Wins For Virage And ANS At Spa

The Spa-Francorchamps circuit was not the most forgiving for the Ligier European Series teams, but the drivers all rose to the challenge! Team Virage took both wins in the Ligier JS P4 category with the #48 (Mihnea Stefan) in Race 1 and the #60 (Bernardo Pinheiro and George King) in Race 2.

Mihnea Stefan and Team Virage were also crowned 2023 Ligier JS P4 Champions! In the Ligier JS2 R category, ANS Motorsport claimed its second double victory of the season with the #42 driven by Julien Lemoine. The driver and team are one step closer to the title, which will be decided in Portimao.

Race 1

Race 1 of the weekend got underway on Saturday, 23 September at Spa-Francorchamps at 9:05 am. The two championship leaders in their respective categories, Mihnea Stefan in the #48 Ligier JS P4 (Team Virage) and Julien Lemoine in the #42 Ligier JS2 R (ANS Motorsport), put in a clean performance to win in style.

Pole-sitter Mihnea Stefan in the #48 Ligier JS P4 held on to his advantage at the start of the race. Dimitri Enjalbert in the #17 from Pegasus Racing put in a perfect start from his third-place starting position to overtake Simone Riccitelli in the #7 of LR Motorsport. The Frenchman then challenged his Romanian counterpart, who resisted. The #48 and #17 were neck and neck and even made contact, but Mihnea Stefan held onto the lead. The leaders set a pace that the third-placed #7 could not match. A few minutes later, the #11 spun at Blanchimont, got stuck in the gravel trap and retired, which resulted in a safety car period.

The race resumed some ten minutes later. The #48 Ligier JS P4 closed the gap to the #17, which was caught by the #7. Behind them, Steve Zacchia in the #50 Les Deux Arbres and Haytham Qarajouli in the #75 RLR MSport battled for fourth place. Dimitri Enjalbert and Simone Riccitelli were in a battle for second place when contact caused the #17 to spin. Both cars suffered damage. While Simone Riccitelli was second, Dimitri Enjalbert dropped to seventh place. The #7 received a drive-through penalty.

The pit stop window opened, and the #48 Ligier JS P4 was one of the first cars to stop. The #7 also went in to serve its penalty. The #50 was the race’s new leader, while the #4 of HPRacing by Monza Garage with Jacopo Faccioni overtook the #75 for second place. The #50 came in for its pit stop, leaving the #4 in the lead. It was the last car to make its mandatory stop and driver change a few seconds before the window closed.

Thanks to the advantage it built early in the race, the #48 Ligier JS P4 regained first place. Mihnea Stefan was 12 seconds up the road from his rivals. Louis Rossi in the #50 was second, followed by Ronnie Valori in the #4, who quickly took the position. Ian Aguilera in the #75 was fourth, followed by Kevin Madsen in the Team Virage #1. At the tail end of the field, the #60 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, driven by Bernardo Pinheiro, gradually climbed up the order to go on to finish fifth.

Mihnea Stefan (#48 Team Virage) added a sixth win to his tally with a more than 24-second margin of victory over Jacopo Faccioni and Ronnie Valori (#4 HPRacing by Monza Garage). The Romanian driver also set the fastest lap of the race in 2:23.894s. Steve Zacchia and Louis Rossi (#50 of Les Deux Arbres) finished third overall and first in the PRO-AM class.

The #1 Team Virage duo of Lance Fenton and Kevin Madsen took top honours in the AM class.

“The conditions were really tricky at the beginning of the race,” said Mihnea Stefan. “It was early in the morning and the track was damp. It gets very unpredictable when it’s damp. One lap you can have some grip and the next one zero. We had a good strategy and we managed to keep the tyres cool till the end. I’m really happy about it.”

In the JS2 R category, Race 1 poleman Maximus Mayer remained in the lead in the #10 RLR MSport Ligier JS2 R. T

he Spanish driver rapidly opened up an eight-second lead over Julien Lemoine in the #42 from ANS Motorsport. After starting fifth in the category, David Rodorigo in the #43 of LR Motorsport moved up two positions after overtaking the #29 from Pegasus Racing (Thierry Colney) and the #86 of Les Deux Arbres (Jacques Nicolet). The running order was unchanged after the restart. Jacques Nicolet overtook Thierry Colney for fourth place before the pit-stop window opened.

The advantage established by Maximus Mayer was not enough for his teammate Simon Butler in the #10 Ligier JS2 R to hold on to the lead over the #42 car. Julien Lemoine overtook his rival and pulled away with 20 minutes remaining in the race. He took his fourth overall victory of the season and the AM class win with ANS Motorsport. The #10 from RLR MSport (Maximus Mayer and Simon Butler) finished second and won the PRO-AM class. The #86 of Les Deux Arbres (Jacques Nicolet) completed the top three. Giacomo Pollini, in the #43 from LR Motorsport, clocked the fastest lap of the category in 2:34.154s.

