V de V, 2018 Le Mans 2018: second and third place for the Ligier JS P3
5-7 October 2018 on the Bugatti track of Le Mans, penultimate round of the V de V Endurance Series. A race dominated by the Ligier JS P3s. The #22 Ligier JS P3 of Inter Europol Competition gave the first position away following a penalty for collision.
Start of the race on a wet track. The #22 Ligier JS P3 of Inter Europol Competition - that had started third - with Jakub Smiechowski and Pontus Frederiksson behind the wheel, quickly took the lead. After the #22's compulsory pit stops due to the elite classification of its crew, the #69 Ligier JS P3 of Monza Garage with John Corbett and James Winslow took first place.
40 minutes before the end, the two leading Ligier JS P3s tangled. The #69 Ligier JS P3 is forced to abandon on a clutch problem. The #22 Ligier JS P3 maintained the lead until the finishing line. A 40 seconds penalty to have caused the collision with the #69 Ligier JS P3, and the #22 eventually finished second.
Its sister car, the #33 Ligier JS P3, could also have finished in the top 3. Yet, 10 minutes before the end, a puncture prevented its drivers, Paul Scheuschner and Moritz Müller Crepon, to climb on the podium.
The #95 Ligier JS P3 of Team Virage with Henning Enqvist et Jake Rattenbury claimed third.
Three Ligier JS P3s rounded out the top 6: the #26 Ligier JS P3 of Wimmer Werck Motorsport, the #33 Ligier JS P3 of Inter Europol Competition and the #94 Ligier JS P3 of Team Virage.
With one last round until the end of the championship, the drivers of the #26 Ligier JS P3 of Wimmer Werk Motorsport are first on the provisional overall classification with 1,5 points clear. The other places of the top 6 are all occupied by a Ligier JS P3, except for the third place:
1 – Felix Wimmer and Matthias Kaiser on the #26 Ligier JS P3 of Wimmer Werk Motorsport
2 – Jakub Smiechowski and Pontus Frederiksson on the #22 Ligier JS P3 of Inter Europol Competition
3 – Arnold Robin, Maxime Robin and Philippe Paillot on the #72 Norma M30 of TFT
4 – Sébastien Page and Luis Sanjuan on the #77 Ligier JS P3 of Graff
5 – Paul Scheuschner on the #33 Ligier JS P3 of Inter Europol Competition
6 – Henning Enqvist on the #94/95 Ligier JS P3s of Team Virage
Rendezvous for the last round on 2-4 November 2018 on the Estoril track in Portugal.