James Allen has been crowned a European Le Mans champion after a second-place finish in the final race of the 2023 season in Portugal.  

The Victorian driver, alongside Algarve Pro Racing teammates Kyffin Simpson and Alex Lynn secured the LMP2 and Overall, ELMS Drivers and Teams Championships after an incredible performance in a rain-hit Four-Hours of Portimão over the weekend.  

The race was forced to a halt after a huge rainstorm in the early stages, with multiple safety cars and full-course yellow flag interventions adding to the chaos before the chequered flag was eventually waved after three hours of running.  

Despite crossing the line in second place behind the United Autosport team, Allen and co had enough points already in the bag to secure the title, with the weekend race winners having to settle for second place. 

Not only does the series win reward the trio for a fantastic season on the track, but it also confirms a special entry into next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.  

“It's been fantastic, the whole season has been amazing, and I can't thank the team enough for the efforts they have put in,” Allen said post-race.

“It was quite wet at the start, we just had to manage the race and keep away from contact with other drivers and get no penalties, that was the whole aim of the race.”


The Le Mans Cup was also in action at the popular Portuguese circuit, with Andres Latorre Canon and the duo of George Nakas and Fraser Ross putting in one last stint for 2023.

It was Ross and Nakas who would enjoy the best result after finishing 20th in the main race for French team, Graff Racing while Latorre Canon would finish a further two places behind alongside the United Kingdom’s Ben Stone.  

Allen wasn’t the only Australian driver to find success in Europe over the weekend, with Cooper Webster and James Wharton both rounding out their respective championships in style.

Wharton found himself in the midst of a Euro 4 Championship title fight with three exciting races in Barcelona, coming away with one race win and a podium position. 

The podium finish came in the first race of the weekend, where despite crossing the line first, was stripped of the race win due to a post-race penalty. 

However, the Ferrari Driver Academy representative would take back what was his in the following race, once again returning to the top step of the podium.

Unfortunately for Wharton, the title wouldn't fall his way after he was unable to take victory in race three, instead falling to McLaren junior, Ugo Ugochukwu.

Meanwhile, Webster finished the GB4 Championship in style after a clean sweep of race wins in the final round of the season at Donnington Park.

Webster was faultless for much of the weekend, starting with an emphatic pole position which set him up for a win in the opening race, holding off a late charge from Liam McNeilly to take the win.  

A chaotic second race then saw Webster not only claim his second win of the weekend but seal second place in the overall standings in the process.  

However, he wasn’t done there. Despite starting race three in 11th, Webster fought his way through the field and survived an almighty scrap to take yet another win – confirming a clean sweep of the weekend’s competitive action.  


There were another two Australians in action at Donnington Park, participating in what was also the final round of the GB3 Championship.  

The weekend was looking less than ideal for both Costa Toparis and Patrick Heuzenroader from the outset, with both unable to impact the top 15 runners in the first two races.  

However, the tables turned for Heuzenroader after picking up a maiden championship podium finish with third place in race three.  

Another driver to end their respective season was Harri Jones, who put in a fantastic showing at the Hockenheimring in the final round of Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.  

The Queenslander saw his best result come in the second of two races for the weekend, with a sixth place outright and second in the rookie class enough to secure second overall in the rookie championship.

The sixth-place outright finish was a great improvement from the weekend's opening race, which saw the 24-year-old finish in 16th.  


With great results across the board in circuit racing, there was also plenty of action in Spain where Taylor Gill continued his FIA Rally Star journey.  

Gill, alongside co-driver Daniel Brkic had a troubled weekend at the RallyRACC Catalunya, with an early mistake hampering their overall impact on the event standings.  

The duo found themselves on the back foot after going off track in the opening stage, playing catch-up for the remainder of the event where they would eventually finish 14th outright.