European Le Mans Series: 100% Ligier podium at the 4 Hours of Imola
Eight Ligier JS P320s took part in the 4 Hours of Imola on Sunday, July 7. After starting from eighth on the grid, the #11 Eurointernational Ligier JS P320, driven by Matthew Bell and Adam Ali, took its first win of the 2024 European Le Mans Series season and now leads the championship in the LMP3 class. Team Virage's #8 Ligier JS P320, victorious in the opening round at Barcelona, finished second, ahead of Ultimate's #35.
- From the very first free practice session on Saturday, the Ligier JS P320s monopolized the top of the timesheets. Inter Europol Competition's #88 was quickest with a lap of 1:39.053, ahead of Racing Spirit of Léman's #31 JS P320 and COOL Racing's #17 JS P320.
- In the second free practice session, Team Virage's JS P320 #8 set the second fastest time of the session with a lap of 1:40. 541
- The start of the 4 Hours of Imola on Sunday, July 7 was declared “wet” by the race directors due to a strong risk of rain.
- Fortunately, the 42 competitors in the 4 Heures d'Imola, and the eight Ligier JS P320s, took the green flag on a dry track without a hitch.
- Matt Bell, driving the #11 Eurointernational Ligier JS P320, got off to an excellent start and moved up from eighth to third place by the end of the first lap.
- The race was interrupted several times by full course yellow and a safety car following a number of run-offs.
- After 4 hours of intense racing, it was the #11 Ligier JS P320 that took its first win of the ELMS season. Matt Bell and Adam Ali finished ahead of the #8 Team Virage Ligier JS P320 driven by Julien Gerbi, Bernardo Pinheiro and Gillian Henrion.
- The Ultimate Ligier JS P320 #35, driven by Jean-Baptiste Lahaye, Matthieu Lahaye and Paul Lanchère completed the 100% Ligier podium.
- At the end of the 4 Hours of Imola, Eurointernational's #11 Ligier leads the championship with 52 points. It is followed by two other Ligier teams, RLR MSport and its #15 (50 points) and Team Virage with its #8 (49 points).
Matthew Bell - Eurointernational #11, Ligier JS P320, Winner 4 Hours of Imola:
“I think since the start of the season we've always qualified around eighth so I'm getting used to getting fast first laps and good starts! And here at Imola it's very important because it's very difficult to overtake so I really wanted to push from the first laps. After that, I just wanted to stay out of trouble especially with the traffic which was very heavy.”
Adam Ali - Eurointernational #11, Ligier JS P320, Winner 4 Hours of Imola :
“First of all the pace of the car was very good. We knew that qualifying was going to be complicated here, but during the race the car was perfect. I had such a lead that it became difficult to manage because I didn't have anyone around, but the team did a great job of guiding me on the radio and telling me where I was. It's a great win and I hope we can keep up the pace for the rest of the season.”
The next round of the European Le Mans Series takes place at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit on August 25.
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CLICK HERE for more information on the Ligier JS P320.