Clear skies and a warm Bahrain circuit gave the TSR Autumn Multiclass 2026 season a clean stage for its opening 75 minutes. The three classes produced three rather different wins: one built from the very front, one decided by a late-looking margin of just over four seconds, and one where outright GT pace and race control did not quite belong to the same driver.
In LMP2 ELMS - PRO/AM, Ciro Iadicicco converted a front-row start into victory after qualifying only 0.005s away from pole. In LMGT3 - AM, Doğaç Eray came through from 14th on the grid to win by 4.041s. In LMGT3 - PRO, Xander Huizing made pole count and completed 38 laps, finishing a lap clear of the rest of the class.
LMP2 ELMS - PRO/AM podium
🥇 Ciro Iadicicco – Oreca 07 ELMS
🥈 Luca Sallustro – Oreca 07 ELMS
🥉 Jonas Knoefel – Oreca 07 ELMS
The LMP2 opener was shaped at the sharp end by a qualifying session in which Emanuele Mastro Battista took pole with a 1:47.326, only 0.005s ahead of Iadicicco. Over the race distance, though, Iadicicco had the answer. He led the class home after 41 laps in 1:15:45.778 and also set the fastest LMP2 lap, a 1:47.528.
Luca Sallustro climbed two places from the grid to finish second, 22.260s behind, with Jonas Knoefel third at 27.200s. Tomas Stanek produced the major move in the class, rising eight places to fourth, while Mastro Battista slipped from pole to seventh. Christian Rivi was classified ninth after 10 laps, and Josh Castle, Eren Ertürk, Emir Boztepe and ercan gözbulut did not start.
LMGT3 - AM podium
🥇 Doğaç Eray – BMW M4 LMGT3
🥈 Francesco Perrelli – BMW M4 LMGT3
🥉 Mike Landreth – Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo
The AM GT race was the day’s strongest charge through the field. Doğaç Eray started 14th, gained 13 places, and won after 37 laps in 1:16:34.697. He also recorded the fastest lap in class with a 2:00.294, which rather underlined that the BMW had more to give than its starting position suggested.
Francesco Perrelli made even more places on paper, gaining 14 to finish second, just 4.041s behind Eray. Mike Landreth completed the podium, 34.700s off the winner, after gaining 10 places. Per Tufvesson had taken class pole with a 2:00.551 but finished fourth, 36.460s back, with Edmunds Simanis close behind in fifth at 38.141s.
LMGT3 - PRO podium
🥇 Xander Huizing – Ferrari 296 GT3
🥈 Emanuele Ciancio – BMW M4 LMGT3
🥉 Mehmet Şenocak – BMW M4 LMGT3
Xander Huizing began the PRO campaign in the most direct way possible: pole position, then victory. His 1:59.998 in qualifying was the only sub-two-minute lap of the session, and he followed it by winning the race in 1:17:40.238 after 38 laps.
Emanuele Ciancio finished second, one lap down, but claimed the fastest lap in class with a 2:00.496. Mehmet Şenocak moved up four places to take third, ahead of BF81 Niğdem and Ian Paskin, who also gained ground. Eduardo Daroca made the biggest climb in the PRO field, rising six places to sixth, while Lorenzo Cotellessa did not start.
Championship picture
In LMP2 ELMS - PRO/AM, Iadicicco leaves Bahrain with the early lead on 36 points. Sallustro is second on 30, six points back, with Knoefel third on 25. Stanek’s fourth place puts him on 21, ahead of Belling on 18.
The published LMGT3 - AM standings have Perrelli leading on 30 points, with Landreth second on 25 and Tufvesson third on 21. Simanis sits fourth on 18, while Hassan Armien Armien is fifth on 15.
In LMGT3 - PRO, Huizing’s win gives him 36 points and a six-point lead over Ciancio. Şenocak is third on 25, followed by BF81 Niğdem on 21 and Paskin on 18.
Martin's strategy notes
LMP2 pace: Iadicicco did the clean double of race win and fastest lap, his 1:47.528 keeping him clear of Sallustro and Knoefel. Sallustro’s gain from fourth to second mattered, but the final 22.260s gap shows Iadicicco had control by the flag.
AM progress: The standout numbers are Eray from 14th to first and Perrelli from 16th to second. Landreth also gained 10 places to finish third. That is a lot of traffic managed without losing the front of the race.
PRO contrast: Huizing won from pole, but Ciancio set the class fastest lap with a 2:00.496. Over 75 minutes, though, Huizing’s extra completed lap was the decisive statistic.
Grid gains: Stanek’s plus eight in LMP2, Perrelli’s plus 14 in LMGT3 - AM, and Özkan Göksen’s plus seven in LMGT3 - PRO were the largest class-specific climbs among the points finishers shown in the results.
The season now moves on to Round 2 at Circuit de la Sarthe Mulsanne on Monday 21 September 2026 at 18:30 UTC. Bahrain has given everyone a first measure of form; Le Mans will ask rather different questions. You can view the full results and the championship standings.