The Ligier European Series’ opening weekend at Barceloan saw a pair of entertaining races, won by Polish outfit Team Virage.
Like Gillian Henrion last season, Mihnea Stefan in the #48 Ligier JS P4 finished round one of the championship with a pair of victories. The Polish team also scored two one-two finishes with the #60 of Bernardo Pinheiro and George King.
In the JS2 R category, it was a promising start to the season for David Rodorigo, in the #43 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R, winner of Race 1, and for Gilles Poret in the #95 of CTF Performance, winner of Race 2.
Race 1: 1-2 finish for Team Virage in JS P4 and victory for LR Motorsport in JS2 R
Team Virage was the dominating force of the Ligier JS P4 grid in the first race of the season: the team scored an excellent 1-2 finish, with the #48 of Mihnea Stefan and the #60 of George King / Bernardo Pinheiro.
Pole winner Stefan in the #48 JS P4 made a clean start to stay at the sharp end of the field. But Dimitri Enjalbert in the #17 of Pegasus Racing, tried to catch his Romanian rival. Behind, other battles broke out. George King in the Team Virage #60 was in a close scrap with Simone Riccitelli in the #7 of LR Motorsport. Seventh on the grid, Haytham Qarajouli (2022 JS2 R category champion) in the #75 of RLR MSport was up to fifth place after passing the #50 of Les Deux Arbres (Steve Zacchia) and then the #16 of Pegasus Racing (David Caussanel).
After establishing the gap to the #7 Ligier JS P4, George King in the #60 came dangerously close to the #17 Pegasus Racing entry. The Briton overtook Dimitri Enjalbert under braking. Two Team Virage cars were now in the lead, seven seconds ahead of the other sports prototypes. Still, in fourth place, Simone Riccitelli closed in on the #17. The two cars were side by side, but Dimitri Enjalbert resisted. Shortly before the opening of the pitstop window, the #7 tried again to overtake the #17. Despite a tough defence from Dimitri Enjalbert, Simone Riccitelli moved into the top three. The driver of the #17 was then under threat from the #75 of RLR MSport.
Mihnea Stefan still led after the pit stops and was followed by his teammate in the #60 Ligier JS P4, Portuguese driver Bernardo Pinheiro. Jacopo Mazza in the #7 was third, followed by Louis Rossi in the #50 of Les Deux Arbres. The youngest driver in the series, Ian Aguilera, was behind the wheel of the #75 RLR MSport car, ahead of Anthony Nahra in the #17.
Kevin Madsen replaced fellow American Lance Fenton in the #1 of Team Virage. Ray-Yu Wang in the #11 Monza Garage car was eighth ahead of Yuki Tanaka (#16 Pegasus Racing). The Greek duo of Kaitatzis Panagiotis and Georgios-Periklis Kolovos in the #4 of Monza Garage completed the top ten.
In the #75 Ligier JS P4, Ian Aguilera chased down his adversaries to gain two places. Like the young Mexican, Kevin Madsen in the #1 also made a good comeback, moving from sixth to fifth.
Team Virage and Mihnea Stefan (#48) took their first victory of the season, by two seconds, from the team’s sister car, the #60 of Bernardo Pinheiro and George King. George King set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:45.253s. The RLR MSport #75 was third on the podium.
Steve Zacchia and Louis Rossi in the #50 Ligier JS P4 of Les Deux Arbres won in the PRO-AM class. Kevin Madsen and Lance Fenton in the #1 Team Virage took top honours in the AM category.
Due to an accident during free practice, the #14 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P4 with Fareed Ali could not compete in the race.
“The first race was a clean race. We had a good tyre and fuel consumption strategy. And I managed to hold onto the lead. The Ligier JS P4 is a very nice car. It’s very good for improving your driving style,” commented Stefan.
In the JS 2R category, the #10 of RLR MSport, driven by Maximus Mayer, got off to a flying start. The Spaniard quickly took the lead and pulled away from the other GTs. Fabien Delaplace, in the #96 of CTF Performance, was in second place but made an unforced error and fell down the order. His teammate Gilles Poret, in the #95 CTF Performance car, inherited the position. The #42 of ANS Motorsport with Julien Lemoine was third before being overtaken by the #29 of Pegasus Racing with Jordan Meyer. At the top of the category, Maximus Mayer extended his lead to ten seconds.
Fifth place David Rodorigo in the #43 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R overtook the #42. Then the battle for third with the #29 Pegasus Racing commenced. Behind them, the #96 of CTF Performance and the #42 from ANS Motorsport made contact without apparent damage. Second place Gilles Poret in the #95 lost control of his car and fell to second to last in the running order.
After the pitstops, the #10 of RLR MSport with Simon Butler was still in the lead. Christophe Weber was now in the #29 Ligier JS2 R. David Rodorigo in the #43 maintained third place ahead of the #96 of CTF Performance with Laurent Piguet. The #42 was fifth, followed by the #95 in sixth and the #86 of Les Deux Arbres with Jacques Nicolet in seventh.
David Rodorigo kept pushing until he got his #43 Ligier JS2 R into the lead. Eleven seconds separate him from the #96 GT in second place. A position far from secure for Laurent Piguet because Julien Lemoine in the #42 was looking for an opportunity to take the spot. The driver, who had passed Simon Butler in the #10, did not let #96 get away and took second place.
In his first appearance in the Ligier European Series, David Rodorigo, behind the wheel of the #43 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R, won both overall and the AM class. Julien Lemoine in the #42 of ANS Motorsport finished runner-up, followed by Fabien Delaplace and Laurent Piguet in the #96 from CTF Performance.
