In the last round of the Ligier JSCup France endurance competition in Portugal, which took place over the weekend, the Lithuanian racer Kasparas Vingilis and his team, overtaking more than 20 other teams, were the fastest in the AM category - they won the first place. This fierce battle led to the fact that the trio of racers also became the first in the overall standings of the competition after completing 8 stages and climbed onto the podium to receive gold medals.
Technical failures did not stop
The 20-year-old Lithuanian, who started successfully for the first time in this race, together with the other two French team riders Mickaël Petit and Jean Maurin, did not take long to show impressive results and start fighting with the strongest teams, in which many professionals participate. In several recent stages, due to technical and other incidents, K. Vingilis' team was separated from the leaders, so the last stage was especially important for her, requiring the greatest possible concentration, tactics and efforts.
"This victory exceeded our expectations. We expected to get on the podium in the finals, but the first positions won in the last few seconds are especially happy for our whole team", said K. Vingilis, who is the only Lithuanian in this competition.
Correct strategies are chosen
According to him, the start itself and the successful strategy of his team had great importance for the results in this last stage. "After the overnight rain, the track was very wet. After consulting, we decided that I will be behind the wheel at the start. Thanks to the advantage of the pace and the right choice of rain tires, we managed to break through to the 4th position, and after 1,5 hours. behind the wheel we had a considerable gap of a couple of minutes from the competitors. Meanwhile, several cars took the risk of starting on slicks in the hope that the track would dry out quickly, and it didn't work out. All the members of my team (Micheal, Jean) had a very good and stable pace and this allowed us to stay in the first ranks. A big part of our success also depended on our engineer, whose strategy regarding stops, tire changes, refueling and other nuances also allowed us not to lose much time. Just half an hour before this 6 a.m. in the long competition, we were only third, and only in the final itself did we manage to catch up and overtake the last competitors. The gap between us and the second place was only a couple of seconds", K. Vingilis shared the moments of the fierce fight.
Particularly interesting tracks
This Algarve circuit is a 4m motorsport circuit in Portimao, Portugal.
"The track is probably best known for its roller coasters and its presence on the Formula 1 calendar. Driving it feels similar to riding a roller coaster - there are many ups and downs, in places it seems as if there is no gravity at all, which creates unique complications. There are also a number of "blind" turns where you cannot see where you will need to drive next. In addition, the amount of grip often changes," the Lithuanian shared his impressions.
These endurance races take place on some of the most exciting race tracks in Europe: Valencia, Le Mans, Dijon, Le Castellet, Nogaro and more. Some of them are Formula 1 tracks.
According to K. Vingilis, in the general standings of the AM competition, the victory of the season was achieved due to constancy. "Even though we didn't manage to get on the podium in every race, we were always close, which added up to a lot of points." This season we had to suffer from a couple of technical failures, which cost us a lot of time during the competition", said the racer.
The most interesting and memorable stage of this season for him was on the Le Mans circuit. "It was our first victory, besides, the track itself is special and brings a lot of emotions. Its notoriety, rich racing history contributed to a particularly gratifying victory. Personally, the most enjoyable circuit for me was in Valencia - the Ricardo Tormo circuit. It is unique in that it is driven counter-clockwise, has a wide variety of fast and slow, easy and very difficult turns. The spectators like it very much, because due to the inclination of the elevation, you can see almost the entire track," said K. Vingilis.
He plans to continue participating in this competition next year, which will be held in 2024. there will be new tracks for him in the season. According to K. Vingilis, a special program has been established for young drivers (up to the age of 26), which provides support to the winners to race in 2025. European Ligier Series with JSP4 prototype.
Crews consisting of usually three drivers participate in the 6-hour competition, which takes place every 45 minutes. changing. The Lithuanian team includes two professional French racers, M. Petit and Maurin, who have extensive racing experience, including Le Mans competitions. Teams from France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, including drivers from other countries - Portugal, Switzerland, etc. participated in this stage.
The team drives a JS2 R from the French racing car manufacturer Ligier. It's an updated, racetrack-only version of the legendary Ligier JS2 street car that competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans half a century ago. in the race, version.
