Le Mans Cup, Road To Le Mans: The #37 Ligier JS P325 of CLX Motorsport claims victory in Race 1.
A spectacular grid: 58 cars lined up, including 31 Ligier JS P325s… and another strong showing for the 2025 generation of LMP3. On Thursday, June 12, just ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans qualifying sessions, the first Road To Le Mans race lived up to expectations. CLX Motorsport took the win with its #37 Ligier JS P325, driven by Adrien Closmenil and Theodor Jensen. Team Virage joined them on the podium with the #16, while Rinaldi Racing securesdthe LMP3 Pro/Am win with the #71. After victories in Barcelona and Le Castellet, this marks a third consecutive overall and Pro/Am win for the Ligier JS P325 in Michelin Le Mans Cup since its competitive debut in April.
Free Practice 1: A red-flagged session and tight margins
The week kicked off on Wednesday, June 11, with a 60-minute free practice session. A red flag interrupted the action after several cars came to a stop on track. Once cleared, the session resumed.
Lap times tightened quickly. The #92 Ligier JS P325 of Forestier Racing by VPS, driven by Charles Roussanne, clocked the second-fastest time with a 3:50.288, just tenths off the leader. Teammate Louis Rousset, in the #29 Ligier, followed closely with a 3:51.090—only 0.232 seconds between the two. The #53 Ligier of Bretton Racing rounded out the top four, just 0.354 seconds behind the #29. Margins were slim, setting the stage for a tightly contested weekend.
Free Practice 2: Team Virage steps up.
In Free Practice 2, times dropped significantly. The #16 Ligier JS P325 of Team Virage, with Theo Micouris at the wheel, breaked the 3:50 barrier with an impressive 3:48.582—1.7 seconds faster than the best time in FP1.
The #43 Ligier JS P325 of Inter Europol Competition, driven by Sérgio Sette Câmara, posted the second-best time overall with a 3:49.787, leading the Pro/Am class. Rik Koen, in the #8 Ligier from Team Virage, put another team car in the top 3 with a lap of 3:50.339.
Canceled Qualifying: Race 1 grid set by Free Practice
The 20-minute qualifying session for Race 1 was marred by incidents. A crash in the Porsche Curves brought out the first red flag. Shortly after the session resumed, a car stopped at Indianapolis, triggering another red flag. Then, a GT car catched fire between Mulsanne and Indianapolis, bringing the session to a permanent halt.
With no drivers able to set a valid lap time, race officials decided to set the starting grid based on the results from Free Practice 1. As a result, the #92 and #29 Ligiers from Forestier Racing by VPS started at the front.
Race 1: CLX Motorsport wins a dramatic race.
The first race got underway at 6:25 p.m. Luciano Morano, in the #92 Ligier, took an early lead. His teammate, Romain Favre in the #29, overtook him on the Hunaudières straight.
But drama struck on lap one when a car went off at Indianapolis, prompting a safety car. After a quick reset, the race resumed. The two Forestier Racing Ligiers held the lead until the mandatory pit stop window.
Their longer pit stops allowed CLX Motorsport to capitalize. The #37 Ligier, now with Adrien Closmenil at the wheel, emerged in second, followed by the #97 driven by David Droux. Closmenil soon hunted down the leader and took over at the front. With ten minutes to go, Droux movds into second place and began to close the gap to his teammate. However, a one-second stop-and-go penalty for a pit stop infringement ended his hopes of a victory or podium finish.
At the checkered flag, the #37 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 crossed the line 8.4 seconds ahead of the competition, delivering Ligier's first win at Le Mans with the new-generation LMP3. The #16 Ligier of Team Virage, driven by Sacha Lehmann and Theo Micouris, completed the podium.
Ligier wins in Pro/Am too
In the LMP3 Pro/Am category, the win went to the #71 Ligier JS P325 of Rinaldi Racing, driven by Stefan Aust and Felipe Fernandez-Laser. The #98 of Motorsport98, shared by Eric de Doncker and Gillian Henrion, finished third in class.
Fastest race laps for the Ligier JS P325
Beyond the results, Ligier also claimed the fastest race laps in both the overall and Pro/Am classes. David Droux posted the overall best lap with a 3:49.392 in the #97 Ligier JS P325 of CLX Motorsport, beating the fastest non-Ligier chassis by 1.126 seconds. In Pro/Am, Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen stood out with a 3:49.691 in the #66 Ligier JS P325 of Rinaldi Racing.
A flawless streak for the Ligier JS P325
With this latest success, the Ligier JS P325 celebrates its third consecutive victory in Michelin Le Mans Cup, both overall and in Pro/Am, following its wins at Barcelona and Le Castellet. A stellar start for the new-generation LMP3, which debuted in competition this past April.
The second Road To Le Mans race took place on Saturday, June 14 at 10:05 a.m. CLICK HERE for Race 2 recap.
To have more information on the Michelin Le Mans Cup, CLICK HERE.
CLICK HERE to have more information on the Ligier JS P325, the third generation of Ligier LMP3.