Asian Le Mans Series Paul Ricard: Race 1 sees Ferrari one-two on Hypercar debut

Luis Pérez Companc, Yifei Ye and Nicklas Nielsen won a rain-hit opening race of the 2026-2027 Asian Le Mans Series at Circuit Paul Ricard. They led a Ferrari 499P one-two in the first ever Hypercar race in the series. In LMP2, Algarve Pro Racing won a close fight while running low on fuel, and Team Qatar by Iron Lynx came from the back of the grid to win in GT3.

Hypercar: Pérez Companc takes over

Rain was already falling as the cars set off, and the race director added a second formation lap before the start. Pole sitter Roberto Lacorte overshot his braking at Turn 1 in the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 499P, and Pérez Companc swept into the lead in the #90 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. Lacorte then had to repass LMP2 pole sitter Giorgio Roda on the run down to Turn 3.

The #90 Ferrari didn’t give the lead back. Heavy rain and spray later made visibility so poor that a Safety Car stayed out until 15 minutes from the end, which closed the gap between the two Ferraris. Nielsen still brought the #90 home a few seconds ahead of Fuoco, and Pérez Companc, Ye and Nielsen became the first Hypercar winners in Asian Le Mans Series history. Roberto Lacorte, Nicola Lacorte and Antonio Fuoco finished second.

LMP2: Algarve Pro holds on

Roda pulled clear in the opening stint, and the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson led for 34 laps from pole. After a Virtual Safety Car, the lead changed hands several times. Adrien Closmenil led at the restart in the #37 CLX Motorsport Oreca, but Malthe Jakobsen passed him in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07-Gibson. Victor Martins then charged through to lead in the #11 Proton Competition Oreca.

In the closing stages, Enzo Trulli led by 7.8 seconds from Louis Delétraz in the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca, but Delétraz had to pit for a splash of fuel. That moved Matthieu Vaxivière up to second in the CLX Oreca, and he chased down Trulli, who was saving fuel. Trulli held on by 0.698 seconds, so Jensen, Trulli and Jakobsen, the newly crowned European Le Mans Sereies LMP2 Pro/Am champions, won from 11th on the grid. Nick Yelloly completed the podium in the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca he shares with Torsten Kratz and Cian Shields. The top three LMP2 cars finished within 2.3 seconds of each other. The #22 United Autosports car finished fifth after a five-second penalty.

GT3: Iron Lynx from the back

Steve Jans led the GT3 field away from pole in the #9 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3, while several cars went off at Turn 3 on the opening lap. Stephane Tribaudini later passed Jans in the #7 Petrolife Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 after several swaps, and Rafael Duran followed him past in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.

The worst moment came around 80 minutes into the race. Giacomo Petrobelli lost the rear of the #70 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 on the exit of Turn 7, and the car hit the tyre wall backwards. He was unharmed, but the car was too badly damaged to continue.

Both Iron Lynx Mercedes started at the back of the 46-car grid. The #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx car had missed qualifying after its accident in Free Practice 2. When the race went green for the final 15 minutes, Zac Robichon led in the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. Frederik Schandorff passed him in the Petrolife Mercedes, but Maxime Martin was quicker still in the #62 Mercedes-AMG GT3. He took the lead with three laps to go and won by 1.926 seconds for Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses. Fabian Schiller finished second for GetSpeed, and the #88 Craft-Bamboo Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 made it a Mercedes-AMG one-two-three. A Mercedes was fourth as well.