Barcelona Heat, Race 1: Trajectus Motorsport and 23Events Racing claim the opening wins of the season.

Starting from pole position, Vincent Bouteiller and Tomas Pompidou took victory in the Ligier JS P4 #19 entered by Trajectus Motorsport. In the JS2 R category, poleman Marcus Terkildsen delivered an incredible finish to secure the first win aboard the Ligier JS2 R #88 of 23Events Racing.

The opening race of the 2026 season took place in excellent conditions at Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya. Although four successive safety car interventions disrupted the first half of the race, the drivers put on a superb show all the way to the chequered flag in both the JS P4 and JS2 R categories.

Ligier JS P4: Bouteiller and Pompidou secured their first Ligier European Series victory

Poleman Vincent Bouteiller made a strong start in the Ligier JS P4 #19 (Trajectus Motorsport), ahead of August Therbo (#57, M Racing) and Brandon McCaughan (#1, Team Virage). His Trajectus Motorsport team-mate Gabriel Doyle-Parfait was forced to stop the Ligier JS P4 #20 at the end of the pit straight, bringing out the safety car.

At the restart, Bouteiller held onto the lead and extended the gap, setting the fastest lap of the race (1:45.733), while Marius Kristiansen (#99, Team Virage) gained two places into the top five.

The safety car was deployed again to recover the Ligier JS P4 #9 of ANS Motorsport, stranded in the gravel at Turn 1. Shortly after the restart, Australia’s Alex Gardner lost control of the Ligier JS P4 #14 on the pit straight and hit the tyre barrier, triggering a third safety car period.

Racing resumed with Brandon McCaughan moving up to second behind Bouteiller. Further back, Mika Abrahamas spun at Turn 4, leaving his Ligier JS P4 #6 stranded on track – a setback for ANS Motorsport, winners here in 2025. The safety car was deployed once more.

At the next restart, McCaughan surprised Bouteiller to take the lead in the Ligier JS P4 #1 of Team Virage, just before the pit window opened (mandatory stop: 105 seconds for two-driver crews, 110 seconds for solo entries). Now driven by Sebastien Kawpeng, the #1 retained the lead ahead of the #19, now in the hands of Tomas Pompidou, and the #7 of LR Motorsport, with Simone Riccitelli taking over from Pietro Ferri. However, the Italian crew received a drive-through penalty for causing a collision and dropped down the order.

The race intensified in the final 15 minutes. Pompidou overtook Kawpeng on lap 23, while the latter was handed a stop-and-go penalty for an infringement during the mandatory pit stop. At the wheel of the #19, the reigning Ligier JS Cup France Junior champion set the fastest lap of the race (1:45.585) and took victory in the opening race of the season.

Second place went to the #12 of ASM Motorsport, shared by Sacha Van’t Pad Bosch and Luis Carlos Perez Cabello, ahead of the #99 of Team Virage, driven by Marius Kristiansen and Arnaud Malizia.

Long running second, the Ligier JS P4 #57 of M Racing (August Therbo / Cindy Gudet) eventually finished just outside the top 10 but claimed victory in the PRO-AM category. The AM class win went to the Ligier JS P4 #50 of Les Deux Arbres, driven by Jérémy Loisel.

Ligier JS P4 podium overall: #19 Trajectus Motorsport (Tomas Pompidou / Vincent Bouteiller) (winner), #12 ASM Motorsport (Luis C. P. Cabello / Sacha Van’t Pad Bosh) (second), #99 Team Virage (Marius Kristiansens / Arnaud Malizia) (third)

Ligier JS2 R: Marcus Terkildsen took a commanding victory.

After dominating free practice and qualifying, and breaking the circuit record multiple times the day before, 16-year-old Danish driver Marcus Terkildsen made no mistake and led into Turn 1 in the #88 23Events Racing Ligier JS2 R, winners here in 2025.

Despite the multiple interruptions, he extended his lead and set a new fastest lap of the race (1:51.157) before the pit stops began.

Terkildsen rejoined in fourth place, behind new leader Charles Lambert (#83, Trajectus Motorsport) and VSF Sports drivers Daniel Dallakyan (#41) and Anthony Ghibaudo (#18). With less than five minutes remaining, the Dane launched a stunning comeback, overtaking all three rivals to take victory by 2.887 seconds over Lambert.

Behind them, Anthony Ghibaudo passed Daniel Dallakyan to secure third place overall in JS2 R and the PRO-AM victory for himself, his team-mate Maxime Aparicio, and VSF Sports.

The two Ligier JS2 R cars of LR Motorsport finished fifth and sixth in class, with Simone Bianco (#81) and the duo Noah Rosser / Andrea Frizza (#3). Father-and-son pairing the Taberys took seventh overall and second in PRO-AM, while Alain Meyer and David Caussanel claimed AM class victory in the Ligier JS2 R #94 of Pegasus Racing.

Ligier JS2 R overall podium: #23 Events Racing (Marcus Terkildsen) (winner), #83 Trajectus Motorsport (Charles Lambert) (second), #18 VSF Sports (Maxime Aparicio / Anthony Ghibaudo) (third)

CLICK HERE for the results of Race 1 and HERE for the championship classification.

Photo credit: DPPI