Michelin Le Mans Cup: First win for Team Virage and an all-Ligier JS P320 podium in Barcelona
The Ligier teams and their Ligier JS P320s made an excellent start to the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup. The opening weekend concluded with an emotional victory for Team Virage, with the #16 car driven by reigning Ligier European Series JS P4 champion Gillian Henrion and Julien Gerbi. M Racing took the second spot on the podium for its return to the championship with the #68, while the #2 of CD Sport completed the top three.
• The first free practice session of the season on Friday, 21 April, ended with a Ligier JS P320 sweep of the top five, led by the #22 from United Autosports, driven by Gerald Kraut and Scott Andrews. The British team's LMP3 car was the quickest in 1:36.816s.
• Six Ligier JS P320s topped the timing screen in Free Practice 2. The #6 of ANS Motorsport (Jonathan Brossard and Nicolas Schatz) led the way with the best time of 1:37.212s.
• James Sweetnam in the #39 Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 took the first pole position of the season with a time of 1:36.962s on Saturday, 22 April, ahead of the #16 of Team Virage.
• The race started in the late afternoon. The #16 Team Virage Ligier JS P320, driven by Julien Gerbi and Gillian Henrion (2022 Ligier JS P4 Champion in Ligier European Series), quickly took the lead from the #39. Several safety car periods followed due to race incidents. After losing a few positions, the #16 returned to the front and took the Michelin Le Mans Cup victory (Team Virage's first in the championship). The podium was completed by the #68 of M Racing (Hugo Delacour and Guilherme Moura de Olivera) and the #2 from CD Sport (Fabien Michal and Kirill Smal).
• David Droux, in the #97 of COOL Racing, set the fastest lap of the race in 1:36.735s.
• Eight Ligier JS P320s topped the Barcelona Round classification.
The next destination for the Michelin Le Mans Cup is the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit on 9 June.
For the race results, CLICK HERE.
For more information about the Ligier JS P320, CLICK HERE.