The Belt Racing by LVR Ligier JS2 R wins the FFSA French Touring Car Championship in GT Light
First title in the French FFSA Touring Car Championship for the Ligier JS2 R! On Sunday, 24 September at Lédenon, the Belt Racing by LVR team claimed the French Championship title in the GT Light category with its #27 Ligier JS2 R, driven by Ewen Hachez. The driver from Brittany speaks about his title win.
- On Saturday, 23 September, the #27 Belt Racing by LVR Ligier JS2 R, driven by Ewen Hachez and Nicco Ferrarin, set the fastest times in both qualifying sessions in the GT Light category. Ewen Hachez posted the quickest lap of 1:27.862s in session 1. In his first outing in the Ligier JS2 R, Nicco Ferrarin set a time of 1:28.365s in session 2.
- Later in the day, the #27 brilliantly won in its category in the weekend's first two races. This success continued the following day when the #27, once again, hit the ground running, winning the final two races of the weekend, again in GT Light.
- With ten wins since the start of the season in its category (or five according to the championship, which only counts two results per weekend), the Belt Racing by LVR team has accumulated enough points to secure the title. And it is with Ewen Hachez, a young driver from Brittany who has spent his entire season in the #27 Ligier JS2 R, that the team is reaping the rewards.
Ewen Hachez, driver of the #27 Belt Racing by LVR Ligier JS2 R and FFSA French Touring Car Champion, shares his first impressions with Ligier Automotive following his title win.
Now that you've won the GT Light title, how would you sum up your racing season?
This new year with the Loire Valley Racing team [editor's note: which runs the #27 Ligier JS2 R of the Belt Racing team in the FFSA French Touring Car Championship] was both unexpected and rewarding. After winning the 2021 Funyo Sprint Cup and a difficult year in 2022, I didn't expect to experience these emotions again so soon. This new GT Light championship, included in the TC SRO championship, has allowed me to demonstrate my driving skills and ambitions behind the wheel. I also took part in the Ligier European Series round with this JS2 R in the support race for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it was an incredible experience, especially with our victory in PRO-AM.
What have you learnt most about this year?
I worked a lot on data acquisition. It is particularly true as this is the first year that the Ligier JS2 R is participating in this championship, with a very specific BOP. As Loire Valley Racing acquired the car at the start of 2023, we all had to start from scratch. I've also started working as a coach with my teammate, which has helped me to improve personally.
It was your first complete season in the Ligier JS2 R. In a nutshell, how would you describe the car?
I'd already had the chance to drive it in 2020 in two meetings at the launch of the Ligier European Series. I immediately found the right driving sensations during testing in March. This car has a lot of qualities. But if I had to sum it up in one word: fun. You quickly enjoy driving it, and you feel safe. If you want to set a time, you have to put some pace into it, and that's when you discover a truly precise and responsive car: what a pleasure!
What do you like best about driving it?
The chassis is very well made, and you can ask a lot of it. The set-up changes are effective, allowing for the Ligier JS2 R to be adapted to the circuit, its driving style and this year's SRO BOP.
Although the title has been decided, the championship isn't over yet! Circuit Paul Ricard will host the season finale from 6 to 8 October.
For more information about the Ligier JS2 R, CLICK HERE.
For more information about the championship, CLICK HERE.