Overcast skies greeted the 26 entrants in the 2025 Ligier European Series this morning for the first race of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
After a one-hour race in which the battle was fierce right up to the chequered flag, ANS Motorsport, with the #6 JS P4 of Iko Segret and Maxwell Dodds, won the first race of the 2025 season. VSF Sports, on its debut in the Ligier European Series, scored a one-two with the JS2 R #18 driven by Lukas Papin and Enzo Caldaras and the #41 driven by Florian Teillais and Tristan Clay.
JS P4: Maiden victory for the ANS Motorsport #6
At the start, poleman Iko Segret, driver of the #6 from ANS Motorsport, maintained the lead. Romain Boeckler was hot on his heels in the #22 of Loire Valley Racing. From the opening lap, the two drivers pulled away from the rest of the field, with Boeckler taking the lead on lap two. In Team Virage’s #27, Vic Stevens was third but soon suffered a mechanical issue and had to pit. He did not rejoin, allowing Vincent Bouteiller to move up to third in Trajectus Motorsport’s #19.
At the mid-way point of the race, the #84 JS2 R of Trajectus Motorsport went off the track following contact with the #33 of 360 Competition. The Safety Car intervened to allow the car to be cleared from the circuit. Meanwhile, the pit stop window opened, and the competitors stopped to refuel and change drivers, which is always a crucially strategic moment for the teams.
At the restart, Dario Cabanelas, behind the wheel of Team Virage’s #1, battled with Romain Boeckler to get back on the lead lap. The #22 of Loire Valley Racing stayed in the lead and set the fastest lap of the race in 1m45.396s. In the #19 of Trajectus Motorsport, Mathis Poulet followed Boeckler after he seized the opportunity to overtake Maxwell Dodds in the #6 of ANS for second place.
Several laps later, the JS2 R #50 of Les Deux Arbres went off the track, triggering the second Safety Car period. When racing resumed, Maxwell Dodds in the #6 JS P4 overtook Mathis Poulet for second place. Romain Boeckler manages to stay ahead.
The Safety Car was deployed for a third time to secure the #74 Loire Valley Racing JS2 R, which had left the track, and the stopped #17 Chefo Sport JS2 R. The race resumed with less than a minute on the clock. Mathis Poulet went on the attack on the final lap for the win. He came up a few seconds short. Romain Boeckler and Loire Valley Racing were the first to take the chequered flag. Still, they received two penalties: a one-second Stop & Go for an infraction during his pit stop, then 5 seconds added to his race time for an incident at turn 1 with Dario Cabanelas, driver of Team Virage’s #1.
ANS Motorsport’s #6, driven by Maxwell Dodds and Iko Segret, won the first race of the season. Trajectus Motorsport’s #19 crossed the chequered flag in second place but received a drive-through penalty for failing to respect track limits, allowing Gregorio Bertocco and Matteo Pianezzola to take second place on their JS P4 debut. ASM Motorsport’s #12 (Luis Perez Cabello / Ruben Hage) completed the podium.
Kristian Brookes and Christopher Preen in the #33 360 Competition JS P4 took top honours in the PRO-AM category, as did Jacques Nicolet in the #58 from HP Racing by MRacing in the AM class.
Iko Segret, ANS Motorsport, Ligier JS P4 #6, winner of race 1:
“Firstly thanks to the team because we worked really hard all over the winter and all the testing we did. Thanks to Maxwell, he is a great teammate. So the first race went quite well. We lost the lead at the start but we managed to stay consistent and to win the race. We couldn’t get a better result than that.”
Maxwell Dodds, ANS Motorsport, Ligier JS P4 #6, winner of race 1:
“It was quite a difficult race. Iko put me in quite a good position to start with. We were in the front battle which for my first race, big expectations. So I thought I’m just gonna try to enjoy myself out there and do the best that I can. I guess I just managed to get the better of my competitors and in this race I came out on top. I’m really happy with the results. Hopefully we can continue to do this later on in the season.”
JS2 R: One-two finish for VSF Sports
Poleman Simone Riccitelli, at the controls of the #7 of LR Motorsport, retained the lead, followed by Lukas Papin in the #18 from VSF Sports and Noé Da Cunha in the #50 of Les Deux Arbres.
The first safety car period occurred just minutes before the opening of the mandatory pit stop window, triggering a domino effect in the JS2 R standings. The #50, then driven by Antoine Lepesqueux, rejoined in the lead, followed by the #18 with Enzo Caldaras at the wheel and the #7 driven by Simone Riccitelli. Only four JS2 R cars remained on the lead lap. The others, caught out in the safety car traffic, dropped a lap down and saw their chances of victory slip away.
Simone Riccitelli at the wheel of the #7 LR Motorsport made contact with the #50 Les Deux Arbres, driven by Antoine Lepesqueux. The #50 ran off the track, triggering the second Safety Car period.
At the restart, LR Motorsport’s #7 car was back in the lead but had his mirrors full of Enzo Caldras, who quickly retook the lead. Florian Teillais was close behind in the #41 of VSF Sports.
After the third neutralisation, the battle between the #18 of VSF Sports and the #7 of LR Motorsport was back on the boil. Enzo Caldaras drove an impeccable final lap to fend off the assaults of Simone Riccitelli to offer VSF Sports and Lukas Papin their first-ever victory in the Ligier European Series. Simone Riccitelli and the #7 LR Motorsport car crossed the finish line in second position. However, they received a drive-through penalty converted into a time sanction, relegating the Italian team to third place. This penalty allowed the second VSF Sports car, the #41, and drivers Florian Teillais and Tristan Clay to finish second. The duo also won the AM class.
In the PRO-AM class, Jordan and Alain Meyer clinched their first victory with Pegasus Racing’s #94.
Lukas Papin, VSF Sports, Ligier JS2 R #18, winner of Race 1 in JS2 R:
“I was surprised by the car. It’s really fun, you really enjoy yourself behind the wheel. The fact that there’s no traction control or ABS is a big change from what I’ve experienced before. But it’s actually much more rewarding for the driver. I’m happy to see that the level in the championship is high, and that I’m able to rise to the challenge.”
Enzo Caldaras, VSF Sports, Ligier JS2 R #18, winner of Race 1 in JS2 R:
“I come from the FFSA, from F4. It’s a really good school. So this was my first GT race, with the Ligier. I did some testing here, but only a few laps. I was a bit lost at the beginning, but it went really well. First race, first win. I’m super happy and thanks to the whole team.”
The one-hour Race 2 will start this afternoon at 1.55 pm and will be streamed live on the Ligier European Series YouTube channel.
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CLICK HERE to follow the live stream of Race 2
Photo credit: DPPI
