RLR MSport takes brace of Ligier European Series podiums at legendary Spa circuit

RLR MSport’s ‘Racing Reverend’ Simon Butler and Maximus Mayer earned a brace of second-place class finishes in the penultimate heat of the 2023 Ligier European Series at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (22-23 September).

Spa’s famously unpredictable microclimate produced a wide range of conditions on Friday (22 September), as the overcast skies of first practice were replaced by brilliant sunshine for FP2, and then the rain arrived as cars streamed out of pit lane to start the first part of Qualifying.

Unfazed, Mayer took RLR MSport to another JS2 R and Pro-Am pole position with a time of 2m38.831s, while Haytham Qarajouli rounded out the top six in the headlining JS P4 division at the end of Qualifying 1, which set the grid for the first of two races in the Ardennes.

However, the precipitation continued intensifying and was torrential in Q2, in which Mexico’s Ian Aguilera secured a front row start in JS P4 and Butler locked in third in JS2 R for Ligier’s second European Le Mans Series support race.

Mayer held P1 away from the start of the first Spa Heat and, as in previous rounds, he immediately stretched his legs in an attempt to build a gap over the rest of the JS2 R field.

His and Butler’s victory hopes took a significant hit when the Safety Car condensed the pack, but Mayer did his utmost to rebuild an advantage after the restart, even staying on terms with JS P4 tail-enders until the driver-change.

Butler – the only ordained priest racing driver – led out of the pits but was eventually chased down by the #42 ANS Motorsport car, before putting in what was possibly his strongest race performance of the year to keep the rest of his pursuers at arm’s length and preserve a personal best P2 result.

Unlike Qualifying, conditions remained dry for the second Ligier race in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest and a fast-starting Butler did well to consolidate third position over the course of another stellar run in the #10.

From there, Mayer registered car-best lap times but could only go as high as second, as the class leader began the second stint with an unassailable 1m24s advantage, which the Alicante-based teenager reduced by around a third.

“I’m really happy with how the Ligier European Series Spa Heat unfolded,” said Mayer. “Free practice was good for both me and Simon (Butler), who settled back into the car pretty well after missing the previous round at MotorLand Aragon, working hard and qualifying well.

“In race one, I pulled away quickly until the Safety Car came out and destroyed what was a 20-second lead. It completely ruined our race strategy because I had to build enough of a lead for Simon to protect during his stint, but he actually did really well. We lost P1 but he applied techniques I’ve been coaching him on, and we’re both pleased to have finished runner-up. In the second race, my main task was to reduce the big gap to the eventual winner and close another P2 result. On the whole, we’ve made a lot of progress at Spa and what’s positive is that there’s more to improve on for Portimao.”

Butler added: “We’ve had a really good weekend of racing at Spa. It’s one of my favourite racetracks because it’s among the most beautiful and challenging circuits in the world, and I know it really well due to the hundreds of laps I’ve done in historic cars over the years.

“I had some really good wet weather running in Qualifying and it was surprising and interesting to find that I feel more at home in the Ligier JS2 R in the rain than I do in the dry, but then there was some really enjoyable racing. Maximus (Mayer) pulled out a massive gap until he got stuck behind a Safety Car, without which I think we would have been good for the win. I was actually really pleased with my own pace and felt I got on top of the car and, while I struggled to find the same speed in race two, we came away with a pair of very satisfying second-place results.”

In JS P4, Qarajouli initially lost ground in the opening stages of race one but reclaimed sixth position overall from the #11 Monza Garage car on the third run into Les Combes, repeating the move a short while later to snatch P5 from the #60 Team Virage entry.

A Safety Car put him on the tail of the top four and another place was gained at the expense of the #50 Les Deux Arbres car at the restart and, while the positions were eventually reversed, Qarajouli benefited from another’s misfortune and was fourth when the pit window opened.

A questionable five-second penalty handed to Qarajouli for allegedly “not respecting his grid position” was served in the driver-change and Aguilera assumed the #75 RLR MSport machine in fourth overall, but with an extended 20-second deficit to the top three.

Aguilera, though, put in his fastest laps and consistently reduced the gap with the #60 car also bearing down on him, and the Mexican was ultimately classified fifth when the chequered flag flew.

However, a podium was a very real possibility from the front row of the race two grid, until a spin on the formation lap meant Aguilera would have to start stone last.

Clearly frustrated, the teenager was quick to clear the JS2 R traffic and make his way back up into the top six, and a decisive move around the outside of the #1 Team Virage on the fourth run into the Bus Stop chicane gave him P5 before the compulsory stops.

Qarajouli emerged from pit lane in sixth but soon climbed the leaderboard over the course of his stint, finally placing the RLR MSport-prepared prototype ahead of the #4 HPRacing by Monza Garage car in a fight for fourth that raged on to the very end.

“It was a satisfying weekend in the Ligier European Series Spa Heat,” said Qarajouli. “The #75 Ligier JS P4 was really good and I felt confident I knew the circuit, having been here last year. The rain came in hard as expected as Qualifying 1 began, but we just had to play it safe to bring the car back in one piece and I qualified fifth, with Ian second.

“In race one, I had a good start and simply tried keeping up with the pack from there, but I got an unfortunate pit stop time penalty for an infringement that was out of our control. We just had to swallow it and, although it was a little frustrating, to come away with points for fifth is solid. In race two, a mistake on the formation lap meant Ian  had to start last. He had an interesting time carving his way through the field, and we both made up positions to finish fourth. In both instances, we were on for podiums, but we finished ahead of our main competitors and I hope we can take what we’ve learnt forward to Portimao with confidence.”  

Aguilera said: “I think it has been a very positive weekend in the Ligier European Series at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. There were some mistakes on my side, but Haytham (Qarajouli) and I did well to recover positions and finish fourth in the second race. In fact, Haytham produced really good stints in both races at Spa and that really helped us collect some good points ahead of the final heat of the season in Portimao.”