take shape gradually.
How the five ELMS invitations were earned
United Autosports secured an LMP2 invitation by winning the overall ELMS title. Sportscar365 reported that the No. 22 Oreca 07 Gibson crew of Griffin Peebles, Grégoire Saucy and Ben Hanley had already guaranteed a top-two championship finish before Portimao, ensuring its Le Mans place before the deciding race. Victory in Portugal then confirmed the overall championship.
Forestier Racing by Panis, which had won the ELMS in the previous season according to Sportscar365, finished as 2026 runners-up and also earned an LMP2 invitation. The official Le Mans announcement listed both United and Forestier among the teams entitled to use their invitations in that class.
Algarve Pro Racing took the third LMP2 invitation as LMP2 Pro/Am champion. Its success was the closest of the five qualification outcomes: Sportscar365 said the class title changed hands on Portimao’s final lap when a track-limits penalty cost the No. 14 TDS Oreca both the race victory and championship. Algarve therefore emerged with the title and the associated Le Mans invitation.
CLX Motorsport and TF Sport completed the ELMS group after retaining their respective class crowns. CLX’s LMP3 title gives it an invitation to race in LMP2 at Le Mans, while TF Sport’s LMGT3 championship provides an additional LMGT3 entry opportunity for its Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R programme.
The important class distinction
The invitations are not identical grid places. Four of the five ELMS teams have qualified for LMP2: United Autosports as overall champion, Forestier Racing by Panis as runner-up, Algarve Pro Racing through LMP2 Pro/Am and CLX Motorsport through LMP3. TF Sport is the sole ELMS invitee assigned an LMGT3 invitation.
That four-to-one split reflects the categories in which the invitations can be used, rather than a prediction of the eventual class strength at Le Mans. It also means CLX’s LMP3 title carries a step up in eligibility, because its reward is specifically an LMP2 berth rather than a place in the category it won in ELMS.
United had already secured an LMP2 invitation by guaranteeing a top-two overall finish before Portimao, while its victory then clinched the overall title. Algarve’s Pro/Am invitation was settled by a penalty on the final lap.
Two IMSA drivers also qualify
The Le Mans organisers also confirmed invitations for George Kurtz and Orey Fidani from the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Kurtz received the Jim Trueman Award, with an invitation designated for LMP2, while Fidani was the highest-ranked Bronze-rated driver in GTD and received the Bob Akin Award, usable in LMGT3.
The official Le Mans release specifically identified the two driver invitations alongside the five ELMS team invitations.
For prospective entrants, the practical picture is therefore clear but incomplete. Seven named recipients have been formally identified by the organisers: five teams from ELMS and two IMSA drivers. More invitations remain available through Asian Le Mans Series results, with Sportscar365 reporting that the LMP2 and GT class champions will earn those further places, so these awards establish an early section of the 2027 grid rather than its final composition.