BE Motorsport entered its Ligier-Nissan JSP3 LMP3 at the opening round of the VdeV season securing a well-deserved fourth place finish. Ibrán, Castillo and Bakker managed to cope well in the mixed weather conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
BE Motorsport made its debut in the VdeV series, which kicked off the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last weekend. As well as its first outing in the series, it also marked the first time that the Spanish-based team entered its brand new Ligier-Nissan JSP3 LMP3 after a long and productive preseason.
Javier Ibrán, Mathijs Bakker and Toni Castillo were hitting the track for the very first time on Friday with three free practice sessions, which were useful to work on setting the car up for Saturday´s qualifying and 4-hour race. They placed fourth with a time of 1:47.290 in free practice, which was en encouraging result for the season defining the positions on the grid. In the VdeV the average of the best lap of two drivers counts for the grid position. So, their 1:47.838 put the car 5th in LMP3 class and 9th overall in the “Endurance GT Tourisme LMP3”.
Weather played a role later in the race as, following dry conditions, it started in rainy conditions. In fact, weather would be very unpredictable and it was about interpreting and BE Motorsport mastered in such difficult conditions. Castillo made the first stint before pitting and handing over the car to Ibrán. The latter put in a solid middle stint before Dutchman Bakker took the wheel of the Ligier-Nissan JSP3 LMP3 for the end of the race. Still in podium contention before a last pit stop, Bakker finally brought home a fourth-place result among LMP3 cars and 6th overall.
“We are undertaking this new challenge, not just with a new prototype car but in a new series as well. Our team has been completely renovated but they have done a nice job even when our rivals are pretty strong”, Ibrán commented, adding “race wasn´t easy at all for us because we had both dry and wet conditions. We put valuable experience under our belt with the new Ligier-Nissan and we are cautiously optimistic for the season ahead. We are looking forward to the second round at Le Mans-Bugatti next month. We expect to continue on the same positive path”.