Three teams came into the final weekend with the potential to secure the title in JSP4. The title fight though would go down to the wire before Team Virage’s #1 crew of Theo Micouris and Hadyn Chance could be confirmed as the Champions, The Polish-flagged team claiming a third consecutive teams title.
In JS2R the #29 Pegasus racing crew of Julien Schell and David Caussanel would gather the final few points they required to confirm their Championship win.
Race 1: Victory for RLR MSport and Les Deux Arbres
On the morning of Friday, 18 October, the Portimão circuit was the venue for the penultimate race of the 2024 Ligier European Series season. The nineteen competitors took to the track for a one-hour race in dry conditions and under clear blue skies.
This first race of the Portimão Heat was another action-packed affair, with Ian Aguilera in the #77 RLR MSport winning in the JS P4 category. The #50 of Les Deux Arbres, in the hands of Antoine Lepesqueux and Noé Da Cunha, took the honours in the JS2 R category.
JS P4: Third win of the season for RLR MSport and Ian Aguilera
Ian Aguilera made an excellent start from pole position in the #77 JS P4 to hold on to the lead. Just behind him, Jeronimo Berrio in the #66 Team Virage took second place but went off the racing line and sailed wide. Fortunately, he rejoined the race, but as he tried to make up lost ground, the Colombian driver collided with the #16 Pegasus Racing car driven by Yuki Tanaka, forcing the Japanese driver to stop at the side of the track. The safety car was called into service to secure Pegasus Racing, and Jeronimo Berrio received a drive-through penalty.
At the restart, Ian Aguilera’s #77 kept the lead, followed by Brandon McCaughan in the #32 of Team Virage and Iko Segret in the ANS Motorsport’s #6. The three cars put in a string of laps, but another safety car period was needed when Marta Garcia’s #85 JS2 R (Iron Dames by M Racing) went off the circuit. The competitors took advantage of the neutralisation to make their mandatory pit stops.
Once the race had restarted and the pit stops had been completed, the hierarchy was turned on its head, and it was the #66 of Team Virage, now driven by Pedro Moreno, who came out on top, followed by Simone Vullo Jody and the #81 of LR Motorsport. The latter made a mistake and lost second place to Ian Aguilera (RLR MSport #77). Iko Segret in the ANS Motorsport #6 was third and neck and neck with championship leader Theo Micouris in the Team Virage #1. The British driver quickly took third place and made up ground on the lead cars. Like Theo Micouris, Ian Aguilera maintained a blistering pace in the # of 77 RLR MSport and closed the gap on the race leader, the #66 Team Virage JS P4 driven by Pedro Moreno.
Two minutes from the chequered flag, Ian Aguilera (RLR MSport #77) put the pressure on Pedro Moreno, who spun and lost the lead of the race. After two victories in the first races of the Spa Heat and the Mugello Heat, RLR MSport and Ian Aguilera won the first race of the Portimão Heat. The championship leader, Team Virage’s #1, driven by Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance, maintained its position at the top of the championship thanks to second place. Iko Segret, driving the ANS Motorsport #6, finished third.
Jacques Nicolet finished first in the AM category in his #58 M Racing JS P4.
Ian Aguilera, RLR MSport, Ligier JS P4 #77: “It was a tricky race. We managed to get the lead right at the start, kept it all the way through and then obviously because of the 5 seconds extra on the pit stops I was dropped to fourth or fifth overall. I had to make my way back up to the lead. It was tough as the #66 pitted one lap before us so there was a big gap. But I managed to close it every lap. In the end they made a mistake so I managed to get the lead from them and won the race. So I’m very happy with the results and grateful to the team and all the hard work they have done this year. It’s such a great championship. I’m very pleased.”
JS2 R: Les Deux Arbres wins with Noé Da Cuhna and Antoine Lepesqueux. The JS2 R category race started just as eventful as that of the JS P4s, and poleman Matteo Pianezzola in the #60 from Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport quickly lost ground following contact with another competitor. As a result, August Therbo, in the #86 Les Deux Arbres JS2 R, moved into the lead.
