•    Michelin 24H SERIES organiser Creventic reveals Prototype Cup Europe
•    Successful management team working with ACO and Michelin in joint venture
•    Key partner Michelin providing huge prize of Michelin Le Mans Cup reserved spot
•    Prototype Cup Europe confirmed at iconic venues in Italy, Germany, Belgium
•    Latest generation LMP3 prototypes to compete in four-event championship

Gennep, Netherlands (22 January 2026):

Professional motor racing organisational body Creventic, in partnership with the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) and leading tyre manufacturer Michelin, is delighted to announce the creation of Prototype Cup Europe for the 2026 season.

Featuring the latest Gen 3 LMP3 prototype race cars, which are powered by Toyota twin-turbo V6 engines, the European series is an expansion and evolution of Prototype Cup Germany which has run very successfully under Creventic’s stewardship for the past four years.

Impressively, the 2026 Prototype Cup Europe Champion will – courtesy of Michelin – receive the huge prize of a reserved spot on the 2027 Michelin Le Mans Cup grid. This includes the iconic Road to Le Mans support race for the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Retaining a trip to Germany’s Nürburgring Grand Prix Circuit for the second race meeting of the season in early July, this will be Prototype Cup’s fifth trip to the Eiffel venue. The inaugural year of Prototype Cup Europe will actually begin on 20/21/22 March at Mugello in Italy, the category’s first ever visit to the Tuscan circuit and also to Italy itself. 

There will be a second visit to the Mediterranean region from 31 July to 2 August at Monza, the event naturally marking the first visit of Gen 3 LMP3 prototype cars to the ‘Temple of Speed’. The championship then concludes on 3/4 September at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

Of course, this means two of the Prototype Cup Europe events will run on the support package to Creventic’s Michelin 24H SERIES European Series – Mugello and Nürburgring – while the visit to Monza will see the prototypes share the weekend with the Eurocup-3 Championship. The races at Spa will act as support to the annual Michelin 992 Endurance Cup. 

Uniquely, the amount of track time available during each of the four meetings is impressive with additional testing on the Wednesday and/or Thursday prior to the race weekend. The organisers are retaining the tried and trusted format of a pair of 55-minute races during each event, with separate qualifying sessions for each driver in a line-up.

Entries can consist of a sole Bronze or Silver graded driver or any pairing of the entrants’ choice in the Bronze and Silver grading range. Gold drivers can compete in Prototype Cup Europe, but only if partnered with a Bronze – Golds are not permitted to race as sole drivers.

Orry Lichtenberg, Prototype Cup Europe Series Coordinator:
“We are proud to announce the fifth year of Prototype Cup. We look back at four successful years with ADAC and now continue the series with the latest generation LMP3. The LMP3 product is proven to be a great concept and we look forward to making the series more international as Prototype Cup Europe.

"Together with our longstanding partners ACO and Michelin, we aim to provide an additional program to the teams that already compete in the well-known LMP3 series. With no clashes with the Le Mans Cup we offer an appealing series for a reasonable budget.”