European Le Mans Series: Victory for the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 at Spa-Francorchamps
The fourth round of the 2026 European Le Mans Series season took place from August 21 to 23 at Spa-Francorchamps. Nine Ligier JS P325s took part in the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, held on Sunday, August 23. After a race punctuated by six Safety Car periods, the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325, driven by Paul Lanchère, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias, claimed victory in LMP3. It was a second consecutive win for the defending champion team, which moved into the lead of the provisional standings.
An early series of Safety Car periods
The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps got underway on Sunday, August 23. On the opening lap, Alex Bukhantsov went off track at Turn 5 in the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P325 and hit the barriers. The incident brought out the first Safety Car of the race.
At the restart, Paul Lanchère, at the wheel of the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325, put pressure on the race leader before taking first place. However, the race was soon neutralized again to allow marshals to recover a car that had gone off track.
After 25 minutes, the green flag was shown. The restart proved short-lived, as contact between several competitors led to another Safety Car period. A few minutes later, another off-track incident required a further neutralization while the safety barriers were repaired.
The sixth and final Safety Car period came at the halfway point, after a GT car spun following contact with an LMP2.
CLX Motorsport declared the LMP3 winner
When racing resumed, Alvise Rodella held an 86-second lead over the rest of the field in the #5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier JS P325 and crossed the finish line first in the LMP3 category. However, following post-race technical checks, the #5 was disqualified.
CLX Motorsport was therefore declared the winner with the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 driven by Paul Lanchère, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias. After already taking pole position and victory at Imola, the team secured its second consecutive European Le Mans Series win.
The #11 Eurointernational Ligier JS P325, driven by Matthew Richard Bell, Douwe Dedecker and Max Van Der Snel, also finished on the podium with third place in the LMP3 category.
CLX Motorsport takes the championship lead.
With this latest victory, CLX Motorsport moved into the lead of the provisional LMP3 standings. It was an important result for the defending champion team, with two rounds remaining in the 2026 season.
The fifth and penultimate round of the European Le Mans Series, the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone, will take place on Sunday, September 13.
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CLICK HERE to find out more about the European Le Mans Series.
CLICK HERE to have more information on the Ligier JS P325, the third generation of Ligier LMP3.
Photo credit: DPPI