RESULTS >>>

Race 2

The Ligier European Series drivers had just a few hours of respite before Race 2, which began at 12:55 p.m. After the frustration of not winning at Aragon, it was redemption for Bernardo Pinheiro and George King in the #60 Team Virage Ligier JS P4. The duo took their first success of the season. Their teammate in the #48, Mihnea Stefan’s third-place finish, was good enough for the Romanian driver to become the 2023 JS P4 category Champion. In the JS2 R category, ANS Motorsport’s #42 with Julien Lemoine secured a second victory after their morning triumph.

After securing the pole position the previous day, the #48 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, with Mihnea Stefan, maintained its advantage at the start. But the #4 of HPRacing by Monza Garage, driven by Ronnie Valori, immediately threatened the championship leader. Jacopo Mazza, in the #7 of LR Motorsport, moved up two places to third, followed by Bernardo Pinheiro in the #60 Team Virage, who made up four places. The battles were already intense. There was contact at the front between the #48 and the #4, with Ronnie Valori taking the lead. With more damage to his car, Mihnea Stefan was overtaken for second place by the #7.

Bernardo Pinheiro increased the pressure on the #48 Ligier JS P4. Mihnea Stefan resisted for several laps but eventually ceded the position. But he was not ready to throw in the towel and began to chase down his Team Virage teammate. Duels broke out further back for seventh and eighth place between the #5 of Smart Driving (Davide Amaduzzi), the #11 from HPRacing by Monza Garage (Chun-Ting Chou) and the #17 of Pegasus Racing (Anthony Nahra).

The #48 Ligier JS P4 was the first to make its mandatory pit stop, followed by the rest of the sport-prototype field. The #4, now driven by Jacopo Faccioni, returned to the track in second place behind the #1 of Team Virage, with Lance Fenton on board. The #4 quickly took the lead in the race. The #60 and #48 followed after also overtaking the #1.

George King picked up the pace, came back on Jacopo Faccioni at top speed and moved to the sharp end of the order. Meanwhile, the Italian was down on power and was overtaken by the #48 and then by the #7, driven by Simone Riccitelli. The #60 took off, leaving the #48 and #7 to battle for second place. Simone Riccitelli attacked Mihnea Stefan, who resisted for several minutes before finally yielding.

After a painful retirement in race 1 at Aragon, George King and Bernardo Pinheiro (#60 Team Virage) have finally got their long-awaited victory. Simone Ricciteli and Jacopo Mazza (#7 LR Motorsport) finished runner-up ahead of Mihnea Stefan (#48 Team Virage). Ronnie Valori in the #4 HPRacing by Monza Garage JS P4 clocked the fastest lap in the race in 2:24.493s.

The #50 of Les Deux Arbres with Steve Zacchia and Louis Rossi won the PRO-AM class, while Lance Fenton and Kevin Madsen (#1 Team Virage) finished first in the AM class.

With two races remaining at Portimao in less than a month, the Ligier European Series has its 2023 Ligier JS P4 Champion! With third place in race 2, Mihnea Stefan has amassed enough points to clinch the crown.

The #60 of Team Virage with Bernardo Pinheiro and George King is second with 124 points. But nothing has been decided yet. Two other teams are still very much in the hunt: the #7 of LR Motorsport and drivers Simone Riccitelli and Jacopo Mazza (109 points) and the #75 of RLR MSport with Haytham Qarajouli and Ian Aguilera (98 points).

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Bernardo Pinheiro, Team Virage, #60 Ligier JS P4, winner. “With all the bad luck we had this season it feels good to be here. It was a fun race to win. I’m very happy about it. We had a good start of the race. It was quite clean. I catched up to Mihnea [Stefan in the team’s sister car #48 Ligier JS P4]. I felt good with the car and had a good pace before handing the wheel over to George.”

In the JS2 R category, the #42 ANS Motorsport entry enjoyed a successful start, with Julien Lemoine immediately slipping between two Ligier JS P4s to the disadvantage of his GT category rivals. Jacques Nicolet in the #86 of Les Deux Arbres overtook Simon Butler in the #10 of RLR MSport for second place. Giacomo Pollini in the #43 from LR Motorsport got the better of Simon Butler and Jacques Nicolet. The Italian went on to overtake the championship leader. While in third place, the #86 spun and tumbled to the bottom of the classification.

The #43 Ligier JS2 R came in for its mandatory stop. Just as David Rodorigo was about to take control of the GT category, a mechanical issue prevented him from continuing in the race, which allowed Julien Lemoine to regain the lead in the race.

The driver of the #42 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS2 R added another victory to his tally, both overall and in the AM class, to extend his championship lead. It is its second double win of the season in the general classification after the Le Castellet round. Simon Butler and Maximus Mayer (#10 RLR MSport) finished second and won the PRO-AM class ahead of Jacques Nicolet in the #86 of Les Deux Arbres. Giacomo Pollini in the #43 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R posted the fastest lap of the race in 2:33.439s.7

With their double victory at Spa, Julien Lemoine and ANS Motorsport have strengthened their lead in the general classification. They now have 186 points. The #43 Ligier JS2 R of LR Motorsport with David Rodorigo is second (149 points). Jacques Nicolet, in the #86 of Les Deux Arbres with 119 points, is still in contention for second place in the general classification.

RESULTS >>>

The championship finale will be held in Portugal, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, on 20 and 21 October.