Cindy Gudet battles for the podium on Ligier European Series debut

From hillclimb to sportscars: Cindy Gudet's formative season in GT racing continued with a highly positive debut in the Ligier European Series, where the Frenchwoman battled for the podium in both races at Circuit de Catalunya.

Multiple French hillclimb champion Cindy Gudet has embarked on a new adventure in sportscar racing - and she's doing so on multiple programs, having joined the GT4 European Championship as well as the Ligier European Series.

On her GT4 debut, Gudet showed impressive speed and, alongside Matmut Évolution teammate Gabriela Jílková, she claimed a remarkable class podium in their first weekend in the one of the most competitive GT4 series in the world.

One week later, Gudet was behind the wheel of the Ligier JS2 R car, a GT machine specially designed for competitions. The series - which supports European Le Mans Series - is a competitive entry level championship towards sports car racing, which features a prototype and a GT category.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for me to draw on their experience and expertise to transition from hill climbing to circuit racing", commented Gudet as she announced her deal with M Racing team. "The Ligier European Series is an excellent introduction to endurance racing and a chance to learn how to drive on a circuit. It’s also a gateway to the higher categories of the endurance pyramid. My aim for this first season is to work hard and gain as much experience as possible.”

And Cindy soon proved to belong to the top end of the classification, as was second fastest in the opening practice session of the first round in Barcelona. Aboard her vivid purple #53 Ligier JS2 R, Gudet clocked a 1:51.748, one tenth away from the top of the timing sheets, then set the fourth time in the second practice on Friday afternoon.

Two practice sessions followed: Gudet battled for pole position in both sessions and was 0.086 short of a pole position at the end of Q1, just missing out on the top spot, which went to ANS Motorsport's Clement Moreno. In Q2, Gudet set the early pace and retained provisional pole for most of the session; while Moreno improved with a 1:50.633, Gudet grabbed pole position with a 1:50.421 lap. The session was unfortunately halted by a red flag brought out by Cindy herself - and this resulted in the cancellation of her best lap; her second-best 1:50.719 was nevertheless enough to place her second once again, in an equally impressive double front-row on series debut.

Race 1

The Ligier European Series was underway with a record three female drivers on the grid on Saturday morning, in a sunny morning at Circuit de Catalunya. Gudet's race, though, was off to a challenging start as she spun in the gravel on cold tyres on the formation lap. The race was therefore started behind the safety car, although Cindy's #53 Ligier was promptly recovered by the marshals and she would join the back of the grid for the restart.

The action got underway with 52 minutes to go and, with her strong pace, Gudet soon cleared the #18 JS2 R car of Louis Stern - but again dropped down on lap 4.

Iron Lynx's Matteo Pianezzola took the class lead, but most of the field remained very tight, separated by a handful of seconds.

There was drama in the JS2 R class when the race leader Pianezzola suddenly slowed down and parked his car with a technical issue, bringing out the safety car on lap 12 - and with the pit window approaching. Gudet pitted on lap 13 under caution and completed her mandatory stop; in a solo effort, she remained behind the wheel although the safety car timing had trapped her one lap behind. She was allowed the pass around and gained her lap back before the restart.

From P6 after the pit stop, she moved ahead of both Nicolet and Moreno, ready to chase a potential podium in the final stages of the race. A second safety car was deployed when Moreno went deep into turn one and spun in the gravel.

When the race resumed for the final 6 minutes, Gudet started to put pressure on Stern for third and tried to find a way past throughout the final lap; she eventually crossed the finish line just over a tenth of a second behind her rival, claiming a fourth place following a brilliant recovery drive.

race 2

Gudet had a second opportunity in race 2 later in the afternoon, where she would finally start from the front row. The Frenchwoman had a great start and held second, right behind the #50 Ligier of Da Cuhna who set the fastest lap and even overtook a JSP4 prototype. Gudet was not far behind and kept a safe margin to Caussanel in third.

Cindy's pace improved significantly and she clocked times under the 1:54, then almost reached the 1m52 benchmark as she continued to extend her gap to the now third-placed Iron Lynx car of Bertocco. In an uninterrupted first stint, the pit window opened midway through the race and Gudet pitted.

A longer pit stop - due to Cindy's silver rating which translates in an extra 30 seconds compared to bronze drivers - resulted in the #53 M Racing purple car dropping from second to fifth; she would pick up fourth when the Pegasus Racing car of Schell pitted with an issue.

The sole safety car of the race was deployed with 6 minutes to go, when the #66 Team Virage JSP4 came to a halt after a recurring technical hiccup; at the green flag, Pianezzola went for a move on Gudet at turn 1 - but he hit the JSP4 prototype of Winslow, who ended his race in the gravel. Gudet's car luckily emerged unscathed and retained fourth.

Despite a hectic final lap, Cindy crossed the finish line with yet another highly positive fourth place.

"After good qualifications, I again gained a lot of racing experience by discovering new parameters related to this discipline", Gudet commented. "I feel blessed to be in good surroundings and can’t wait to continue learning. Thanks to the whole M Racing team and our partners."

She now sits fourth in the championship standings with 24 points after the first double header - and will be aiming to continue the progress with her first podium in the next round, held at Circuit Paul Ricard on 3-4 May.