In the PRO-AM category, first place went to Simon Butler and Maximus Meyer from RLR MSport. Maximus Mayer also set the fastest lap of the race in 1:52.934s.
Race 2: Second victory for Mihnea Stefan with Team Virage in the JS P4, CTF Performance on the top step of the podium in JS2 R
There was a change of atmosphere for Race 2. The second event of the weekend was not the easiest for the Ligier JS P4 and Ligier JS2 R drivers, who had to deal with many unexpected twists. In the sports-prototype category, Team Virage had another strong showing with victory for the #48 and second place for the #60. In the JS2 R category, CTF Performance converted its podium in race 1 into victory in race 2, with the #95.
Despite an eventful start, the #48 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, driven by Mihnea Stefan, held on to the lead whilst the #75 of RLR MSport, with Ian Aguilera, overtook Bernardo Pinheiro, in the #60 of Team Virage, for second place. The #75 stayed in contact with the race leader. Behind, Kaitatzis Panagiotis, in the #4 of HPRacing by Monza Garage, moved up from seventh to fourth place.
10 minutes later, the #11 Monza Garage Ligier JS P4 driven by Ray-Yu Wang stopped on the trackside and brought out a yellow flag, which created an opportunity for Bernardo Pinheiro to close in on Ian Aguilera and for the latter to increase the pressure on Mihnea Stefan. The #7 of LR Motorsport with Jacopo Mazza and the #1 of Team Virage with Kevin Madsen received a drive-through penalty for not respecting the starting procedure.
At the re-start, the #48 and #75 continued their battle for the lead, with 0.3 seconds separating them. The #60 was third and posing a threat at less than 0.6s behind. Behind them, the #50 of Les Deux Arbres (Louis Rossi), the #17 of Pegasus Racing (Anthony Nahra) and the #16 of Pegasus Racing (Yuki Tanaka) were in a three-car battle for fifth place. As the pit stop window opened, Bernardo Pinheiro attempted a daring manoeuvre on Ian Aguilera, who resisted.
With the pitstops over, the #4 HPRacing by Monza Garage Ligier JS P4 with Georgios-Periklis Kolovos was in the lead ahead of the #16, driven by David Caussanel. Meanwhile, Mihnea Stefan exited the pits in fourth place behind George King in the #60. But the #48 driver soon overtook his Team Virage teammate and was now third. A few laps later, he was back in the lead.
George King tried, in vain, to get the better of David Caussanel. But a stop & go penalty for the driver of the #16 Ligier JS P4 saw him drop back in the standings. Steve Zacchia, driving the #50, overtook Haytham Qarajouli, in the #75 RLR MSport, for fifth place. The Swiss driver continued to lower his times and moved up to third place.
Team Virage scored its second one-two finish of the day, with Mihnea Stefan in the #48 and the duo of Bernardo Pinheiro and George King in the #60. Mihnea Stefan made it a clean sheet with two victories following his two pole positions on Friday. The #48 driver also set the race’s fastest lap in 1:45.501s. Steve Zacchia’s excellent drive through the field allowed the #50 of Les Deux Arbres to score a podium finish. The team also took first place in the PRO-AM class.
“My teammates are quite fast,” said Stefan. “So, every time we were on the track this weekend, we kept pushing each other more and more. When they overtake me, I was really nervous. I thought that it would be the end. But I got lucky. I think George [King] did one little mistake that I took advantage of. They were really fast, they pushed me a lot and I think I also pushed them a lot so it will be a great battle throughout the season.”
The #16 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS P4, driven by David Caussanel and Yuki Tanaka, finished first in the AM class.
In the JS 2R category, shortly after the start, there was a lead change: David Rodorigo, in the #43 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R, was passed by Julien Lemoine in the #42 of ANS Motorsport. The Italian then faced an inside passing move from Gilles Poret in the #95 of CTF Performance. The second French team car, the #96 with Laurent Piguet, was fourth, followed by the #86 of Les Deux Arbres with Jacques Nicolet. Simon Butler in the #10 of RLR MSport was sixth, and Christophe Weber in the #29 from Pegasus Racing was seventh.
The mandatory pit stops halfway through did not affect the classification. Julien Lemoine had a four-second lead over Gilles Poret, who, in turn, was ten seconds ahead of David Rodorigo. The two CTF Performance Ligiers gained one place a piece and relegated the #43 to fourth place. But David Rodorigo took advantage of a driving error by Laurent Piguet to re-enter the top three.
Gilles Poret, in the #95 Ligier JS2 R, closed up to the leader and then moved into the category lead with four minutes remaining in the race, leading to a classic game of cat-and-mouse between the #95 and the #42. The two GTs swapped the lead several times. Just as things seemed to turn in the #42’s favour, Julien Lemoine lost control and went into the gravel trap.
The #95 Ligier JS2 R with Gilles Poret finished first overall and in the AM category. For the second time this weekend, the #42 of ANS Motorsport, with Julien Lemoine, finished runner-up. The #43 of LR Motorsport, driven by David Rodorigo, completed the top 3.
A mechanical problem on the final lap prevented the #10 Ligier JS2 R of Simon Butler and Maximus Mayer (who still set the fastest lap of the race in 1:52.858s) from securing the win in the PRO-AM category. The latter goes to the #29 from Pegasus Racing, with Christophe Weber and Jordan Meyer.