Following the first safety car period, August Therbo held on to the lead but had his mirrors full of Paul Trojani in the #31 of ANS Motorsport. They raced wheel-to-wheel whilst Marta Garcia (#85 Iron Dames by M Racing) and Matteo Pianezzola (#60 Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport) battled for third place. Contact between the two JS2 Rs sent the Spanish driver into the gravel trap, prompting a second safety car period. The #60 of Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport received a drive-through penalty a few minutes later for causing the collision.
The teams used the neutralisation to make their mandatory pit stops and driver changes. At the restart, Noé Da Cuhna, at the controls of the #50 Les Deux Arbres JS2 R, took the lead, followed by Cindy Gudet in M Racing’s #53 and Louis Stern in the #18 from Pegasus Racing.
Louis Stern spun a few laps later, went off the track and lost valuable places. He returned to the pits and retired from the race.
Noé Da Cuhna, in the #50 Les Deux Arbres JS2 R, saw the chequered flag first to score his and teammate Antoine Lepesqueux their second win of the season. Cindy Gudet finished runner-up in the #50 M Racing JS2 R to claim her first podium of the season, as did Sita Vanmeert and August Therbo in the #86 Les Deux Arbres. Two female drivers finished on the podium for the first time in the series history.
Antoine Lepesqueux, Les Deux Arbres, JS2 R #50: “We got off to a great start. We went from P6 to P2 on the first lap. It couldn’t have gone any better! After that, I put in a solid stint. We kept a steady gap to the top three. And with a bit of luck for us, the safety car intervened just as the pit-stop window opened. This allowed us to make the most of the situation. I then pass the wheel to Noé, who finished off the effort.”
Noé da Cunha, Les Deux Arbres, JS2 R #50 : “We left the pits in the lead. We found a very good rhythm in the second half. This is our second win of the season. It’s a great result.”
The championship leader, the #29 of Pegasus Racing, driven by Julien Schell and David Caussanel, finished sixth and collected 8 points. That was enough for them to clinch the 2024 JS2 R title ahead of the final race.
Race 2: Team Virage victorious and 2024 JS P4 champion, Iron Dames by M Racing wins in JS2 R
The very last race of the 2024 Ligier European Series season was run on Friday afternoon, 18 October, at the Portimão circuit and did not lack for suspense. Pegasus Racing’s #29 secured the JS2 R category title before the start of the race, but everything was still to play for in the JS P4 category. After an hour of hard-fought racing, Team Virage’s #66 (Jeronimo Berrio / Pedro Moreno) triumphed, while in the JS2 R category, Marta Garcia and the #85 from Iron Dames by M Racing claimed their second victory of the season. Team Virage, Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance were crowned the 2024 champions after finishing runner-up in race 2 of the Portimão Heat.
JS P4: Team Virage wins with the #66 JS P4 and clinches the 2024 title with the #1.
The start of the race, which was delayed 90 minutes after an accident during Michelin Le Mans Cup qualifying, that required lengthy repairs to the rails around the track, went without incident. Ian Aguilera, in the #77 of RLR MSport, overtook the poleman Theo Micouris in Team Virage’s #1 at turn two. On lap seven, the trio of Team Virage cars launched an attack on Aguilera that demoted him to fourth place, with Theo Micouris (Team Virage #1) in the lead, followed by Pedro Moreno (Team Virage #66) and Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen (Team Virage #32). However, Ian Aguilera kept his head down and remained in the fight and after Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen got caught out, the Mexican driver moved up to third place.
The safety car period allowed for removing the Pegasus Racing JS2 R #18 off the track at turn 3, and most of the field made pit stops and driver changes.
At the restart, Haydn Chance, now behind the wheel of Team Virage’s JS P4 #1, took the lead, followed by Ian Aguilera (RLR MSport #77) and Jeronimo Berrio (Team Virage #66). With 15 minutes to go, Ian Aguilera took the lead, and Jeronimo Berrio moved up to second, ahead of Haydn Chance. Jeronimo Berrio maintained a steady pace and attacked Ian Aguilera, who spun and dropped out of the top 3 with less than ten minutes to go. Jeronimo Berrio took the lead and won ahead of the team’s sister car, the #1 and Haydn Chance. Despite the spin, Ian Aguilera finished third in the #77 of RLR MSport.
