The second half of the 2026 Ligier European Series season will get underway at Spa-Francorchamps from August 21 to 23, following a well-deserved summer break for the teams and drivers.
The legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, renowned for its demanding nature, will host the fourth Heat of the season, with 29 Ligier JS P4s and JS2 Rs set to compete. With six races still remaining on the calendar, the title fight is heating up, and this fourth round promises plenty of close battles on track in both categories.
Ligier JS P4: Dead Heat at the Top of the Championship
The JS P4 category is more competitive than ever, with the top two teams tied on 84 points collected since the start of the season. ANS Motorsport’s #6, driven by Ethan Pharamond and Mika Abraham, currently leads the standings and will arrive at Spa full of confidence after its victory at Le Mans last June.
But Simone Riccitelli and Pietro Ferri, at the wheel of #7 LR Motorsport JS P4, will be equally determined, with one clear objective: leave Belgium at the top of the championship by scoring as many points as possible.
In third place, Team Virage remains firmly in contention with 79 points for the #14 JS P4. Alex Gardner and Simon Schranz will be highly motivated to claim their second victory of the season after winning in Barcelona.
In the PRO-AM standings, Bretton Racing once again enters the #69 for Marius Kristiansen and Dominique Bastien. The Czech team has already scored 50 points this season. In the AM standings, Jeremy Loisel leads the way in #50 Les Deux Arbres with 50 points following two victories, in Race 1 at Barcelona and at Le Mans.
Swedish team Allay Racing, which made its championship debut at the Le Mans Heat, returns with the #48 entered for Swedish brothers Emil and Linus. It will be a first for Linus, as only Emil raced at Le Mans. The brothers will also make their Michelin Le Mans Cup debuts that same weekend in the #48 Ligier JS P325 in Pro/Am.
Another return to watch at Spa is that of Spain’s Marta García Lopez, who will rejoin the Ligier European Series with Petrogold at the wheel of the #33 Ligier JS P4 alongside Scott Marsh. Champion of the inaugural F1 Academy season in 2023, García Lopez will make her Ligier JS P4 debut on this occasion. She first competed in the series at Spa in 2024 with Iron Dames by M Racing, driving a Ligier JS2 R in what was also her first-ever GT race. It proved to be a successful debut, as she claimed victory in Race 2 of the Spa Heat. She later returned to the series for the 2024 season finale at Portimão, once again at the wheel of an Iron Dames by M Racing Ligier JS2 R.
With 16 cars entered, the JS P4 category promises a high-level battle to determine who will leave Belgium at the top of the championship standings.
Ligier JS2 R: Can VSF Sports Maintain Its Dominance?
Thirteen Ligier JS2 Rs will battle it out on the famous Ardennes roller coaster, led by VSF Sports’ #41, which has already scored 80 championship points thanks to two victories, in Race 2 at Barcelona and Race 1 at Le Castellet. Daniel Dallakyan and Antonin Bernard will therefore have one clear objective: hold on to the championship lead at all costs.
With 62 points, #81 LR Motorsport, driven by Simone Bianco, sits second in the provisional standings. The Italian will be eager to claim his second win following his victory at Le Castellet in May, during his first season in the series.
Just behind, #18 VSF Sports Ligier JS2 R is only two points shy of second place and 20 points off the championship lead. Everything remains possible for Maxime Aparicio and Anthony Ghibaudo, who also lead the PRO-AM standings with 100 points and four class victories to their name: Race 1 at Barcelona, both races at Le Castellet, and Le Mans.
Pegasus Racing will field three JS2 Rs for this round. Alongside the #29 of Jordan Meyer and Kasparas Vingilis, entered since the start of the season, the #94 will be driven by Alain Meyer, 2025 Gentleman of the Year, and Julien Schell, 2024 JS2 R champion. The #28 will be driven by Christophe Weber, who previously raced at Le Mans.
The Spa-Francorchamps Heat once again promises two action-packed races, with drivers needing to keep a cool head on this circuit that is as legendary as it is technical.
Track action will begin on Friday, August 21, with two free practice sessions, the first from 9:00 to 9:40 a.m. and the second from 1:20 to 2:00 p.m. On Saturday, August 22, the teams will take part in two 15-minute qualifying sessions at 10:40 and 11:00 a.m., before Race 1 gets underway at 2:10 p.m.
Race 2 of the Spa-Francorchamps Heat will take place ahead of the European Le Mans Series race on Sunday, August 23, from 9:07 to 10:07 a.m.
Both races will be broadcast live on the series’ YouTube channel and covered across its social media platforms.
To view the full entry list CLICK HERE, and CLICK HERE for the weekend schedule.
Photo credit: DPPI
