Ligier European Series, Le Castellet: A high-voltage second round
After a successful launch in Barcelona, the Ligier European Series headed to the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. On May 3 and 4, the twenty entrants battled on track for a second Heat that wasn't without its spice! In the JS P4 category, Frenchman Romain Favre and the Polish team Inter Europol Competition triumphed for the first time in race 1, while Team Virage and its British crew of Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance scored their third victory in race 2. In the JS2 R class, ANS Motorsport and Clément Moreno put in an impressive performance to take double victory.
Le Castellet Heat: Twenty cars at the Var event
- For the second heat of the season, twenty Ligiers lined up at Le Castellet, including eleven Ligier JS P4s and nine Ligier JS2 Rs.
- British team Jolt Racing competes in the Ligier European Series for the first time with the #26 JS P4 driven by Thomas Jack Lee, while ASM Motorsport's #44 Ligier JS P4 withdrew from the event. It will return to Le Mans with Portuguese driver André Vieira for the third heat.
-The Les Deux Arbres and M Racing teams are each adding a second JS2 R for this round. Tomas Granzella, straight from Uruguay, and Argentina's Gianfranco Barbara will share the #69 of M Racing. Les Deux Arbres' additional car, the #87, will be entrusted to Sita Vanmeert, who teamed with Jacques Nicolet in the #86 in the two Barcelona races.
For a full breakdown of the Le Castellet Heat entry list, CLICK HERE.
Team Virage, Iron Lynx By LRMotorsport and Les Deux Arbres on pole position
- After two forty-minute free practice sessions on the morning of Friday 3 May, the drivers battled it out for two fifteen-minute qualifying sessions to determine the starting grids for the two races.
- As in the opening round in Barcelona, Team Virage took double pole position. Theo Micouris set the fastest time in qualifying 1 with a lap of 1:57.972 in the #1 Ligier JS P4 and Colombian Pedro Moreno claimed pole position for race 1 with a lap of 1:57.634 in the #66 Ligier JS P4.
- In the JS2 R class, Gregorio Bertocco, in the #60 Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport, won session 1 with a lap of 2:05.884, giving the Italian team its first Ligier European Series pole. Noé Da Cuhna, driving the #50 Les Deux Arbres, dominated the second session with a time of 2:05.157.
To read the article on Free Practice 1, CLICK HERE.
To read the article on Free Practice 2, CLICK HERE.
To read the article on qualifying, CLICK HERE.
Race 1: Inter Europol Competition and ANS Motorsport take victory after an exciting race.
- The first one-hour race got underway on the morning of Saturday 4 May. The battle raged from the very first laps in both categories.
- The Polish team Inter Europol Competition and Romain Favre crossed the finish line in the lead, taking their first win with the #7 Ligier JS P4.
- It was followed by the #6 ANS Motorsport car driven by Iko Segret and the #71 Monza Garage car (James Winslow/ Chun-Ting Chou). However, at the end of the race, the #71 received a penalty for failing to respect the mandatory minimum pit-stop time. The Team Virage #1 driven by Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance thus inherited third place.
- In PRO-AM, Umberto d'Amato and Paschalis Paris Stavradikis in the #32 Team Virage finished top, as did Yuki Tanaka in the #16 Pegasus Racing AM.
- The JS2 R category also got off to an eventful start. The #69 of M Racing driven by Gianfranco Barbara lost its bonnet in the opening laps following contact with the #50 of Les Deux Arbres in the hands of Antoine Lepesqueux. The #50 returned to the pits and returned to the track, unlike the #69 which did not restart as the damage was too extensive.
- Clément Moreno and ANS Motorsport took the lead in the final ten minutes of the race and finished first overall and in AM with their #31 Ligier JS2 R.
- The Pegasus Racing #18 driven by Louis Stern and Paul Lanchère finished second, followed by the #29 driven by Julien Schell and David Caussanel which also won the PRO-AM class.
To read the article on Race 1, CLICK HERE.
Race 2: Team Virage regains the lead and ANS Motorsport takes a second consecutive win.
- The start of Race 2 went off without a hitch on Saturday afternoon.
- Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance put in a fine performance with a strong pace. The #1 Ligier JS P4 crossed the line more than 6s ahead of Iko Segret in the #6 ANS Motorsport car. James Winslow, in the #71 Monza Garage JS P4, which he shares with Chun-Ting Chou, finished third.
- In the PRO-AM standings, Umberto d'Amato and Paschalis Paris Stavrakidis finished top again with the #32 Team Virage. Yuki Tanaka, driving the #16 Pegasus Racing car, took the chequered flag at the top of the AM class.
- Clémént Moreno and ANS Motorsport repeated their performance of the morning and scored their second consecutive victory in the JS2 R category. They also won the AM category.
- As in Race 1, Paul Lanchère and Louis Stern finished second in the #18 Pegasus Racing car, followed by team-mates Julien Schell and David Caussanel in the #29. The duo also took victory in the PRO-AM class.
To read the article on Race 2, CLICK HERE.
The next Heat of the Ligier European Series will take place on Test Day at the Le Mans 24 Hours circuit on Sunday 9 June.
For more information on the series, CLICK HERE.
For full results, please CLICK HERE.