Asian Le Mans Series: clean sweep for the Ligier JS P320 in Abu Dhabi!
On 18 - 19 February, the Ligier JS P320s entered for the Asian Le Mans Series met up again in Abu Dhabi for the last two races of the championship. Race 1 was marked by a 1-2 finish by the Ligier teams with victory going to the #7 Ligier JS P320 run by Nielsen Racing while into second came MV2S Racing's #29. The final race ended in a blaze of glory with a 100% Ligier podium with Graff Racing's #8, COOL Racing's #17 and MV2S Racing's #29! The LMP3 Champion title went to a Ligier team for the third year on the bounce, Graff Racing's #8 Ligier JS P320.
• The #17 Ligier JS P320 entered by COOL Racing (Cédric Oltramare, Adrien Chila and Marcos Siebert) topped the first free practice session with a time of 1:47.986s.
Race 1, 18th February:
• The #7 Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P320 (Tony Wells and Matt Bell) took the lead in the final hour and went on to win the race from #29 run by MV2S Racing (Fabien Lavergne, Jérôme de Sadeleer and Viacheslav Gutak). The latter, which finished second, retained the lead in the provisional championship rankings followed by Graff Racing's #8.
Race 2, 19th February:
• The Ligier JS P320s hit the front immediately with the MV2S Racing's #29. #18 run by 360 Racing (Frederic Jousset, Sebastian Alvarez and Ross Kaiser), Graff Racing's #8, COOL Racing's #17 and #4 run Nielsen Racing then swapped the lead.
• The race finally resolved itself into a battle for victory between the #8 and #29 Ligier JS P320s which ended with #8 coming out on top. #17 finished second followed by #29.
• Wyatt Brichacek at the wheel of the #53 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 set the fastest lap of the race in 1:49.221s.
• The #8 Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 was crowned 2023 Asian Le Mans Series Champion in the LMP3 category. #8, which dead-heated with #29 run by MV2S Racing (73 points each), got the title thanks to its second place in race 2 in Dubai. #7 entered by Nielsen Racing finished third in the championship.
Thus, the Ligier JS P320 has already bagged its first LMP3 title of the season! The French sports prototype will soon be back in action on the track in the United States in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring, while the European season will kick off on 19th April in Barcelona with the European Le Mans Series and the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
For the results of race 1, CLICK HERE.
For the results of race 2, CLICK HERE.
For more information about the Ligier JS P320, CLICK HERE.
Photo credit: Jules Beaumont