CM Vijay and Ajith at Le Mans – Two of Tamil Nadu’s biggest stars to share limelight at Silverstone

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay (left) will flag off the Silverstone round of the race, while actor Ajith Kumar (right) will be among the competitors on the grid. | Photo Credit: The Hindu/Getty Images/Special Arrangement

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actor C. Joseph Vijay is set to flag off the Silverstone round of the Le Mans Cup 2026 on Saturday, September 12.

The Le Mans Cup, currently known as the Michelin Le Mans Cup race, is an international sports car endurance racing series organised by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). Vijay will attend the fifth round of the tournament, which will take place at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.

The two-hour race is the fifth round of the 2026 season, which is scheduled to conclude at Portimao in Portugal in October.

A special guest will be waving the green flag at Silverstone this weekend! 👉 C. Joseph VIJAY

The Indian actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu @actorvijay, will be joining us to support our Indian drivers in the UK and officially start the #SilverstoneRound in front of the… pic.twitter.com/pZiZOKy7yW

— Le Mans Cup (@LeMansCup) September 10, 2026

The race organisers said Vijay would wave the green flag in front of a 44-car grid.

“A special guest will be waving the green flag at Silverstone this weekend! C. Joseph VIJAY. The Indian actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu @actorvijay, will be joining us to support our Indian drivers in the UK and officially start the #SilverstoneRound in front of the 44-car grid. We can’t wait to go racing this Saturday!” the championship said.

Vijay will not be the only Indian actor present at the race. His long-time colleague in the industry, Ajith Kumar, will compete in the race.

The 55-year-old will compete in the LMP3 Pro/Am category for Ajith RedAnt by Virage, sharing a Ligier JS P325-Toyota prototype with French driver Romain Vozniak. Former Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan and Aditya Patel will form an all-Indian pairing for Ajith RedAnt Racing in the LMP3 category.

“We’ve been colleagues in the film industry for the last 34 years, and I’m very happy for him that he’s now the Chief Minister-elect,” Ajith told reporters before the race.

Ajith debuted as a lead actor in the 1993 film Amaravathy, and Vijay in the 1992 film Naalaiya Theerpu.

“I’m glad he (Vijay) accepted the invitation to come and look at what are the logistic-wise, infrastructure-wise, it would take for India, Chennai, to host events like the Le Mans series in India. And my wish is to see these events come to India and all of us race in India,” Ajith added.