The second race of the Mugello Heat took place in the afternoon under sunny Italian skies, and the 20-car field again produced fantastic on-track battles.
The #66 Team Virage JS P4, driven by Colombians Pedro Moreno and Jeronimo Berrio, were the victors of the one-hour race. In the JS2 R category, Pegasus Racing’s # 29 and its crew of Julien Schell and David Caussanel made the winning move on the final lap of a hard-fought encounter.
JS P4: 1-2 for Team Virage
The start of the afternoon race of the Mugello Heat was more dramatic than the start of the morning race. No later than the first corner, the #71 of Monza Garage, with Chun-Ting Chou at the commands, spun following contact with the #6 car of Iko Segret (ANS Motorsport), which led to a Safety Car period. At the sharp end of the order, Theo Micouris, in the #1 Team Virage Ligier JS P4, took the lead ahead of Ian Aguilera (RLR M Sport #77) and his teammate Pedro Moreno (Team Virage #66).
At the restart, Iko Segret’s #6 JS P4 showed signs of bodywork damage and had to make a pitstop for repairs. It dropped several places in the classification as a result. At the head of the race, Ben Caisley, in the #4 Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P4, made his way up to third place but was soon overtaken by Pedro Moreno (Team Virage #66). Race leader Theo Micouris (Team Virage #1) and second-placed Ian Aguilera (RLR M Sport #77) pulled away from the rest of the field.
After the pitstops, Team Virage’s #1, now driven by Haydn Chance, came out with the lead, ahead of its #66 sister, with Jeronimo Berrio behind the wheel. Ian Aguilera, in RLR MSport’s #77, was third. With less than 20 minutes remaining before the chequered flag, Jeronimo Berrio took the lead and maintained a steady pace to extend his advantage to the finish line.
After an hour of racing, the #66 Team Virage JS P4, driven by Jeronimo Berrio and Pedro Moreno, took its second win of the season. The #1 of Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance finished runner-up, giving Team Virage a one-two finish. In the #77 of RLR MSport, Ian Aguilera finished on the podium’s third step.
This one-two finish for Team Virage sees the Polish team extend its lead in the team championship classification ahead of the season finale in Portimão in just over a fortnight.
Jacques Nicolet won the AM category in the #58 of M Racing.
In the provisional standings, Team Virage’s #1 Ligier JS P4 now has 164 points. RLR MSport’s #77 is second with 139 points, closely followed by ANS Motorsport’s #6 with 136 points.
Pedro Moreno, Team Virage, #66 JS P4, Winner, Race 2:
“It was a difficult start with a bit of chaos, with some contacts but we still managed to do a correct start. We then managed to get some positions and have a really good pace. We did a good job at the start of the race.”
Jeronimo Berrio, Team Virage, #66 JS P4, Winner, Race 2:
“It was amazing. Driving at Mugello is always really nice. It’s a really good track. It was really hot outside so in the car it was hot. It was hard but it was a very clean stint. I could overtake the leader and make a really big gap. Pedro did a good job during the first stint. I’m very happy that we could take our second victory of the season.”
JS2 R: Last lap victory for Pegasus Racing
Matteo Pianezzola (Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport #60), JS2 R category winner this morning, got off to a great start, taking the very early on. Cindy Gudet, who started from pole position in the #53 of M Racing, dropped back to second, followed by Clément Moreno in the #31 ANS Motorsport entry.
Following the Safety Car period, Matteo Pianezzola extended his lead in the #60 Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport JS2 R. Meanwhile, Noé Da Cuhna, in #50 of Les Deux Arbres, closed the gap on Cindy Gudet to take second place.
After the pitstops, Gregorio Bertocco, in the Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport #60, still led, followed by Clément Moreno’s #31 (ANS Motorsport) and Antoine Lepesqueux’s #50 (Les Deux Arbres). Behind the wheel of the #29 Pegasus Racing JS2 R, Julien Schell was not to be outdone and was neck and neck with Antoine Lepesqueux (Les Deux Arbres #50) for third place.
With less than ten minutes to go, the #60 Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport, driven by Gregorio Bertocco, suffered a crushing blow when it received a stop-and-go penalty for failing to comply with the pit-stop procedure. Despite the healthy lead the Italian team built, it was not enough to prevent Gregorio Bertocco from dropping to fifth place.
Clément Moreno, in ANS Motorsport’s #31, took advantage of the situation to take the lead but had to resist the hard-charging Julien Schell in Pegasus Racing’s #29. The two drivers engaged in a fierce battle, and victory also meant important points in the title race.
On the final lap, the two JS2 Rs made contact, and the #31 of Clément Moreno (ANS Motorsport) was damaged. It dropped back to sixth place.
Julien Schell and David Caussanel, in the #29 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS2 R, took their second win of the season* by the skin of their teeth and topped the PRO/AM category. Noé Da Cuhna and Antoine Lepesqueux, in the #50 of Les Deux Arbres, finished second, followed by the #60 from Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport, driven by Matteo Pianezzola and Gregorio Bertocco, who made a fine recovery after his penalty.
Gwenaël Delomier and Louis Stern in the#18 of Pegasus Racing finished first in the AM category.
Pegasus Racing’s #29 Ligier JS2 R now leads the provisional standings with 166 points. ANS Motorsport’s #31 is second with 139 points, followed closely by Pegasus Racing’s #18 with 130 points.
Julien Schell, Pegasus Racing, #29 Ligier JS2 R, JS2 R Winner, Race 2:
“The second half of the race was difficult. I started my stint 11 seconds behind Clément Moreno [ANS Motorsport #31], with Iron Lynx even further ahead. The idea was to catch them. We worked our way up, being careful with the tyres. Late in the race, we were in a group with Clément Moreno and Antoine Lepesqueux [Les Deux Arbres #50]. It was challenging to manage my advantage over Antoine Lepesqueux and, at the same time, close the gap on Clément Moreno. The penultimate lap was a bit tricky. He was hard to overtake. I caught him, and we made contact at the inside of the corner. I’m delighted that David and I scored a victory together. We’ve been teammates for a very long time. It’s nice to win at 45.”
David Caussanel, Pegasus Racing, #29 Ligier JS2 R, JS2 R Winner, Race 2:
“First of all, in race 2, we aimed to keep Clément Moreno at bay, given that we had gained points in race 1 and wanted to keep extending the gap. With this victory, we can look forward to the final races with more confidence, but we must remain cautious and humble.”
The sixth and final race weekend of the 2024 Ligier European Series season will occur at the Portimão circuit in Portugal from October 17-19. The races promise to be action-packed, with the championships of two categories up for grabs.
*They finished third in the Le Mans Heat, behind the #53 M Racing Ligier JS2 R and the LADC #61, which were entered for that race. As only cars entered for the season scored championship points, Pegasus Racing inherited the 25 points.
CLICK HERE for Race 2 results
For the provisional classification, CLICK HERE.
