European Le Mans Series: Two Ligier JS P320s on the podium at Monza
11 July 2021 - The Autodromo di Monza in Italy hosted round four of the European Le Mans Series. The Ligier JS P320 scored an impressive double podium finish at the Temple of Speed, giving the manufacturer its 10th podium of the season. The #2 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 finished second, while the #13 Inter Europol Competition entry took third place.
After rain during free practice, the skies cleared for the European Le Mans Series weekend. The race started at 11 am on Sunday. The #2 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 with drivers Wayne Boyd, Robert Wheldon and Edouard Cauhaupé set off from fifth place on the grid and quickly moved up to third. Twenty minutes later, it was in second place behind the #13 Inter Europol Competition machine driven by Martin Hippe, Mattia Pasini and Ugo de Wilde.
The first safety car period of the race came 30 minutes after the green flag to retrieve a GT car from the gravel. At the restart, the #2 took the lead and built a gap to the #15 RLR MSport car and its drivers Michael Benham, Alex Kapadia and Malthe Jakobsen. Following a pit stop and a Full Course Yellow, it was running fourth in the order. In the final hour it was once again battling for a podium result and took the chequered flag in second place.
The #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 got a good start and jumped straight into the lead. It led the LMP3 category for 27 laps, with the #2 United Autosports car filling up its mirrors. At the restart, it lost the lead and dropped down the order following its pit stop. But as the two-hour mark neared, it was back atop the category classification, which it tried to hold on to in the following hour of the race. A third yellow flag period came with 35 minutes remaining, and the #13 fell back to fourth place. It won its skirmish with the #19 COOL Racing entry of Nicolas Maulini, Matthew Bell and Niklas Kruetten and finished third, just two seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher.
After qualifying ninth, the #19 COOL Racing Ligier JS P320 also was on pace early on and was in third place in the LMP3 category. It dropped to sixth place in hour two and moved up one position in hour three. In the waning laps of the race, it was in a battle for third place with the #13 Inter Europol Competition car. The #19 finished just off the podium. With two wins and a runner-up result to date in 2021, the #19 Ligier JS P320 leads the provisional classification with 80 points and is 13 points ahead of its closest rival.
The #20 Team Virage Ligier JS P320 of Rob Hodes, Garett Grist and Charles Crews completed the top five. Behind them was the #5 MV2S Racing car with Christophe Cresp, Fabien Lavergne and Adrien Chila at the controls. It was a strong showing for the two Bronze drivers as well as the team, which made its LMP3 debut in 2020 in the Michelin Le Mans Cup before moving up to the European Le Mans Series in 2021.
It was not the best of days for the Nielsen Racing team. The #7 car of Anthony Wells and Colin Noble retired shortly before hour three, while the #6 car with Nicholas Adcock, Austin McCusker and Max Koebolt finished 12th at Monza
The same was true for Graff Racing. On lap one, the #9 car driven by Matthias Kaiser and Rory Penttinen suffered a puncture which caused it to spin. It managed to get back to the pits but remained immobilised in its garage for several laps before returning to the track. Ninety minutes after the start, the #8 sister car, driven by Eric Trouillet, Sébastien Page and David Droux, spun, causing the first of three Full Course Yellows. The #8 finished 13th, just ahead of the #9.
The European Le Mans Series will now take its summer hiatus. On 18 and 19 September, the Championship will return to action at round five, the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, in Belgium.
For the complete race results, CLICK HERE.
Photo credit: DPPI Images