Imola, our first 2022 home race in the European Le Mans Series, didn’t go as we expected.
After the very positive feedback got in the free practices, where both Eurointernational’s Ligier JSP3-Nissan were in the Top 10, the qualify saw Xavier Lloveras (on the #10) and Max Koebolt (#11) penalized due to track limits infringment when both drivers had the pace to put the cars in the Top 3 of LMP3 starting grid. Despite this setback, both line-ups together with the team were happy about the setup and the pace looking for the race.
Unfortunately, the 4 Hours race became a nightmare for Eurointernational: after a good start, an accident took out our Ligier #10 (Van Berlo-Lloveras-Chila) when the excellent strategy build up during the Full Course Yellow was favoring a great recovery towards the podium; the #11 (Siebert-Koebolt-De Sadeleer) suffered a technical issue during the last pit stop (starter motor), losing 14 laps and a possible final 4th place.
Even the Ligier European Series event on the “Enzo & Dino Ferrari” circuit was to forget for Eurointernational and HP Racing. After the technical problem that stopped the car in Le Castellet during the first round, also in Imola another mechanical issue forced Jacopo Faccioni and Andrea Dromedari to retire the car in Race 2, after the positive 6th place achieved in the first race of the weekend.