•    Prototype Cup Europe gets 2026 underway in Italy from 20-22 March
•    Repackaged series for LMP3 cars supports Michelin 12H MUGELLO 
•    Newly evolved category run by Creventic in partnership with ACO, Michelin
•    Battle begins for inaugural title and 2027 Michelin Le Mans Cup guaranteed reserved entry  

Gennep, Netherlands (17 March 2026):
Some of Europe’s top endurance racing teams and drivers are preparing for the curtain to be raised on the new Prototype Cup Europe this weekend, 20-22 March, where the opening two races of the LMP3 exclusive category will take place at Italy’s renowned Mugello Circuit.

Running as part of the support package to the Michelin 12H MUGELLO, Prototype Cup Europe has evolved from the former Prototype Cup Germany and features the latest Gen 3 LMP3 cars which are powered by Toyota twin-turbo V6 engines. 

Organised by Creventic, in partnership with the ACO and Michelin, drivers will not only be battling to make history as the inaugural Prototype Cup Europe Champion, competitors will also be striving for the huge prize of a guaranteed reserved entry in the 2027 Michelin Le Mans Cup – which includes a slot in the Road to Le Mans support race at next year’s world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.

For this weekend’s season-opener at Mugello, two squads have entered twin entries with Germany’s BWT Mücke Motorsport fielding a pair of Duqueine D09 cars while Allay Racing, from Sweden, will run a pair of Ligier JS P325 prototypes. 

Mücke Motorsport, headed of course by team principal Stefan Mücke, has a huge history within endurance racing and single-seaters. Tobias Billie Clausen, who makes the move into LMP3 action this year after debuting in the ADAC GT4 Germany Championship last season, will team-up with 2025 Prototype Cup Germany Vice-Champion Mattis Pluschkell in the No.8 chassis.

In the sister No.18 car, 17-year-old Mads Kjelde Larsen – who steps up from Nordic 4 to debut in LMP3 – will partner the hugely experienced and successful Markus Pommer, a back-to-back double Prototype Cup Germany Champion in 2023 and 2024. 

Brothers Linus and Emil Hellberg founded Allay Racing, with operations headed by team principal David Lowe, and the siblings will each race singularly at Mugello in new Ligier JS P325 cars. The Swedes moved from single-seater racing last year to contest the Prototype Winter Series in Spain, where they were race winners. Linus drives the No.43 entry, Emil will pilot the No.48 machine.

German Motor Sports Team, which is run as a customer outfit by GEBHARDT Motorsport, has entered a strong driver line-up for its No.11 Ligier JS P325. Experienced Prototype Cup Germany racer Jacob Erlbacher will be partnered by the category’s 2024 Champion Valentino Catalano who, of course, will now be up against his title-winning partner of two years ago, Markus Pommer.

Belgian driver Maxim Dirickx, who made his car racing debut in Prototype Cup Germany back in 2024 with German squad Aust Motorsport, will be the sole competitor in Aust’s No.3 Ligier JS P325 and looking to deliver some consistent results. Dirickx was fourth in the championship last year for the squad led by the eponymous Frank Aust.

Poland’s Team Virage, another squad very well known for its participation within endurance racing and especially LMP3 since 2017, enters a Ligier JS P325. The No.74 car will be shared by Dominique Bastien and Theo Micouris.

With strong experience from the likes of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Bastien will now make his debut in the Prototype Cup. Micouris, meanwhile, is a former Ligier European Champion and, last year, was a podium finisher in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.

Track action at Mugello will start for the Prototype Cup Europe competitors with CR Track Day sessions running tomorrow, Wednesday, 18 March, and Thursday, 19 March. Following free practice on Friday, 20 March, qualifying – which will be live online – starts at 14.50 local time.

Race one of the weekend will begin at 09.50 local time on Saturday, 21 March, with race two following at 08.40 on Sunday, 22 March. Each race will be contested over a duration of 55 minutes and the action will be streamed via Creventic Motorsports TV on YouTube. Links will be available at the official championship website www.prototype-cup-europe.com 

2026 Prototype Cup Europe Calendar
Rd1 – Mugello, Italy – 20/21/22 March (Michelin 24H SERIES)
Rd2 – Nürburgring, Germany – 3/4/5 July (Michelin 24H SERIES)
Rd3 – Monza, Italy – 31 July to 2 August (Eurocup-3)
Rd4 – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 3/4 September (Michelin 992 Endurance Cup)