The two Spa Heat qualifying sessions to determine the starting grids for the two races took place on Saturday morning, 23 August. The 24 competitors took to the famous Belgian Ardennes circuit in wet conditions.
Session one was shortened by a few minutes due to a red flag stoppage. Romain Boeckler in the #22 Loire Valley Racing Ligier JS P4, operated by Trajectus Motorsport, secured the pole position. Simone Riccitelli, driving the #7 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R, claimed the category pole position.
Session 2 was halted in the opening minutes by a red flag stoppage after the #1 Team Virage Ligier JS P4 went off track, and did not resume. The starting grid for Race 2 will be determined based on each car’s best lap time from Free Practice 2, taking into account the results of both Free Practice 1 and 2.
Ligier JS P4: Loire Valley Racing and Romain Boeckler on pole for Race 1
The opening qualifying session featured a thrilling battle between Romain Boeckler in the Loire Valley Racing #22 Ligier JS P4, Mathis Poulet in the #19 Trajectus Motorsport Ligier JS P4 and Iko Segret in the #6 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS P4. With two minutes remaining, the red flag was shown after the Petrogold #17 Ligier JS2 R went off the track, bringing the session to an end. Romain Boeckler’s lap of 2m24.929s secured the pole position for Race 1. Mathis Poulet was second in 2m26.929s, followed by Iko Segret in 2m27.792s.
The second qualifying session was aborted on the first lap after an incident for the Team Virage #1 Ligier JS P4. By the time marshals removed the car and the extensive damage was repaired, it was too late to resume the session. As no competitor was able to complete a lap, the starting grid for Race 2 will be determined based on each car’s best lap time from Free Practice 2, taking into account the results of both Free Practice 1 and 2. As a result, Romain Boeckler, at the wheel of the #22 Loire Valley Racing Ligier JS P4, will start from pole position in Race 2.
In the PRO-AM category, the #29 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS P4, driven by Christophe Weber, will start at the front of the grid for Race 1 and the Race 2, whilst Jacques Nicolet, behind the wheel of the #58 from HP Racing by MRacing Ligier JS P4, is on pole position in the AM class. For Race 2, it will be the #16 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS P4 starting from pole position.
Romain Boeckler, Loire Valley Racing, Ligier JS P4 #22, pole position, race 1:
“I was a bit surprised by the weather conditions. We thought it would be dry and wanted to carry on from yesterday [fastest times in both free practice sessions]. I was a little caught off guard at the last minute when I saw rain on the windshield. Still, it was a good first session. I managed to get my tires up to temperature and create a small gap with the rest of the field, which really helped me secure a strong lap time. I’m very happy with the pole in Q1.”
Ligier JS2 R: LR Motorsport and Simone Riccitelli on pole for Race 1
The JS2 R category produced a closely fought first qualifying session. With a lap of 2m33.717s, Simone Riccitelli took pole position in the #7 LR Motorsport Ligier JS2 R. He was followed by Noé Da Cunha in the #50 Les Deux Arbres Ligier JS2R in 2m35.880s. Cindy Gudet will start from the second row in the #68 MRacing Ligier JS2 R thanks to a lap time of 2m35.944s.
The Petrogold #17 Ligier JS2 R driven by Miguel Angel Romero had set the second fastest time of the session in 2m34.264s. However, due to his off-track excursion that caused a red flag stoppage, the Spanish driver had his laps deleted (decision no. 27). With the second qualifying session unable to take place, the starting grid for Race 2 will be determined based on each car’s best lap time from Free Practice 2, taking into account the results of both Free Practice 1 and 2. As a result, the #18 VSF Sports Ligier JS2 R will start from pole position.
In the PRO-AM category, the #94 Pegasus Racing Ligier JS2 R, driven by Jordan and Alain Meyer, will start from pole position in races 1 and 2. Tristan Clay, in the #41 VSF Sports Ligier JS2 R, secured pole position for race 1 in the AM category.
Simone Riccitelli, LR Motorsport, Ligier JS2 R #7, pole position, race 1:
“Typical Spa-Francorchamps weather! It started raining just a few minutes before qualifying. We knew we had to set a lap time right away. But I wanted to be careful because we’re in a championship fight and we couldn’t afford to take any risks. I took my time and on the last lap I managed to put everything together. It was a good lap. I’m very happy.”
The one-hour Race 1 starts at 2:10 pm. The second one-hour race from the Spa Heat starts at 9:05 in the morning on Sunday, 24 August. Both races will be streamed live on the series’ YouTube channel and social media sites.
CLICK HERE for the complete qualifying 1 results
Photo Credit : DPPI