Thanks to their runner-up result, the two up-and-coming British drivers, Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance, are the 2024 Ligier European Series champions with Team Virage’s #1 JS P4. In doing so, they win the coveted €150,000 prize money to race a Ligier JS P325 in the Michelin Le Mans Cup next season.
Ian Aguilera and RLR MSport finished runner-up with their #77 Ligier JS P4, ahead of ANS Motorsport #6 driven by Iko Segret.
Pedro Moreno, Team Virage, JS P4 #66: “It was a difficult one, particularly because I was stuck in the tail, so at the end I overheated the tires, so I kept struggling with that a bit, but I was able to give Jeronimo the car in P3, really relatively close to P1 and P2, and then he ended the race by doing a really, really good job and putting the car in P1. I’m really happy, and what a nicer ending to the season than that.”
Jeronimo Berrio, Team Virage, JS P4 #66: “It was an amazing race. First I want to congratulate Pedro, because he did an amazing stint. We had a great fight with Ian Aguilera and with also Haydn Chance, and it was quite fun because we were battling all through the race. We had to be careful because the other car of the team [the #1 JS P4] was fighting for the championship. We were also fighting for another sport of the championship, but we had a really close and clean race, and we managed to take the win, so it’s pretty amazing.”
JS2 R: Second victory for Marta Garcia and Iron Dames by M Racing
The JS2 R category put on a world-class show for the final race of the 2024 season!
Paul Trojani, driving the ANS Motorsport’s #31, started from pole position and held on to the lead at the moment of the green flag. Marta Garcia, at the commands of the #85 of Iron Dames by M Racing, quickly moved up to second place, ahead of Noé Da Cunha in the #50 Les Deux Arbres JS2 R. Despite contact between the two drivers and a spin for Marta Garcia, she held onto second place. After a door-handle-to-door-handle battle with Paul Trojani (ANS Motorsport #31), Marta Garcia (Iron Dames by M Racing #85) took the lead on lap ten.
A safety car period was needed to secure the disabled Pegasus Racing’s #18 JS2 R, which was a massive advantage for the leading trio, who, after the pit stops and restart, had a substantial lead over the rest of the category.
Marta Garcia in the #85 and Paul Trojani in the #31 raced neck-and-neck until the chequered flag, with the Spaniard taking the win for the second Ligier European Series victory for Iron Dames by M Racing and Marta Garcia. Ligier European Series newcomer Paul Trojani finished runner-up in ANS Motorsport’s #31. Noé Da Cuhna and Antoine Lepesqueux, in the #50 from Les Deux Arbres, finished third to score their second podium of the meeting.
JS2 R 2024 champions Julien Schell and David Caussanel (Pegasus Racing #29), who took the title in the first race of the day, finished seventh. They also finished first of the PRO-AM rankings. They win a €100,000 prize to compete in the Ligier European Series next season in a Ligier JS P4.
Noé da Cunha and Antoine Lepesqueux finished second in the championship with Les Deux Arbres’ #50 Ligier JS2 R.
Louis Stern and Pegasus Racing took the AM class title with the #18 Ligier JS2 R.
Marta Garcia, Iron Dames by M Racing, JS2 R #85: “It was quite an eventful race, to be honest. I started P3 and then I overtook to grab P2 and was fighting for P1 with the other driver. We had some good fights. I even had a spin and it was a bit messy. But then I tried to create a gap. But then there was a safety car. Luckily after we were still P1 and I again tried to create a gap from the car in P2 that was quite close. Finally, we won the race, which I’m really happy about because the last time was in Spa, about two months ago. I think that the Ligier European Series has been a good experience for me because it was the first time I drove a GT car. So I think to start in GTs the series is a good opportunity, a good championship to start with. And, obviously I enjoyed it quite a bit. I think the car is fun to drive. I enjoyed racing along with the Iron Dames and the M Racing team.”
