Road to Le Mans, race 1: Four Ligier JS P320s in the top 5
The third round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup 2024, Road to Le Mans comprises two races on the big Le Mans 24 Hours weekend. Held on Thursday June 13 on the 13.6-kilometer circuit de la Sarthe, Race 1 saw two Ligier teams finish on the podium, with second and third places for Rinaldi Racing (#71 Ligier JS P320) and COOL Racing (#97 Ligier JS P320).
- A major event on the Michelin Le Mans Cup 2024 calendar, Road to Le Mans welcomed 58 competitors, including 34 Ligier JS P320s in the LMP3 category. The two races are run over 55 minutes or 13 laps of the circuit.
- COOL Racing monopolized the front row of the grid, with Adrien Closmenil in the #87 Ligier JS P320 and David Droux in the sister car, the #97. High Class Racing's #66 Ligier was third fastest with Daniel Keilwitz.
- The first race of the event got underway on Thursday, June 13. In the opening laps, the battle for third place was fierce between the #13 JS P320 of Alexandre Cougnaud (MRacing), #97 of Adrien Chila (COOL Racing) and #77 of Audunn Gudmundsson (Team Thor).
- Following a run-off by the #50 Reiter Engineering Ligier JS P320, the safety car entered the track and almost all the LMP3 contenders made the mandatory pit stop. The #87 suffered mechanical damage and was unable to restart.
- Second on the restart, Droux lead the chase, pursued by the #71 Ligier (Rinaldi Racing), #7 (Nielsen Racing) and #77 (Team Thor) for third place.
- Louis Rossi's (Graff) #9 JS P320 went off the track, bringing the race to a close with a red flag 14 minutes from the end.
- Rinaldi Racing (#71), COOL Racing (#97), MRacing (#13) and Team Thor (#77) took second, third, fourth and fifth place respectively under the checkered flag.
The second Road to Le Mans race takes place on Saturday June 15 at 10:35 am.
CLICK HERE for the standings of Race 1 of Road to Le Mans.
CLICK HERE to find out more about the Ligier JS P320.
CLICK HERE for more information on the Michelin Le Mans Cup.