A rival ruins BE Motorsport’s chances at the Red Bull Ring

The Spanish outfit was delivering another strong performance during the two-hour race on Austrian soil but a Mercedes AMG GT3 hit its Ligier-Nissan JS P3 LMP3 shared by Ibrán and Bakker. BE Motorsport lost three laps but still made it to the finish.
BE Motorsport contested the Round 3 of the Michelin Le Mans Cup at the Red Bull Ring last weekend. The Spanish-based squad entered their Ligier-Nissan JS LMP3 with Javier Ibrán and Mathijs Baker sharing driving duties, the latter making his comeback following his absence at the Road to Le Mans due to professional commitments.

The Red Bull Ring, situated in the heart of the Styrian Mountains in Spielberg, saw both drivers making steady progress in their LMP3 machinery and improved lap times over time as track grip increased and the Spanish-Dutch gained mileage. They both completed 29 laps in the first practice session clocking a best time of 1:30.308. Later, in the second FP2, the BE Motorsport Ligier-Nissan completed other 30 laps and set a best lap of 1:29.737. On Saturday, the 15-minute qualifying session was another hard challenge for Ibrán and Bakker but they managed to take 7th spot on the starting grid with a 1:28.607. Ibrán drove the opening stint before handing over to Bakker for the final hour. However, Remon Vos ruined their chances when, at the wheel of his Mercedes, crashed into BE Motorsport’s Ligier. They lost three laps but still took the chequered flag in 14th.

“It was a nice opportunity to race at the Red Bull Ring with our Ligier-Nissan JS P3 LMP3. It wasn’t an easy adaptation but we made solid, steady progress over the weekend. After a good result in qualifying, we were expecting another good run in qualifying but the clash with the Mercedes GT3 prevented from improving our 14th place finish”, Ibrán said. The Spaniard added “now we have the summer break, but we are already looking forward to Paul Ricard next August.”