Ligier European Series – Season 2 kicks off on the Barcelona circuit
16-17 April 2021 - Last weekend the first round of the 2021 Ligier European Series took place on the Barcelona circuit in Spain at the same time as the European Le Mans Series and the Michelin Le Mans Cup. The newcomers in the series were able to measure themselves against the regulars who were already competing last season like the M Racing team, which largely dominated the weekend with its two Ligier JS2 Rs. In the JS P4 category HP Racing by MonzaGarage and Les Deux Arbres were embroiled in a couple of no-holds-barred scraps for honours.
A few days ago, the drivers in the Ligier European Series met up on Catalonian soil for the opening round of the 2021 season. It was a first for the series which hadn't been able to pay a visit to the Barcelona circuit last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first Heat of the season kicked off on Friday 16th April with the 90-minute free practice session giving newcomers like Orhès Racing, CTF Performance and Les Deux Arbres the opportunity to see where they stood in relation to the regulars already present in 2020 like M Racing, Arctic Energy and Cool Racing. M Racing came out on top in this opening practice session thanks to Silver driver Natan Bihel who set the fastest lap in 1m 55.520s in the #53 Ligier JS2 R, while the third-quickest time was posted by gentleman driver Laurent Millara in the team's other car, the #69 Ligier JS2 R. The #24 Orhès Racing entry in the hands of Mathieu Martins and Olivier Pernaut slotted into second place. In the Ligier JS P4 category HP Racing by MonzaGarage, last year's title winner, emerged on top with a lap in 1m 53.357s set by Alessandro Cicognani and Jacopo Faccioni.
Next up were the two afternoon qualifying sessions. In the Ligier JS2 R category there was a closely-fought battle for the first two pole positions of the season. While #24 run by Orhès Racing topped the time sheets in session 1 by a mere 0.025s from #53 entered by M Racing, Bihel took his revenge in session 2 by grabbing pole from the two drivers in #24. In the Ligier JS P4 category Les Deux Arbres #33 driven by Steve Zacchia and Antoine Lepesqueux clinched pole for the first race despite a few glitches in the free practice session. Pole for the second race went to #23 entered by HP Racing by MonzaGarage.
When Saturday 17th April dawned it was the moment all the drivers had been waiting for - the first races of the European season. For the first time in the Ligier European Series' history both rounds were shown live on the series' internet site as well as on its YouTube channel and Facebook page.
The start of the first race was given at 10:50. It was the same scenario as the previous day with a battle in perspective between the #24 JS2 R run by Orhès Racing and #53 entered by M Racing for the topmost step of the podium. Martins went off on the warm-up lap handing the advantage to Bihel who won the opening race of the season. He was followed by M Racing's second entry #69 in the hands of Millara. Martins-Pernaut made a great comeback and were rewarded with third place at the chequered flag. In the JS P4 category Les Deux Arbres scored their first double of 2021 with victory going to #34 crewed by Zacchia-Lepesqueux followed by its sister car #33 driven by Jacques Nicolet. Despite making a good start the #23 HP Racing by MonzaGarage entry could do no better than third.
The cars rejoined the track at 14:50 for race 2. #53 entered by M Racing gave its rivals no chance after starting from pole and Bihel scored his second victory of the day after a flawless drive. He was followed home by the Orhès Racing #24 and his stable mate, #69. Behind these three, battle for the other places in the top 5 raged between the second Orhès Racing entry #25 driven by Alain Bucher and Arnaud Tsamere and #95 entered by CTF Performance for Fabien Delaplace and Nicolas Beraud who gave each other no quarter. Another good dust-up between Arctic Energy's #17 driven by Povilas Jankavicius and Egidijus Gutaravicius and the Cool Racing #4 piloted by Cedric Oltramare enlivened the race. Oltramare came out on top and went on to finish fourth in front of #95 entered by CTF Performance, the Orhès Racing #25 and Arctic Racing's #17. It was also a hotly-disputed race in the Ligier JS P4 category. After losing the lead the #23 HP Racing by MonzaGarage entry snatched victory in the dying minutes from the two Les Deux Arbres JS P4s, # 33 and #34.
The second round of the Ligier European Series will take place on 14-15 May on the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria.
To consult the full article on free practice, CLICK HERE
To consult the full article on qualifying, CLICK HERE
To consult the full article on race 1, CLICK HERE
To consult the full article on race 2, CLICK HERE