Belén García returns to top five in Ultimate Cup with strong run at Magny Cours
- RACERS
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Belén García and her ANS Motorsport teammates enjoyed a competitive run at Magny-Cours, fighting at the front throughout the four-hour European Endurance Prototype Cup race and finishing just seven seconds shy of an overall podium after a clean drive.
Belén García enjoyed a positive weekend in the latest round of the European Endurance Prototype Cup, where the Spaniard, alongside her ANS Motorsport teammates, just missed out on a podium finish after running a clean race and remaining in contention for the top positions overall throughout the four-hour race at Magny-Cours.
In 2025, García returned to the European Endurance Prototype Cup after a season in the European Le Mans Series’ LMP3 class, joining ANS Motorsport to drive the #71 NP02 prototype alongside Adrien Chila and Paul Trojani. Despite joining the program at short notice, she immediately established herself as a frontrunner in the highly competitive field, making an instant impact at the season opener in Le Castellet—where she had previously claimed her first endurance win—by fighting for victory and ultimately finishing third overall on her debut with the team.
She maintained that momentum at Mugello, a brand-new circuit for her, where she quickly adapted and helped secure a runner-up finish after a strong race. At the third round in Portimão, a venue where she had made her LMP3 debut in 2022, García and her teammates faced a more challenging contest but still salvaged eighth place and valuable points after a determined recovery drive.
The fourth round at Motorland Aragón then proved bittersweet, as the ANS Motorsport crew was on course for an overall podium—or even a win—before a late braking issue forced a heartbreaking retirement in the final stages of the four-hour race.
The team, however, returned to strong form at Magny-Cours, the penultimate round of the Ultimate Cup package, which saw García and her teammates run at the front from the start of the weekend. The #71 prototype led the first pre-event test session, was sixth fastest in the second, and continued to show strong pace in the remaining practice sessions ahead of qualifying.
Belén García took on driving duties for Q1 on Friday, setting the fourth-fastest time with a 1:34.793, before handing over to Adrien Chila for Q2. The Bronze-rated driver clocked a 1:35.601 that placed him eleventh, then set a 1:36.489 in Q3, which gave the ANS Motorsport crew tenth on the grid in the combined average times.
Chila took the start in the #71 NP02 from tenth place overall in the four-hour race on Saturday, which began after a delayed start due to fog in the morning. The race got underway under safety car because of the damp conditions, and when the green flag finally waved five minutes later, Chila immediately went on the attack against Cresp. Both gained a position when Ovsienko in the #7 car ran wide into the gravel from third place.
Chila locked up before the chicane but managed to hold on to ninth after passing Cresp. With Bronze-rated drivers starting in extremely tricky conditions, he quickly settled into a rhythm, running consistent 1:36.7 laps and climbing to eighth by lap 10. He then passed Eric Trouillet for seventh, holding strong pace comparable to the front-runners.
Chila picked up another position on lap 15, as the Frenchman improved to a 1:36.4 and overtook Creed for fifth at the one-hour mark.
As the first round of pit stops commenced, Chila came into the pits on lap 38 after a strong opening stint and remained behind the wheel. After the pit cycle, he found himself in third place, setting a 1:35.9 before moving up to second as Arlan Boulain pitted. Chila continued to show strong, consistent pace until the first caution of the race was called with two hours and thirty minutes to go for debris. Running second behind Geshev in the #28, Chila had met his minimum Bronze driving time.
He pitted just before the neutralization to top off fuel, rejoining in P12 when the race went back to green. He would pit again soon after to hand over to Belén García.
When the #7 Graff Racing car of Arkhangelsky came to a halt on the grass, yellow flags were displayed, prompting most of the field to pit for driver changes in anticipation of a Full Course Yellow. However, Arkhangelsky managed to get going again and the race stayed green—resulting in a congested pit lane where several teams lost time in refueling.
García, who had just pitted before the incident, stayed out and climbed to eighth, making up positions as others rejoined. She continued her charge through the field before pitting for the fourth time on lap 67.
With one hour and forty-six minutes remaining, Quentin Joseph went off at the fast Turn 2, bringing out a Full Course Yellow. García was running P12, with strategies differing widely across the field; the #71 ANS Motorsport car was effectively second among those who had already completed four stops.
As the race returned to green, García climbed to P11 and continued to make progress, setting the car’s fastest lap of the race with a 1:35.831 on lap 83. She moved up into seventh as the next round of pit stops began with one hour and twenty minutes left.
García completed a clean overtake on Rupp for sixth and then moved into fifth when Michael Stephen pitted. When Gilles Heriau stopped on track, another Full Course Yellow was deployed, and García cycled up to fourth place as the race entered its final hour.
She ran a strong, consistent stint before pitting for the fifth stop, with Paul Trojani taking over and rejoining in P11 on lap 99.
The car remained in contention for a podium as the race entered the closing hour. Trojani climbed to seventh and continued to run competitive laps under the 1:36 mark, though he came under pressure from the experienced Swiss driver Mathias Beche, who closed a seven-second gap and made a decisive move to take sixth—effectively second on strategy. Trojani maintained strong pace in the 1:35s and held nearly a one-minute gap over the next car behind.
As the leaders began their final pit stops, Trojani climbed to fourth with twenty minutes to go. He continued to close in on James Winslow ahead, reducing the gap from twenty to thirteen seconds, and then to under ten seconds as he gained nearly a second per lap. Despite the late charge, the ANS Motorsport crew came just seven seconds short of a podium finish.
Nevertheless, it was a strong performance for Chila, García, and Trojani, completing a clean, competitive run and securing a solid haul of championship points at the penultimate round of the season. The final event will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard on 7–9 November, a track where García has historically enjoyed great success in endurance racing.
