The final race of the 2025 Ligier European Series season took place on Friday, 17 October, in the early afternoon at the Portimão circuit, offering an exhilarating season finale. After an intense hour of racing, Iko Segret and Maxwell Dodds won with the #6 Ligier JS P4 from ANS Motorsport and claimed the 2025 championship title. In Ligier JS2 R, Steven Palette and Lukas Papin took the win in the #18 of VSF Sports, while Simone Riccitelli and LR Motorsport clinched the 2025 category title.
Ligier JS P4: ANS Motorsport triumphs and clinches the 2025 title.
Right from the start, the battle for the lead among the 13 Ligier JS P4s was on, with Pietro Ferri, in the #3 LR Motorsport, jumping into the lead. The first safety car period came after ten minutes, following the retirement of ASM Motorsport’s #44.
At the restart, Iko Segret (#6 ANS Motorsport) attacked for second place, before a second neutralization was necessary to evacuate the #17 Petrogold JS2 R, which had come to a halt on the track. When the race resumed, Pietro Ferri retained the lead in LR Motorsport’s #3, whilst Lucas Medina (#1 Team Virage) overtook Romain Boeckler (#22 Loire Valley Racing) for third place.
After the mandatory pit stops, Michael Bulzacchelli took over in #3, but made a mistake on his out lap, losing valuable places. Maxwell Dodds, now aboard the #6 from ANS Motorsport, seized the opportunity to take the lead.
A few minutes later, there was a dramatic turn of events when the championship leader, Romain Boeckler in Loire Valley Racing’s #22, retired with a mechanical problem. Behind him, Hamda Al Qubaisi in the #88 from Team Virage made a superb comeback to move into second place.
At the end of the hour-long race, Dodds and Segret took the spoils, clinching victory and the 2025 Ligier European Series championship title with the #6 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS P4.
The Al Qubaisi sisters (#88 Team Virage) initially finished second, followed by their teammates Vic Stevens and Jude Peters (#27). However, a post-race penalty for not complying with the minimum pit stop time demoted the #88 car, handing second place to the #27 car, ahead of Team Virage’s #1 driven by Sebastien Kawpeng and Lucas Medina.
In the overall championship standings, Romain Boeckler, with the #22 Loire Valley Racing Ligier JS P4 operated by Trajectus Motorsport, finishes the season as runner-up, ahead of the Team Virage duo Vic Stevens and Jude Peters, who complete the top three with the #27 Ligier JS P4.
In AM, David Caussanel and Yuki Tanaka won and also clinched the class title with the #16 of Pegasus Racing.
Maxwell Dodds, ANS Motorsport, Ligier JS P4 #6, Winner of Race 2:
“I think it was, in my mind, I knew I had one job, I wanted to win the race. We didn’t know what was happening with the championship at that time. So I thought I’m just gonna try to enjoy myself one last time in the car and see what happens. I just tried to put qualifying laps in and luckily we came out on top. I’m really happy with how it all worked out, of course. It’s been, like Iko said, very difficult the last couple rounds, we’ve been really unlucky with some things. To come ahead on top it’s amazing, the whole team deserved it. We’ve all worked so hard to be in this position. I’m just really happy and excited to celebrate as well.”
Iko Segret, ANS Motorsport, Ligier JS P4 #6, Winner of Race 2:
“It was an intense start of the race. The numerous safety cars made it even more intense. My job was to limit damage and try to stay at the front, not too far away from Romain [Boeckler] and to give Max a good opportunity to finish the race. It feels reealy good to end the season on a high, finally. It was really a rollercoaster of a season. I think Max would agree. I’m really grateful to the whole team.”
Ligier JS2 R: Two for VSF Sports on the day, LR Motorsport and Simone Riccitelli champions
The JS2 R category put on a spectacular show in the final race of the season. Starting from pole position in the #18 from VSF Sports, Steven Palette got caught out following a collision and fell back to the rear of the field. August Therbo, in 23Events Racing’s #57, was leading ahead of the first safety car period.
When the race resumed, Steven Palette began a spectacular comeback, quickly returning to the top three. Contact between the #41 of VSF Sports and the #17 from Petrogold caused a second safety car period. At the restart, Steven Palette put the #18 back in the lead, ahead of Simone Riccitelli in LR Motorsport’s #7 and August Therbo in 23Events Racing’s #57. But the Dane then experienced mechanical trouble of his own and had to return to the pits. After repairs, he rejoined the race at the tail end of the field and began a remarkable comeback.
At the restart, Lukas Papin took over in the #18 and quickly pulled away, cruising to victory.
Steven Palette and Lukas Papin in the #18 VSF Sports Ligier JS2 R won the season finale, with Simone Riccitelli and LR Motorsport (#7) finishing second, a result that secured them the 2025 JS2 R category title. August Therbo, in 23Events Racing’s #57, completed the podium before receiving a post-race penalty for failing to comply with the minimum pit stop time. The #14 Not Only Motor Sport Ligier JS2 R inherited third place, a remarkable result for the Italian team, which scored a double podium finish on its Ligier European Series debut after finishing second in Race 1.
In the overall championship, Lukas Papin takes second place with the #18 VSF Sports Ligier JS2 R, while August Therbo and 23Events Racing round out the top three with the #57 Ligier JS2 R.
In PRO-AM, Noé Da Cunha and Jérémy Loisel were victorious in the #50 from Les Deux Arbres, whilst Florian Teillais and Tristan Clay took the AM victory behind the wheel of the #41 of VSF Sports.
VSF Sports and the duo of Florian Teillais and Tristan Clay are the 2025 AM champions, while Pegasus Racing took the PRO-AM title thanks to the father-son duo of Alain and Jordan Meyer in the #94 Ligier JS2 R.
Lukas Papin, VSF Sports, Ligier JS2 R #18, Winner of Race 2 in JS2 R:
“It feels good to end the season on a high note. My race 2 stint was quite easy. Steven had done a great job. I didn’t even have to push that hard. I’m really happy to claim the last win of the season and to finish second in the championship.”
Steven Palette, VSF Sports, Ligier JS2 R #18, Winner of Race 2 in JS2 R:
“I always tell my drivers to do what they can during the race start. I was late at the beginning so I dropped to last. I knew that we had no other solutions than winning. I went in mode “full attack” and came back quickly to the front. I was helped also by two safety cars to close the gaps. I was back in P1 and handed the car to Lukas who did an amazing job and we won.”
The 2025 season drew to a close with a weekend full of suspense and excitement.
The Ligier European Series competitors can now enjoy a well-deserved winter break before returning to action in April 2026 in Barcelona for the first heat of the new season.
CLICK HERE for the results of Race 2 and HERE for the championship classification.
CLICK HERE to watch the winner’s Ligier JS P4 press conference.
CLICK HERE to watch the winners’ Ligier JS2 R press conference.
Photo credit: DPPI
