Ligier European Series: An action-packed start to the season in Barcelona
The 2023 Ligier European Series got underway on 21 April in Barcelona. Would Team Virage's supremacy continue this year? As did Gillian Henrion last season, Mihnea Stefan in the Polish team's #48 Ligier JS P4 dominated both qualifying sessions and the first two races of the campaign. In the JS2 R category, the #43 from LR Motorsport (David Rodorigo) and the #95 CTF Performance (Gilles Poret) also made an excellent start to the season.
Free practice 1:
• The #48 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, driven by Mihnea Stefan, set the fastest time in Free Practice 1 with a lap of 1:44.871s.
• In the AM category, the #4 of HPRacing by Monza Garage with Georgios-Periklis Kolovos and Panagiotis Kaitatzis posted the fastest lap of 1:54.109s.
• In the JS2 R category, the #42 of ANS Motorsport with Julien Lemoine was quickest overall and in AM class, with a lap of 1:53.189s.
• In PRO-AM, the #10 RLR MSport Ligier JS2 R with Maximus Mayer and 'Reverend Driver' Simon Butler set the best time of 1:53.507s.
For the results from Free Practice 1, CLICK HERE.
Free practice 2:
• Bernardo Pinheiro and George King in the #60 Team Virage Ligier JS P4 topped the session with the fastest lap of 1:45.798s.
• In the AM category, the #4 from HPRacing by Monza Garage car improved its time to 1:47.232s.
• The #42 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS2 R in the AM category led the way in the GT field with a time of 1:54.016s.
• The #29 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS2 R (Christophe Weber and Jordan Meyer) finished first in the PRO-AM class in 1:55.255s.
For the results from Free Practice 2, CLICK HERE.
Qualifying:
• Mihnea Stefan and Team Virage secured the pole position for both races with the #48 Ligier JS P4. The Romanian driver set the fastest time in qualifying 1 with a 1:44.487s. He improved his time in the second session, with a lap of 1:44.065s.
• In the AM classification, the best time in session 1 went to the #16 of Pegasus Racing, driven by David Caussanel (and Yuki Tanaka) in 1:45.717s.
• In session 2, American Kevin Madsen in the Team Virage #1 (with Lance Fenton) was the fastest in the AM class with a lap of 1:45.631s.
• In the Ligier JS2 R category, the pole position for race 1 went to the PRO-AM entry, the #10 from RLR MSport, driven by Maximus Mayer. The young Spaniard recorded a time of 1:52.501.
• Julien Lemoine, in the #42 of ANS Motorsport, clocked the fastest time in the AM class in 1:52.533s.
• David Rodorigo, in the #43 from LR Motorsport, won the pole position for race 2 with a best time of 1:52.290s.
• The fastest PRO-AM time was the property of the #10 from RLR MSport, driven by Simon Butler, in 2:00.896s.
For the results from qualifying 1, CLICK HERE.
For the results from qualifying 2, CLICK HERE.
Race 1:
• In the Ligier JS P4 category, Team Virage had an excellent opening race, with the #48 and #60 Ligier JS P4s finishing one-two. Mihnea Stefan took the overall win, while teammates George King and Bernardo Pinherio finished second and posted the fastest lap of the race (1:45.253s with King). Haytham Qarajouli (2022 JS2 R Champion) and Ian Aguilera took the third spot on the podium thanks to their performance in the #75 of RLR MSport.
• Steve Zacchia and Louis Rossi in the #50 Les Deux Arbres Ligier JS P4 won in the PRO-AM class.
• Team Virage also claimed the top spot on the AM podium with the #1 Ligier JS P4 driven by Kevin Madsen and Lance Fenton.
• In the JS2 R category, the #10 of RLR MSport with Maximus Mayer and Simon Butler led the first part of the race. Behind them, the #95 from CTF Performance (Gilles Poret), the #42 of ANS Motorsport (Julien Lemoine) and the #29 from Pegasus Racing (Christophe Weber and Jordan Meyer) battled for second and third place on the podium.
• The #43 Ligier JS2 R of LR Motorsport with David Rodorigo rallied after the pit stops. The Italian won the overall and AM class in his debut race in the championship and motorsport ahead of the #42 from ANS Motorsport and the #96 of CTF Performance (Laurent Piguet and Fabien Delaplace).
• In the PRO-AM class, victory went to the #10 of RLR MSport.
For the results from race 1, CLICK HERE.
Race 2:
• After momentarily losing the lead after the pit stops, the #48 Team Virage Ligier JS P4 with Mihnea Stefan, once again, took the top spot overall, ahead (once again) of the #60 with George King and Bernardo Pinheiro. The podium was completed by the #50 from Les Deux Arbres, which was also victorious in the PRO-AM class.
• In the AM category, victory went to the #16 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS P4 with David Caussanel and Yuki Tanaka.
• In the GT category, the #95 CTF Performance Ligier JS2 R with Gilles Poret took the overall and AM victory after some exciting duels with the #42 from ANS Motorsport and the #43 of LR Motorsport, which finished second and third.
• In the PRO-AM class, the #29 of Pegasus Racing (Christophe Weber and Jordan Meyer) finished first.
For the results from race 2, CLICK HERE.
Round one of the season is in the books. The Ligier European Series drivers will return to the battle on 4 June for round two of the championship on the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit.
For more information about the Ligier European Series, CLICK HERE.
For more information about the Ligier JS P4, CLICK HERE.
For more information about the Ligier JS2 R, CLICK HERE.