The European Le Mans Series (ELMS) will expand to a six race calendar in 2016, with an additional four hour race at Spa-Francorchamps, joining the now familiar events at Silverstone, Imola, Red Bull Ring, Paul Ricard and Estoril.
Europe’s leading endurance race series will also be joined for the majority of the six races by the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Renault Sport Trophy, giving the fans a regular support race package to enjoy throughout the 2016 season.
2016 will begin as always with The Prologue, the official two day preseason test, on March 29 and 30. The first race of the season will be at Silverstone in the UK on Saturday 16 April. The 4 Hours of Silverstone will once again join the World Endurance Championship for a fantastic festival of racing.
Round 2 will be at Imola for the now traditional mid-May visit to the Italian circuit. After Le Mans, Round 3 will take place in Austria at the Red Bull Ring and the race at the Circuit Paul Ricard moves to the end of August. On the 25 September the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will become the new entry on the calendar, with the first visit by the ELMS to the Belgian circuit since 2011. The 2016 season will conclude in Portugal as Estoril will once again host the season finale on Sunday 23 October.
“The 2016 calendar represents the next step in the growth of the European Le Mans Series,” said Pierre Fillon, president of Automobile Club de l’Ouest. “The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is an important addition to the ELMS, while the five other races, held on the same tracks at the same time of year, are well established and growing in popularity.”
“We are very happy to welcome the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and RS01 Renault Sport Trophy and our thanks go to Renault Sport Technologies for their full support,” added Gérard Neveu , European Le Mans Series CEO. “The addition of these two high profile single seater and GT race series will enhance the popularity of the ELMS weekends and give the fans two more reasons to join us for an exciting 2016 season.”
