4 Hours of Jerez

4 Hours of Jerez
Asian Le Mans Series
VenueCircuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto
First race1986
First AsLMS race2027 (scheduled)
Duration4 hours
Previous names360 km of Jerez
800 km of Jerez
1000 km of Jerez
Most wins (driver)Nine drivers with one win (see below)
Most wins (team)Four teams with one win (see below)
Most wins (manufacturer)One win each for:

The 4 Hours of Jerez[a] is an endurance race for sports cars, held at the Circuito de Jerez in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. The race was held as part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1986 and 1988 and as part of the BPR Global GT Series in 1995. The race is due to be revived in 2027 as part of the Asian Le Mans Series calendar.[1]

History

The #1 McLaren F1 GTR with which Bellm and Sandro Sala won the 1995 event.

An endurance race for sports cars was held for the first time at Jerez in 1986, with an event marketed as the Trofeo Silk Cut scheduled to cover 360 kilometres (220 mi) held as the sixth round of the 1986 World Sports Prototype Championship (WSPC). Due to its relatively short distance compared to other races on the WSPC calendar, this race only counted points towards the Drivers' Championship, and not the Teams' Championship. The inaugural event was won overall by Oscar Larrauri and Jesús Pareja driving the #18 Porsche 962C for Brun Motorsport; victory in the C2 class was secured by Ray Bellm and Gordon Spice driving the #70 Spice SE86C for Spice Engineering.[2]

For the following event in 1987, the race was moved to the second round of the WSPC calendar and the scheduled race distance was extended to 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), meaning that the race began to count points towards the Teams' Championship for the first time. However, a lengthy caution period resulted in the race hitting the 6-hour time limit after only 890 kilometres (550 mi). The shortened race was won overall by Raul Boesel and Eddie Cheever driving the #4 Jaguar XJR-8 for Silk Cut Jaguar; victory in the C2 class went to Gordon Spice for the second year in a row alongside Fermín Vélez, driving the #111 Spice SE86C for Spice Engineering.[3]

Following the shortening of the previous year's event, the scheduled distance for the 1988 race was brought down to 800 kilometres (500 mi), and this was successfully run to completion. The event was also moved to become the opening round of the rebranded World Sportscar Championship (WSC) calendar. The 1988 event was won overall by Mauro Baldi, Jochen Mass and Jean-Louis Schlesser driving the #61 Sauber-Mercedes C9 for Team Sauber Mercedes. Victory in the C2 class once again went to Gordon Spice (for the third year in a row) and Ray Bellm (for the second time in three years), both behind the wheel of the updated #111 Spice SE88C for Spice Engineering, that team's third class victory in a row.[4]

The round at Jerez was dropped from the WSC calendar from 1989, and did not return. The event was briefly revived in 1995 as the BPR 4 Hours of Jerez as part of the BPR Global GT Series, however this arrangement was only in place for one year. The 1995 race was won overall by Ray Bellm – his first overall victory at Jerez following two secondary class victories – driving alongside Maurizio Sandro Sala in the #1 McLaren F1 GTR for Gulf Racing GTC. The GT3 class was won by Lilian Bryner and Enzo Calderari driving the #55 Porsche 911 GT2 for Stadler Motorsport.[5]

The one-off revival of the event in 1995 is the final time an endurance race has been held at Jerez as of 2026. However, on 3 August 2026, it was announced that the second round of the 2026–27 Asian Le Mans Series would be held at the circuit in January 2027, consisting of a pair of 4-hour races. The round at Jerez was announced as part of an all-European calendar for that season of the Asian Le Mans Series as a result of security and logistical challenges with the traditional Middle Eastern race venues due to the Iran war.[1]

Results

Year Drivers Team Car Time Laps Distance Championship Full results
1986[2] Argentina Oscar Larrauri
Spain Jesús Pareja
Switzerland Brun Motorsport Porsche 962C 2:27:47.34 86 362.7 km (225.4 mi) World Sports Prototype Championship report
1987[3] Brazil Raul Boesel
United States Eddie Cheever
United Kingdom Silk Cut Jaguar Jaguar XJR-8 6:01:15.46 211 890.0 km (553.0 mi) World Sports Prototype Championship report
1988[4] Italy Mauro Baldi
West Germany Jochen Mass
France Jean-Louis Schlesser
Switzerland Team Sauber Mercedes Sauber-Mercedes C9 5:18:03.15 190 801.4 km (498.0 mi) World Sportscar Championship report
1989–1994: Not held
1995[5] United Kingdom Ray Bellm
Brazil Maurizio Sandro Sala
United Kingdom Gulf Racing GTC McLaren F1 GTR 4:00:14.83 123 544.0 km (338.0 mi) BPR Global GT Series report
1996–2026: Not held
2027
(Race 1)
Upcoming race 4 hours (scheduled) Asian Le Mans Series report
2027
(Race 2)
Upcoming race 4 hours (scheduled) Asian Le Mans Series report

Records

Wins by driver

Rank Constructor Wins Years
1 Argentina Oscar Larrauri 1 1986
Spain Jesús Pareja
Brazil Raul Boesel 1987
United States Eddie Cheever
Italy Mauro Baldi 1988
West Germany Jochen Mass
France Jean-Louis Schlesser
United Kingdom Ray Bellm 1995
Brazil Maurizio Sandro Sala

Wins by constructor

Rank Constructor Wins Years
1 Germany Porsche 1 1986
United Kingdom Jaguar 1987
Switzerland Sauber-Mercedes 1988
United Kingdom McLaren 1995

Wins by engine manufacturer

Rank Constructor Wins Years
1 Germany Porsche 1 1986
United Kingdom Jaguar 1987
Germany Mercedes-Benz 1988
Germany BMW 1995

Wins by team

Rank Constructor Wins Years
1 Switzerland Brun Motorsport 1 1986
United Kingdom Silk Cut Jaguar 1987
Switzerland Team Sauber Mercedes 1988
United Kingdom Gulf Racing GTC 1995

Notes

  1. ↑ Previously held as the 360 km of Jerez, 800 km of Jerez and 1000 km of Jerez.

References

  1. 1 2 "Asian Le Mans Series 2026–2027: An Exceptional European Season". Asian Le Mans Series. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 3 August 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "360 km Jerez 1986 - Race Results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "1000 km Jerez 1987 - Race Results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 "800 km Jerez 1988 - Race Results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Jerez 4 Hours 1995 - Race Results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 3 August 2026.