Belén García to make LMP3 debut in Portimao

W Series star Belén García is set to make her LMP3 racing debut at the last round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup in Portimao, Portugal, with CD Sport.

Photo credits: Carl Bingham / W Series

Catalan racer Bélen García will make her prototype racing debut next week, as she will drive the #37 CD Sport's LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan at the final round of the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup at Portimao.

Belén, 23, made her racecar debut in 2019, when she switched from karting to Spanish F4 - where she clinched the female trophy title and an overall victory at Navarra, at her first weekend in the series. The win earned García the record of first woman to win a Formula 4 race in Europe.

Only one year later, she was selected to be part of the all-female championship W Series - but had to put her debut on hold due to the 2020 cancelled season. At her very first race in the series, García almost ended on the podium at Red Bull Ring, Austria, and would eventually complete her rookie season 10th in the drivers' standings.

In 2022, García highly impressed in pre-season testing and was confirmed for a second W Series campaign; with more experience under her belt, Belén has been the protagonist of a remarkable sophomore season and currently sits in fifth place in the championship, with one podium to her name.

Belén has now announced that she will take part in the season finale of the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup at Circuit do Algarve, Portugal, in her first sportscar outing.

The Le Mans Cup is the European Le Mans Series main stepping stone and features both LMP3 and GT3 machinery, for a grid of 40 cars at the final round.

García has tested the Ligier LMP3 a few days ago at Magny-Cours, France, and will race alongside Chinese racer Huilin Han.

The two-hour race is scheduled for Sunday 16 October at 10:00 local time.