The 2018 European Le Mans Series calendar has been unveiled this morning. No change in venues for the 2018 season, with a return to all 6 current track which are on this years schedule. There's a few tweaks though on the order in which the races will be held.
The official pre-season test will move back to Le Castellet in April instead of Monza, with the French venue also hosting the opening round of the series just five days later. Silverstone, which has been the traditional season opener since 2013, will swap with Le Castellet and move to a summer date in August. The race in Silverstone will still be a double header with the FIA WEC race during the weekend of August 18th.
The other four-hour races will still be held in Monza (Italy) in May, Red Bull Ring (Austria) in July, Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) in September and the season finale in Portugal returns to Portimão in October for the second successive season.
After a highly successful 2017 season, the Michelin Le Mans Cup will continue to follow the European Le Mans Series all year long, with the exception of Silverstone as the series will have its flagship event, the Road to Le Mans, at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
ELMS 2018 schedule:
- 09-10 April: Prologue - Paul Ricard (France)
- 14-15 April: 4 Hours of Le Castellet (France)
- 12-13 May: 4 Hours of Monza (Italy)
- 21-22 July: 4 Hours of the Red Bull Ring (Austria)
- 17-18 August: 4 Hours of Silverstone (UK)
- 22-23 September: 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
- 27-28 October: 4 Hours of Portimao (Portugal)
The 2018 season will once again give the competitors the opportunity to race at the best European motor sport venues and the fans to enjoy great racing all around Europe.
Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest: “It’s important for the ACO, promoter of the ELMS, to guarantee the best calendar possible for this high-quality championship. We do not forget most of the teams participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans come from the ELMS. We find in this championship values that the endurance community and the ACO consider as very important.”
Gérard Neveu, European Le Mans Series CEO: “The European Le Mans Series and the Michelin Le Mans Cup are two championships that give us complete satisfaction. We are making sure that the budgets are reasonable and are trying to keep our high-quality competitors that are running both championships satisfied. With this 2018 calendar we have chosen to emphasise cost efficiency, stability and quality.”
Kristof Vermeulen.