Belén García claims podium on Ultimate Cup return at Paul Ricard
- RACERS
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
"I need to thank the team for their support, because of that I enjoy racing again." - Belén García made a brilliant return to racing after seven months, delivering a stellar double stint and securing a podium finish at the Endurance Prototype Cup season opener in Le Castellet.
Belén García returned to racing after seven months and climbed back onto the podium with a remarkable third-place finish at the Ultimate Cup Endurance Prototype Cup season opener in Le Castellet, where she also contended for the overall win.
García transitioned to sports cars at the end of 2022 and contested her first full season in LMP3 machinery in 2023; she has raced in the Asian Le Mans Series, Prototype Cup Germany, and European Le Mans Series—where she secured a podium last year. The 25-year-old Spaniard then withdrew from her team due to persistent issues with her driving position, which had become a safety concern.
With a late deal, Belén joined ANS Motorsport for the 2025 Ultimate Cup season, sharing the #71 NP02 prototype with Adrien Chila and Paul Trojani. This marked her return to racing, as well as at Circuit Paul Ricard—the track where she secured her first endurance racing victory in a one-off appearance at the 2022 season finale. The Le Castellet track, which both opens and closes the Ultimate Cup season, has been a stronghold for García, as she also claimed her first W Series podium there in 2022 and an ELMS podium in 2024.
The ANS Motorsport trio showed strong pace from the start of the weekend, consistently running at the front of the 29-car field during testing and practice, finishing second fastest on Thursday.
In Friday's three-part qualifying, García took the wheel for Q1 and topped the session with a 1:57.533 lap, three-tenths quicker than the closest competitor, the #8 Graff Racing car of Chou. Bronze-rated Adrien Chila was tenth fastest in Q2 with a 1:59.377, while silver-rated Paul Trojani placed seventh in Q3 with a 1:57.619. Their combined average lap time of 1:58.176 secured third place on the grid for the four-hour race.
"It felt quite good since the beginning, even though the times weren’t the best, Belén commented. "We kept working and it showed in quali. I was on pole in my group by three tenths and I am really happy about the time because I would have been quite ok in position in Q3 even with 70L more fuel. My teammates also did a very good job and started P3 the race"
The race started at sunset on Saturday, with most teams opting to put their bronze-rated drivers in for the first stint. Chila took the start in the #71 NP02 prototype, launching off the line brilliantly to take the lead into Turn 1. However, both pole-sitter Chou and Erwin Creed fought back, reclaiming their positions over the first lap. The #71 was still extremely quick, with the top five running similar lap times and separated by just a few seconds in the early stages.
Chila was consistently lapping under the 2:02 mark and closed in on Chou. Both drivers also reeled in Creed and overtook the #154 NP02 prototype, putting Chila in second by lap five. As the night settled in, Chou built a small gap of just over four seconds, but Chila maintained a healthy margin over Creed and the cars behind.
Over the next few laps, Chila’s times dropped below the two-minute mark, making him one of the fastest on track. By lap 20, he had closed the gap to Chou to under a second.
On lap 28, Chou pitted, temporarily handing Chila the race lead. Chila then pitted, bringing the #71 NP02 in for its first scheduled stop. He rejoined in 14th place but quickly worked his way back up to sixth as pit stop cycles unfolded.
When the final drivers in the first stint were about to pit, the race saw its first Full Course Yellow when the #31 car came to a halt. This cycled Chila back into second, with Maxence Maurice emerging as the new leader due to pit stop handicaps, around 30 seconds ahead.
Chila maintained a consistent 2:03 pace and kept the gap stable. However, he came under pressure from Loris Kyburz in the #8 car, who eventually passed him for second. On lap 45, Chila pitted for the second time, handing the car over to Belén García for her first stint of the season. A slow pit stop however cost the team valuable time.
Nevertheless, García immediately showed strong pace, lapping in the 2:02s—matching the times of the top three as the race approached the halfway mark. She soon dropped into the 2:01s, proving to be one of the fastest and most consistent drivers on track. By lap 56, she had climbed back into the top 10.
When the #27 car of Christophe Cresp suffered an issue with smoke coming from the car, he was pushed back into the garage. García picked up another position and continued her charge.
On lap 59, she pitted from sixth place for the team’s third scheduled stop but stayed in the car.
Rejoining in 15th, she quickly settled back into the 2:01s, setting the second-fastest lap on track by lap 63. A lap later, she set a personal best of 2:00.475—briefly the fastest lap of the race.
More sub-2:01 laps followed as García continued her push. On lap 74, she improved her personal best again, nearly breaking into the 1:59s. By this point, she had climbed into eighth overall, delivering a standout stint as the race entered its final hour.
Pitting from sixth on lap 79, García completed a remarkable double stint before handing over to Paul Trojani for the final hour. Despite a five-second penalty for track limits, the team remained in contention for a strong result.
Trojani was immediately fast, running in P12 before cycling back up to sixth as others pitted. The #8 car of Cougnaud hit trouble and dropped down the order, further improving ANS Motorsport’s position.
With 30 seconds to close to catch the #9 car of David Droux, Trojani pushed hard, breaking into the top five as Caillon pitted. He then set the team’s fastest lap—1:59.766—before improving again with a 1:59.661.
With 15 minutes to go, the gap to Droux was down to 24 seconds, with Trojani gaining around two seconds per lap. A late twist saw third-placed Marlon Hernandez receive a drive-through penalty for a pit infringement. With five minutes remaining, further drama unfolded as James Winslow—who had been running second—suddenly slowed and dropped down the order.
Trojani seized the opportunity, moving up to fourth on lap 107. Hernandez rejoined just five seconds ahead of the #71 car. In the final laps, Trojani delivered a last push, setting a new team-best time of 1:59.472.
Mathias Beche ultimately took victory for the #20 DB Autosport team, while Trojani crossed the finish line in fourth place. However, a post-race penalty promoted ANS Motorsport to third, securing a well-earned podium after an outstanding performance from all three drivers.
"The first stint was mega from Adrien who put it on P2 but unfortunately we had an issue in the pitstop where we lost about one minute and a half", García summarized. "I went out on my stint and while I suffered on old tyres the pace after the stop was good."
"I was able to come back from P18 to P8 and Paul finished the job. I am really happy about the race but it was bittersweet as we know we could have won. But everyone makes mistakes and everyone has ifs so we will work not to make them!"
Seven months after her last ELMS appearance, Belén García proved her place on the racetrack and played a crucial role in the result at Le Castellet. With this strong lineup, ANS Motorsport can now set its sights on race wins.
"Last year was quite traumatic for me and that’s why I am so happy of being back on pace", she concluded. "I need to thank the team for their support, because of that I enjoy racing again."
The next round will take place at Mugello, Italy, on April 25-27.
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