European Le Mans Series: The Affordable Race Weekend That Is Totally Worth It

Damian HallFri, September 18, 2026 at 7:16 AM UTC

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If you love Formula 1 but have always wanted to get closer to the cars, drivers, and teams without spending a small fortune, there is another race weekend you might want to add to your list.I spent the weekend covering the European Le Mans Series at Silverstone as accredited media and, at times, it had all the ingredients of an F1 weekend: busy grandstands, professional teams, drivers from around the world and millions of pounds' worth of racing machinery competing at one of Britain's most famous circuits.Except there was one major difference: the level of access available to ordinary fans.And I mean really close.

Damian Hall

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You could do an entire weekend for as little as £35

For the 2026 Silverstone event, a three-day weekend ticket started at just £35 during the Super Early Bird period.Friday tickets started at £10, while Saturday and Sunday could each be had for £20. Even if you decided to turn up and buy a three-day ticket at the circuit, the published on-the-day price was £50.Selected grandstand access was included on a first-come, first-served basis, and children under 16 could attend free when accompanied by an adult.But here's where things became particularly interesting.For another £10, fans could add the Platinum option, which included access to the Sunday pit walk, autograph session and pre-race grid walk.So someone who secured the £35 early weekend ticket and added Platinum could potentially have spent £45 for three days at Silverstone with experiences that can feel decidedly VIP at other major sporting events.

The paddock felt more like a car meet

The accessibility wasn't limited to organised sessions.Walking through the paddock, I watched fans approach team personnel, ask questions about the cars and wish them luck ahead of the race.At times, it felt more like a petrol station car meet than an international motorsport event.Except you would look around and remember that these weren't modified road cars gathering on a Sunday afternoon.These were professional racing teams preparing millions of pounds' worth of machinery to compete at Silverstone.You could also find yourself walking past a driver and simply start a conversation.Drivers stopped to speak with supporters, posed for selfies and signed autographs. What impressed me was how receptive and patient many of them appeared to be with the people who had come to watch them race.

Damian HallYou could literally walk onto the starting grid

Then came what was probably one of the most impressive experiences available to fans: the grid walk.Before the race, supporters with the Platinum upgrade were allowed onto the Silverstone grid, where cars from LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3, and LMGT3 were assembled ahead of the start.Imagine walking through a multimillion-pound car show where almost nothing is behind a rope.Fans could stand alongside the cars, pose for photographs, peer into cockpits and get close enough to appreciate details that are almost impossible to see from a grandstand or through a television screen.And shortly afterwards, those same cars were racing around Silverstone.

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F1 fans might recognise a few people too

If you're coming to ELMS from Formula 1, there are likely to be some familiar names on the entry list.At Silverstone, that included Jamie Chadwick, the three-time W Series champion and former Williams Racing Driver Academy member, who competed in the top LMP2 category for IDEC Sport.She wasn't the only driver with links to the F1 world.Pietro Fittipaldi, who made two Formula 1 starts for Haas, was also competing in LMP2, while the field featured several drivers who have raced in categories such as Formula 2 and Formula 3.It means you aren't necessarily watching a field of completely unfamiliar drivers. Some have already been part of the Formula 1 world, while others have travelled through the same junior categories that produced many of the drivers currently on the F1 grid.The difference is that here, you might subsequently bump into one of them while walking through the paddock.

Damian HallThere is almost always something happening on the track

This might have been my favourite part.ELMS isn't one class of car circulating around the track. Four classes race simultaneously, each effectively fighting its own race while sharing the same piece of tarmac.That means you could have an LMP2 battle unfolding while the leaders negotiate their way through slower traffic, with separate fights taking place in LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3 at exactly the same time.There are races within the race.For a spectator, it means there is almost always something to watch.You might be following a fight for the overall lead one moment and, seconds later, see a prototype trying to find its way around a GT car while another battle develops behind them.The traffic isn't an inconvenience. Managing it is part of endurance racing, and watching cars with dramatically different levels of performance negotiate the same circuit adds another layer to the spectacle.

Some of these teams are racing for a route to Le Mans

There is also considerably more at stake than simply winning another motor race.The European Le Mans Series forms part of the pathway to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the most famous endurance races in the world.At the end of the 2026 season, the LMP2 champion and runner-up will earn automatic invitations to compete in LMP2 at the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LMP2 Pro/Am champion also receives an LMP2 invitation, while the LMP3 champion earns an invitation to step up to LMP2 and the LMGT3 champion receives an invitation in its category.That puts the fan access into perspective.The team member answering your question in the paddock or the driver posing for a selfie could be competing for an opportunity to race at Le Mans.

Damian HallIt gave me an F1-weekend feeling, but with a lot more access

I've attended Formula 1 weekends, and I'm not suggesting ELMS is trying to replace F1. They are very different championships and very different forms of motorsport.But there were moments at Silverstone when the overall experience felt surprisingly familiar.You have professional teams, serious racing machinery, drivers from around the world, recognisable names, busy grandstands and the atmosphere of a major motorsport weekend.Then ELMS adds something increasingly difficult to find at the highest levels of sport: proximity.You can walk through the paddock. You can speak to team members. You can meet drivers. With the right ticket, you can walk through the pit lane and stand on the starting grid alongside the cars you're about to watch race.And because four classes are competing together, there can be an extraordinary amount of action happening on the circuit at any given moment.For an F1 fan wanting to experience another side of motorsport without spending hundreds of pounds just to get through the gate, that's a compelling proposition.It manages to feel like an elite motorsport experience without making the average fan feel like they have to be a VIP to properly experience it.I went to Silverstone to cover the European Le Mans Series.I left wondering why more motorsport fans aren't talking about it.If you're putting together your motorsport bucket list, ELMS deserves a spot on it.

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