Michelin Le Mans Cup: Ligier JS P325s maintain their domination at Le Castellet.
After an inaugural round highlighted by two pole positions and two 100% Ligier JS P325 podium finishes, Michelin Le Mans Cup competitors gathered at the Circuit Paul Ricard from May 2 to 4, 2025 for the second round of the season. Twenty-five Ligier JS P325s turned out for a lively weekend full of twists and turns. Once again, the Ligier teams were at the forefront of the field in free practice, taking double pole position in qualifying and dominating both categories in the race. At the end of the two-hour race, CLX Motorsport took another one-two with its Ligier JS P325 #87 and #97. Reiter Engineering and Forestier Racing by VPS complete the top 4. In LMP3 PRO/AM, ANS Motorsport beat Motorsport98 and Rinaldi Racing to secure a second 100% Ligier podium in the category.
Free Practice: Forestier Racing by VPS and CLX Motorsport on the pace
The weekend kicked off with two free practice sessions. In the first, the #92 Forestier Racing by VPS Ligier JS P325 made a name for itself with Charles Roussane topping the timesheet in 1:58.558. In the PRO/AM class, Anders Fjordbach put the #20 High Class Racing Ligier in the lead with a time of 1:59.147.
Alvise Rodella, driving the CLX Motorsport JS P325 #87, set the fastest time in 1:59.213. He was 62 thousandths ahead of Matteo Quintarelli in the 23Events Racing Ligier #50. In PRO/AM, Garett Grist put the Inter Europol Competition JS P325 #34 on top with a time of 1:59.500.
Qualifying: Pole position for CLX Motorsport, Ligier dominates the top 4 overall.
The qualifying session, held in the rain, was interrupted by a red flag after a competitor on slicks went off the track. Once the barriers had been repaired, the session resumed with an eight-minute sprint.
Pierre-Alexandre Provost quickly set the CLX Motorsport JS P325 #87 with a lap of 1:58.459, before lowering the reference time to 1:57.325. Matteo Quintarelli came very close with the #50 23Events Racing Ligier JS P325, failing to finish by just 0.012 seconds. Miklas Born took the Reiter Engineering Ligier JS P325 #25 to third place with a time of 1:57.912, ahead of Charles Roussanne in the Forestier Racing by VPS Ligier JS P325 #92 (1:58.131).
In the PRO/AM category, Terrence Woodward took pole with the #28 23Events Racing Ligier JS P325 in 2:00.177, ahead of four other Ligiers.
Race: CLX Motorsport double, 100% Ligier podiums in LMP3 and LMP3 PRO/AM
Saturday afternoon's two-hour race was punctuated by numerous incidents and neutralizations. Untouchable, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Alvise Rodella took victory at the wheel of the #87 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325. Starting from pole, the duo were never really troubled.
On the final lap, David Droux lifted the CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 #97 to second place, edging out the Reiter Engineering Ligier JS P325 #25 driven by Bence Valint and Miklas Born and the Forestier Racing by VPS Ligier JS P325 #92 driven by Luciano Morano and Charles Roussanne , who finished third and fourth respectively.
In the PRO/AM category, the suspense remained until the final moments. Paul Trojani and Julien Lemoine gave ANS Motorsport victory in the #84 Ligier JS P325 , ahead of the #98 Motorsport98 Ligier JS P325 (Gillian Henrion / Eric de Doncker) and the #71 Rinaldi Racing Ligier JS P325 (Stefan Aust / Felipe Fernandez-Laser) .
Standings after two rounds: Ligier leads in both categories
After this second round, five Ligier JS P325s hold the top five places in the overall LMP3 standings. CLX Motorsport leads with its #87 and #97 cars, which total 44 and 43 points respectively. In LMP3 PRO/AM, five Ligiers make up the top five, with Rinaldi Racing (#71) leading the way with 33 points.
Next event: Road to Le Mans, the season's flagship curtain-raiser to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 10-12, 2025.
Photo credit: DPPI
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