Belén García takes second in Ultimate Cup, narrowly misses victory at Mugello
- RACERS
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"I feel like we are working in a very good direction to have wins very very soon" - After a third place at the European Endurance Prototype Cup opener at Le Castellet, Belén García returned to the podium in Mugello—this time with an even better second place, finishing just one lap short of a win.
After a third place at the European Endurance Prototype Cup opener at Le Castellet, Belén García returned to the podium in Mugello—this time with an even better second place, finishing just one lap short of a win.
Despite no prior experience at the Tuscan track, García showcased good speed throughout the weekend, and with a flawless strategy, she and her teammates are now in a strong position in the championship standings.
Following a seven-month break from racing, Belén García made a strong comeback by finishing third overall in the opening round of the 2025 Ultimate Cup Endurance Prototype Cup at Le Castellet, where she was a contender for the win in a standout performance.
Having transitioned to sports cars at the end of 2022, García competed in LMP3 machinery throughout 2023 across series such as the Asian Le Mans Series, Prototype Cup Germany, and the European Le Mans Series—where she scored a podium finish. After parting ways with her ELMS team, the Catalan driver joined ANS Motorsport on a late deal ahead of the 2025 season.
Sharing the #71 NP02 prototype with Adrien Chila and Paul Trojani, García returned to Circuit Paul Ricard—where she had previously celebrated her first endurance racing win and achieved several career milestones. Once again, she delivered a strong performance, climbing onto the podium. At the second round of the Ultimate Cup season in Mugello, García aimed to maintain momentum at a circuit she had never raced on before.
The #71 ANS Motorsport NP02 was immediately quick: the trio led two of the three testing sessions on Thursday, then went third fastest in the final Friday practice ahead of qualifying—establishing themselves as one of the teams to beat.
Belén García drove Q1 for the #71 crew, taking an early lead with a 1:44.1 lap time. She then improved to a 1:43.629—becoming the first driver to dip below the 1:44s—but her lap was deleted. She remained third before a red flag in the final minutes ended the session prematurely, locking her in P4.
In Q2, Adrien Chila took over but was P11 at the red flag halfway through the session. He remained in P12 when the session resumed briefly. Paul Trojani handled Q3 duties, clocking a 1:43.456 that put him sixth fastest. The combined qualifying times placed the #71 car fourth overall, with an average time of 1:44.621—just half a second behind the #154 Cogemo Racing pole-sitter.
Saturday’s race took place under slightly overcast but dry conditions—unlike the rained-out 2024 edition. Adrien Chila started the race in the #71 and made a strong getaway, cleverly slotting into third at Turn 1. He immediately began pressuring the #154 of Creed, who had lost the lead to Chou at the start. However, Van Dijk’s #66 car joined the fight and overtook Chila for third, with Trouillet also getting past a few laps later.
An unscheduled pit stop for the race leader elevated Chila back to fourth 12 minutes into the race. The field settled for a while until the first Full Course Yellow was deployed 30 minutes in, after the #33 CD Sport car spun and became stranded on track.
At the restart, Chila lost fourth place to Boulain’s #32 CD Sport machine, in a three-car battle that included the #28 of Bukhantsov. Shortly after, Chila made his first pit stop but stayed in the car, rejoining in 13th place on a different strategy. He pitted again on lap 34, coinciding with an FCY triggered by the sister #70 ANS Motorsport car, which was beached in the gravel.
Belén García then took over the #71 Norma. After the restart, she steadily climbed through the field, improving her lap times and reaching ninth. She was consistently fast and advanced to seventh by lap 49—then into sixth a few laps later—closing the gap to Christophe Cresp.
When Cresp pitted, García continued her charge, passing Philippe Thirion and taking the overall lead when Nicholas Adcock also pitted. At the race’s midpoint, she had built a 12-second lead, and was among the fastest in the top ten.
Another FCY came with 1 hour and 53 minutes remaining, followed by a quick restart. With 1h40m to go, another FCY prompted a pit stop for García, handing the car back to Chila. He rejoined in second and reclaimed the lead on lap 74. Despite some tyre degradation issues, García’s earlier stint kept the car in contention thanks to a consistent and clean drive.
Chila maintained a steady pace in the 1:48s, about eight seconds ahead of Michael Stephen. The South African closed in, prompting Chila to pit on lap 88 for the fourth stop with 1 hour remaining.
Paul Trojani took over for the final stint, rejoining in P7 and waiting for the cars ahead to make their final stops. Running 1:46s, Trojani climbed to fourth and set the car’s fastest lap at 1:46.547.
A Full Course Yellow with 40 minutes to go for a car in the gravel was followed by another good restart for Trojani, who overtook Bernier and Buntschu once he pitted. He was now chasing a 42-second gap to the leading #555 car of Denis Caillon. Another FCY followed for the #51 car, which had spun and gone off track.
Trojani slashed the gap significantly—almost four seconds faster per lap by lap 106—bringing the margin down to under 10 seconds. When Caillon pitted with 19 minutes to go, Trojani retook the overall lead.
With 15 minutes left, the ANS Motorsport team led by 19 seconds. But Mathias Beche, now in second, was charging in the final laps: Beche eventually caught and passed Trojani into Turn 1 on the final lap. Trojani crossed the finish line in second place, earning a second consecutive podium for the #71 crew.
“So it has been a good weekend again", Belén commented. "I feel like this time my performance wasn't at the top. I think the lack of experience at the track has been something I've been suffering this weekend. But still I think we had good pace, we did a good strategy and we could manage the race the best way."
"It's a bit bittersweet because we lost the win on the last lap", she continued. "But still it's a second place, it's better than the last time. The pitstops were great, the strategy was very good."
It was nevertheless another impressive race for Belén García, who scored valuable championship points at Mugello, as the ANS Motorsport trio remain firmly in the title fight.
"I feel like we are working in a very good direction to have wins very very soon - and multiple of them until the end of the season", García concluded. "Happy about that and we will keep working the same way.”
The next round will take place at Portimão, Portugal, on 29 May—where Belén and her teammates will aim to take the final step and secure a race victory.