The Ligier European Series, the first step on the endurance pyramid and a championship run in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) framework launches its fifth season in just a few days on 12 and 13 April at the Barcelona circuit. Teams and drivers from the four corners of the globe, from Taiwan to Colombia and Europe, will compete in six Heats this season, with the marquee race in June on the Le Mans 24 Hours circuit.
Eighteen cars will compete in the first Heat at the Catalan circuit, with eleven Ligier JS P4s and seven Ligier JS2 Rs. Other entries will join the series next month at Le Castellet. For the first time in Ligier European Series’ history, two women are entered for the complete season, Logan Hannah in a Ligier JS P4 and Cindy Gudet in a JS2 R. Demonstrating the series’ diversity, the drivers in the 2024 field range in age from 16 to 68, with the youngest being Colombian Pedro Moreno (Team Virage) and Portuguese André Vieira (ASM Motorsport) to the veteran Jacques Nicolet (Les Deux Arbres), a series regular.
Reigning champions Team Virage in the JS P4 category and ANS Motorsport in the JS2 R are back to challenge for the title. Who will be able to dethrone them? While waiting to find out, here are a few facts and figures about the season five entrants.
JS P4 category:
- Of the eleven entries, nine teams represent six nationalities.
- Only five teams will have a single driver: ANS Motorsport, Inter Europol Competition, Pegasus Racing, ASM Motorsport and RLR MSport.
- For the second season running, the 2022 and 2023 champion, Team Virage, is fielding three Ligier JS P4s. Theo Micouris and Haydn Chance will make their Ligier European Series debut in the #1 car, as will their teammates in the #66 car, Colombians Jeronimo Berrio and Pedro Moreno.
- Other teams will enter just a single car in their bid to win the championship.
- The Romanian Smart Driving team is entering car #3 for Alin Fulga and Australian co-driver Dylan Young, who, after a career in single-seaters, approached endurance racing last season with a few outings in the series.
- ANS Motorsport, the 2023 JS2 R champion, is fielding a Ligier JS P4 for the first time, with Iko Segret at the wheel. The 16-year-old French teenager will make his debut in the series.
- For its third consecutive season, Pegasus Racing enters a Ligier JS P4, entrusted to Japanese driver Yuki Tanaka in his second full-time season.
- The Spanish team ASM Motorsport will start the championship on home soil in this first Heat with its #44 Ligier JS P4, to be driven by Portugal’s André Vieira, another rookie this season.
- The Polish team Inter Europol Competition is back for a second season with the #7 Ligier JS P4 for Frenchman Romain Favre. Mitjet 2L France champion in 2022 and third in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup in 2023, the young man from Savoie is embarking on a new stage in his motorsport career.
- Nielsen Racing, a familiar name in the ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup paddock will make its Ligier European Series debut this season. Ben Caisley and Logan Hannah, one of the two women in the field, will drive the British team’s #4 JS P4.
- Two teams, ANS Motorsport and Pegasus Racing, will be racing under the French flag. Monza Garage will be the only JS P4 team to represent Italy.
- The #71 Monza Garage car will be driven by Taiwanese Chun-Ting Chou, who is being coached by his teammate James Winslow, polesitter of the 2023 Le Mans Heat.
- For its second season in JS P4, RLR MSport is entering a car for Ian Aguilera, who will race on his own for the first time throughout the season. In 2023, the young Mexican driver scored two podium finishes in the category and won a pole position. He will undoubtedly be among the drivers to watch.
- In addition to their JS P4 campaigns, Pegasus Racing and ANS Motorsport will also field Ligier JS2 Rs.
JS2 R category:
- Five teams are entering seven JS2 Rs for this first Heat of the 2024 season.
- In addition to its JS P4 programme, Pegasus Racing has entered two JS2 Rs this season. Louis Stern will drive the #18 in his maiden season in the series and his first year in competition. Team Principal and Team Manager Julien Schell will drive the #29 for the full campaign. At Heat 1 in Barcelona, he will team with David Caussanel, who is familiar with the series after competing in a few races in 2023.
- Reigning category champions, ANS Motorsport will challenge for the title again with the #31 JS2 R driven by series newcomer Clément Moreno.
- The French Les Deux Arbres team is one of two squads with a two-car entry in JS2 R. Antoine Lepesqueux, who ran some races in 2021, is back for the whole season in the #50 car. Jacques Nicolet, in his second entire season in JS2 R (his fourth in the championship), will be at the command of the #86.
- M Racing, the 2021 category champion and runner-up in 2022 returns this season with the #53 JS2 R. Cindy Gudet, six-time French mountain champion and FFSA ambassador, will make her debut in the series after trying her hand in the Andros Trophy this winter with the French team.
- Iron Lynx, a well-established endurance team with cars entered in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, European Le Mans Series and FIA WEC, is expanding its horizons this season in the Ligier European Series with a Ligier JS2 R under the Iron Lynx by LRMotorsport banner. It is the only team in the category with a two-driver line-up, with young Italians Gregorio Bertocco and Matteo Pianezzola also debuting in the series in the #60 entry.
The action in Barcelona will begin on Friday, 12 April, with two 40-minute free practice sessions at 9 am and 1:50 pm. The two 15-minute qualifying sessions will follow the same day at 5 and 5:35 pm. On Saturday, 13 April, race one will start at 9 am, followed by race two at 1 pm, each lasting 60 minutes.
Both races will be streamed live on the series’ YouTube and Facebook channels.
To view the complete entry list, CLICK HERE.
To view the Barcelona Heat programme, CLICK HERE.
