"I felt more comfortable in the car than ever, so it was definitely a nice way to end the season" - Belgian racer Sita Vanmeert completed her rookie season in the Ligier European Series with her first JS2R class podium at Portimão, showing significant improvement and confidence over the weekend.
Belgian racer Sita Vanmeert, in her rookie car racing season, secured her first JS2R class podium finish in the Ligier European Series finale at Portimão, Portugal, following a remarkable weekend driving the #86 Les Deux Arbres machine.
Sharing the car with Danish racer August Therbo for the first time, Vanmeert and her new teammate were consistently in contention for the top three throughout the weekend: they showed much-improved race pace and ultimately secured third in Race 1 after a brilliant stint by Vanmeert, who recovered to third after a safety car neutralized her teammate's advantage.
In the second race of the weekend, Vanmeert had another strong opening stint, handing over to her teammate in a position to contend for the race win, but an unlucky safety car trapped them a lap down, denying the #86 crew another almost certain podium finish.
Nevertheless, Vanmeert, a car-racing rookie, topped her best finish in the series, previously achieved at her home track in Spa-Francorchamps, and added more important points to her tally, enjoying her most productive weekend of the season.
"My weekend in Portimão has been one of my best, I think," she told us. "Personally, I felt more comfortable in the car than ever, so it was definitely a nice way to end the season and have that podium as well."
"We hoped to have a second one, but then the safety car happened, and it was impossible for us to get a podium position because the first three were ahead of the safety car, causing them to be a lap ahead after, and so we came in fourth in the second race."
Vanmeert started the season sharing the car with Jacques Nicolet at the Barcelona season opener, ran solo in a few rounds, before being joined by Sacha Bottemanne. For the season finale, August Therbo would share the car with the young Belgian, and the duo immediately proved to be strong contenders in the JS2R category.
At the technical and tricky Circuito do Algarve in Portimão, they climbed the order in FP2, finishing third fastest with a 1:54.831 after a wet first practice of the weekend.
Therbo took over driving duties for the first practice session on Thursday afternoon, emerging as a front-runner and holding provisional pole before Bertocco secured it in the #60 Iron Lynx machine. However, Therbo clocked a 1:52.478 that placed him second on the grid, from the class front row.
Sita Vanmeert took over for the second qualifying session a few minutes later, running very competitively in the top five before a red flag; she eventually finished sixth fastest, giving good hopes for the final race of the one-make season, part of the European Le Mans Series support package.
On Friday morning, in dry conditions, Vanmeert’s teammate Therbo made a stunning getaway, moving straight into the lead of the race ahead of Trojani and Garcia. After Tanaka went off, a safety car was deployed.
Upon restart on lap 5, Garcia and Trojani battled for second, allowing Therbo to pull away with purple sectors. Therbo topped Garcia's fastest lap, gaining a second on his pursuers, but then had to fend off Trojani, who fought back with Garcia closing in as well.
Therbo and Trojani traded positions at the top after Garcia was hit and spun by Pianezzola, dropping down. Therbo reclaimed the lead as the safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Iron Dames car with 32 minutes to go, just as the pit window opened.
Sita Vanmeert took over under caution from the class lead. She retained the lead and emerged third overall, with most of the JSP4 prototypes further behind.
At the green flag with 22 minutes to go, Vanmeert was shuffled down to fifth but soon recovered to fourth.
In a chaotic phase of the race, she battled from fourth to sixth place, showing great speed and determination in one of her best races of the season. Vanmeert fought her way back to fifth, ahead of Caussanel and Bertocco after the class leader served a drive-through penalty for the incident with Garcia.
She reclaimed third after Trojani made a mistake, and Stern pitted with issues. Sita was very competitive throughout her stint, holding third place while maintaining a good gap to the cars behind. Bertocco recovered from his penalty but was still over 15 seconds behind with five minutes to go.
When the chequered flag dropped, Sita Vanmeert secured her maiden podium with a brilliant pace throughout her stint, taking third in class.
After her best performance in the Ligier European Series, Vanmeert had another chance to close out the season on a high in Race 2, lining up sixth on the grid. She settled in P7 after receiving contact at turn 1, but gained a position on the first lap before Stern fought back on lap 2. Stern would later receive a drive-through penalty for the contact with Vanmeert on the first lap.
Sita had a great fight for seventh, passing again with a clean overtake and immediately going on the hunt for Caussanel. They traded positions, with Vanmeert moving up to sixth on lap 6.
An incredible battle between Gudet and Bertocco ahead allowed Vanmeert to close in: she demonstrated excellent pace and caught the battle for fourth, almost passing both drivers in an impressive move, climbing up to fifth.
Vanmeert then put pressure on Bertocco for fourth before trouble struck Stern, who was hit by a JSP4 prototype, leading to another safety car as the pit window opened.
Sita pitted on lap 14 from fifth, and Therbo took over, giving the team a great chance for another podium after a stunning stint by Vanmeert. Unfortunately, though, Therbo was trapped a lap down by the ill-timed safety car.
With cars from fourth down trapped a lap down, it became a three-way battle for the win in the final 20 minutes. At the restart, Therbo immediately moved into fourth, passing Schell, but was now a lap down on the three leaders.
He however set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:52.823, opening a 10-second margin over the cars behind, but couldn't catch the leaders and had to settle for fourth place.
Despite the setback, the team showed they had the pace for a podium, if not a race win, but were ultimately denied by the safety car. It was still a superb result for Sita Vanmeert, who had her best weekend of the Ligier European Series by far, showing improved performance, confidence in battles, and solid race pace – a brilliant end to the season for the Belgian.
"This season has been very up and down, but I think mainly I was focusing on getting more experience and improving every minute I got on track, and I think I did a pretty good job of that, thanks to my incredible coach Nico and the team for working so well together with me. In general, I’m very satisfied with this season," Vanmeert said after the notable results.
After several top-five finishes and continuous improvement throughout the year, Sita Vanmeert scored a total of 86 points, finishing 7th in the drivers' standings in her first-ever car racing campaign after stepping up from karting. She will aim to build on this experience and continue her motorsport journey in 2025.
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