Forestier Racing by Panis claimed pole position for the ELMS round at Paul Ricard after an animated qualifying session that was interrupted by a Full Course Yellow with less than seven minutes remaining.

Esteban Masson delivered the decisive lap in the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca 07, securing both LMP2 and overall pole position with a time of 1:48.374. Elsewhere, Giorgio Roda put the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07 on pole in LMP2 Pro/Am, Romain Favre topped LMP3 in the #4 DKR Engineering Ligier JS P325, and Abdulla Ali Al Khelaifi snatched LMGT3 pole in the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3.

LMP2: Masson puts Forestier Racing by Panis on top

In the LMP2 class, Forestier Racing by Panis emerged as the team to beat. At the wheel of the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis, French driver Esteban Masson produced a brilliant lap of 1:48.374 to secure pole position.

United Autosports came closest to denying Masson, with the #22 Oreca finishing just 0.021 seconds behind. Inter Europol Competition completed the top three with the #34 Oreca, 0.222 seconds off pole.

LMP2 qualifying results

  1. #29 Forestier Racing by Panis – 1:48.374
  2. #22 United Autosports +0.021
  3. #34 Inter Europol Competition +0.222
  4. #18 IDEC Sport +0.277
  5. #24 Nielsen Racing +0.313
  6. #43 Inter Europol Competition +0.410
  7. #28 IDEC Sport +0.526
  8. #37 CLX Motorsport +0.586
  9. #25 Algarve Pro Racing +0.760
  10. #10 Vector Sport +1.018
  11. #9 Proton Competition +1.072

LMP2 Pro/Am: Roda takes pole for Duqueine Team

ELMS Paul Ricard 2026, Duqueine Team

In LMP2 Pro/Am, Giorgio Roda secured pole position for Duqueine Team with a time of 1:50.386 but a few hours later he got disqualified for an additional material fitted to the car which didn’t met the technical regulations. This means the team will start at the back of the grid in its category. AO by TF in #99 Oreca will start from first place tomorrow in the Pro/Am field.

TDS Racing completed the top three with the #14 Oreca.

LMP2 Pro/Am qualifying results

  1. #99 AO by TF +0.547
  2. #14 TDS Racing +0.639
  3. #3 DKR Engineering +1.385
  4. #19 Rossa Racing by Virage +1.548
  5. #47 CLX Motorsport +1.596
  6. #20 Algarve Pro Racing +1.600
  7. #7 Vector Sport +1.793
  8. #83 AF Corse +2.145
  9. #21 United Autosports +2.647
  10. #88 Proton Competition +2.727
  11. #27 Nielsen Racing +3.773
  12. #30 Duqueine Team – 1:50.386 – DSQ

LMP3: DKR Engineering leads tight battle

ELMS Paul Ricard 2026, DKR Engineering

The LMP3 session produced a close fight at the front, but Romain Favre put DKR Engineering on pole with a lap of 1:58.784 in the Toyota-powered #4 Ligier JS P325.

R-Ace GP came within 0.106 seconds of the top spot with its #85 Duqueine D09, while Inter Europol Competition ended the session third with the #13 Ligier.

LMP3 qualifying results

  1. #4 DKR Engineering – 1:58.784
  2. #85 R-Ace GP +0.106
  3. #13 Inter Europol Competition +0.365
  4. #68 M Racing +0.395
  5. #35 Ultimate +0.841
  6. #8 Team Virage +0.860
  7. #31 Racing Spirit of Le Mans +1.070
  8. #5 Rinaldi Racing +1.072
  9. #11 EuroInternational +1.083
  10. #17 CLX Motorsport +1.642

LMGT3: Team Qatar by Iron Lynx snatches late pole

ELMS Paul Ricard 2026, Team Qatar by Iron Lynx

The most dramatic finish of the day came in LMGT3. As the session reached its conclusion, Abdulla Ali Al Khelaifi delivered a final flying lap in the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3.

His time of 2:03.814 was enough to take pole position away from the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R by just 0.071 seconds, putting Team Qatar by Iron Lynx at the head of the LMGT3 field.

Spirit of Race completed the top three with the #55 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, 0.607 seconds behind the pole-sitting Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG.

LMGT3 qualifying results

  1. #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx – 2:03.814
  2. #33 TF Sport +0.071
  3. #55 Spirit of Race +0.607
  4. #75 Proton Competition +0.811
  5. #59 Racing Spirit of Le Mans +0.829
  6. #74 Kessel Racing +0.887
  7. #57 Kessel Racing +0.977
  8. #50 Richard Mille AF Corse +1.106
  9. #77 Proton Competition +1.261
  10. #54 High Class Racing +1.350
  11. #63 Iron Lynx +1.580
  12. #86 GR Racing +1.972
  13. #51 AF Corse +2.046
  14. #23 United Autosports +2.233

4 Hours of Le Castellet set for Sunday

ELMS Paul Ricard 2026

The 4 Hours of Le Castellet takes place tomorrow, Sunday 3 May, starting at 12:00 local time at Circuit Paul Ricard, with the finish scheduled for 16:00.