LES Le Mans 2023
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Ligier European Series: Team Virage and M Racing win on the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit lived up to its reputation with an action-packed race and an unexpected outcome. The suspense never waned until the final moments. The AM team of Americans, Kevin Madsen and Lance Fenton, in the #1 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, claimed their first overall victory of 2023. In the Ligier JS2 R category, Natan Bihel, in the #53 of M Racing marched onto the podium's top step.

Free Practice:

• In the sports prototype category, James Winslow, in the #4 Italian team HPRacing by Monza Garage Ligier JS P4, topped the timesheet with a best lap of 4:13.044s. The AM class was led by Lance Fenton and Kevin Madsen in the #1 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, in 4:22.153s.

• In the GT category, Maximus Mayer and Simon Butler in the PRO-AM-ranked #10 RLR MSport Ligier JS2 R set the fastest lap of 4:25.981s.

• Julien Lemoine in the #42 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS2 R was best in the AM class, with a lap of 4:33.112s.

For the results of free practice, CLICK HERE.

 

Qualifying:

• The #4 Ligier JS P4 of HPRacing by Monza Garage clocked the fastest lap in 4:07.658s. In AM, Yuki Tanaka led the way in the #16 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS P4 with a lap of 4:14.654s.

• In the JS2 R category, Maximus Mayer claimed his second pole position of the season. The driver of the PRO-AM classified RLR MSport Ligier JS2 R posted the best time of 4:22.453s.

• Julien Lemoine in the #42 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS2 R once again topped the AM class with a lap of 4:26.948s.

For the results of qualifying, CLICK HERE.

 

Race:

• The race was interrupted by two safety periods. The first came after the #50 Les Deux Arbres Ligier JS P4 with Steve Zacchia and Louis Rossi suffered a puncture. A second safety car intervention of more than 20 minutes occurred after an accident involving a GT car. The drivers made their compulsory pitstops, and the order changed dramatically.

• The #7 LR Motorsport Ligier JS P4 (Simone Riccitelli and Jacopo Mazza) was the first to cross the finish line. But the Italian team was penalised by five seconds after a tangle with the #39 Graff Racing Ligier JS P4 (Jacopo d'Amato). The Italian team finished second with overall victory going to Team Virage's AM-ranked American duo of Lance Fenton and Kevin Madsen in the #1 car. Despite crossing the finish line in third place, the #75 of RLR MSport (Haytham Qarajouli and Ian Aguilera) received a drive-through penalty for its conduct during the race's second restart. The team finished 15th, and the #17 from Pegasus Racing with Dimitri Enjalbert and Anthony Nahra inherited third place. The duo finished second last year in the inaugural Le Mans Heat.

• The #50 from Les Deux Arbres won the PRO-AM class.

• The 2021 JS2 R Champion Natan Bihel, who returned to the Ligier European Series with M Racing for a one-off race, won for the first time at Le Mans in the #53 Ligier JS2 R. Second place went to the #42 ANS Motorsport, followed by the #43 LR Motorsport with David Rodorigo. In the PRO-AM class, the victory went to the #27 of Belt Racing by LVR Ligier JS2 R.

• The #42 of ANS Motorsport took the honours in the AM class.

For the results of the race, CLICK HERE.

 

Provisional classifications:

• JS P4 category, overall: the #48 of Team Virage (Mihnea Stefan) remains in the lead on 58 points. The #7 of LR Motorsport (Simone Riccitelli and Jacopo Mazza) is second on 40 points, only one point ahead of the #1 of Team Virage (Lance Fenton and Kevin Madsen).

• AM: Team Virage's #1 dominates the class with 68 points. The #16 of Pegasus Racing (Yuki Tanaka) is second on 61 points ahead of the #4 of HPRacing by Monza Garage, with 30 points.

• JS2 R category, overall / AM: the #42 of ANS Motorsport (Julien Lemoine) is the new leader with 61 points ahead of the #43 of LR Motosport (David Rodorigo) and its 58 points. The #95 from CTF Performance (Gilles Poret) is third on 52 points.

• PRO-AM: the #10 of RLR MSport (Simon Butler and Maximus Mayer) leads the classification on 50 points. The #29 from Pegasus Racing is second on 43 points.

 

This eventful race marks the end of the Le Mans Heat on the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit. Next month, round three of the championship will be contested at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet from 14 to 15 July.