Cindy Gudet closes out Ligier European Series season with top-5 finish at Portimao
- LIAM REDFORD
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
Cindy Gudet completed a productive campaign in the Ligier European Series by matching her season’s best finish of fourth in race one in the season finale at Portimao, as the M Racing driver scored points in all 11 races across the 2025 campaign displaying both speed and consistency as a solo driver.
Cindy Gudet completed a productive campaign in the Ligier European Series by scoring a best finish of fourth in the season finale at Portimao. The M Racing driver scored championship points in all 11 races across the 2025 campaign as she displayed both speed and consistency as a solo driver. Gudet matched her season’s best finish of fourth in race one, before Gudet enjoyed a clean drive to seventh in race two.
Driving solo throughout the 2025 season, Gudet has enjoyed an excellent campaign in the JS2 R division of the Ligier European Series. Gaining significant track time in a multi-class championship, Gudet has continued to improve and as a result, she entered the season finale in fifth place in the standings. Gudet had scored points in all nine races prior to the season finale with a quartet of fourth-place results to her name. The M Racing driver was now looking to overcome a five-point deficit to compatriot Martin Lacquemanne to claim fourth in the JS2 R championship.
Last season, Portimao was the venue of Gudet’s best result in the Ligier European Series to date. The French racer stood on the JS2 R podium as she finished in second position and she was therefore looking to use this positive experience to fight for a spot on the rostrum once again. Gudet has also been in excellent form in the GT4 European Series as she has claimed a podium finish in the past three events alongside Matmut Evolution teammate Gabriela JÃlková. With a successful season of racing in under her belt, Gudet was looking to end her campaign on a high across the two races in Portugal.
The first of two free practice sessions took place on Thursday morning with Gudet beginning the weekend on the front foot. Setting her quickest time of a 1:54.487 on the final lap of the session, Cindy was fifth fastest in the JS2 R class and just over a second ahead away from pacesetter Simone Riccitelli.
In the second session, Gudet completed a further 18 laps and despite the warmer track temperatures, the M Racing driver was able to improve. Her fastest lap of a 1:54.482 placed the French racer in seventh position as the times in the JS2 R class remained extremely close.
Qualifying was held shortly after with two separate sessions setting the grid for the pair of races. In the first session, Gudet did a nice job to improve upon her times from both free practice sessions. At the conclusion of the first fifteen-minute session, Cindy’s fastest lap of a 1:53.229 placed the M Racing driver in seventh position in class.
In the second session, Cindy made a quick start as she quickly bettered her time from the first qualifying session. With the drivers gaining confidence and the track improving in grip, the majority of the JS2 R field also took a step forward. At the end of qualifying two, Gudet had set a quickest time of a 1:52.650 which placed her in fifth position with the session ended prematurely due to a red flag.
The first race at Portimao was held on Friday morning with Gudet lining up from seventh position in the JS2 R class. It was a good initial launch from the French racer who moved into sixth through the opening turns. Gudet then had an unfortunate off-track moment through the final sector which dropped the M Racing driver to the rear of the field. However, Cindy was not cut adrift from the group ahead and she was now targeting a strong recovery drive from 11th position.
With a one-hour race ahead of her, Gudet knew she could be patient in making her moves while her tyres got up to temperature. After assessing her strengths against her rivals weaknesses, Gudet made her first move on lap four. Overtaking the Petrogold machine of Henrique Cruz, Gudet was back inside the top-10 and she was now looking to make further progress.
On lap five, Gudet gained three further positions as she first overtook Jordan Meyer into turn two. As the French racer attempted to fight back, he spun on the exit of the corner which afforded the M Racing driver further breathing space. From there, Gudet was able to pass Tristan Clay and after championship leader Simone Riccitelli pitted with damage after contact with the JS P4 machine of Jacques Nicolet, Cindy was into seventh.
Now with a sizeable gap ahead of her, Gudet could focus on setting fast and consistent lap times with championship rival Martin Lacquemanne the next car ahead. Following a new personal best time of a 1:53.971 on lap nine, Gudet was slowly reducing the deficit to the Trajectus Motorsport racer. Gudet benefited from Lacquemanne battling his teammate Jules Treluyer with the two French racers slowing each other down as they fought for position.
Despite her early setback, Gudet was consistently setting top-5 lap times within the JS2 R class and following another personal best time on lap 14, the margin to Lacquemanne stood at just five seconds. As the pit window opened, Gudet pitted on lap 16 along with the majority of her JS2 R rivals and the M Racing team executed a fast and clean pit stop.
Following the pit cycle, Gudet was up to sixth position after the 23 Events Racing machine of August Therbo suffered a technical issue while making its mandatory stop. Gudet was soon into the top-5 after she overtook the Pro/Am class machine of Jeremy Loisel. Gudet was doing a superb job at managing the faster JS P4 traffic as the second half of the race unfolded and as a result, Lacquemanne’s advantage was shrinking further.
On lap 21, Gudet gain two seconds on her rivals and now than gap between the drivers stood at just one-and-a-half seconds. She backed this up on the following lap as the M Racing driver was now the fastest JS2 R machine on track. With ten minutes remaining, Gudet was within a second of her rival and now she was applying pressure to the Trajectus Racing machine ahead.
After getting a great run down the main straight to begin lap 26, Gudet pulled off a superb move to the inside of turn one to pass Lacquemanne, while she held the position on the exit of the corner. Although Gudet tried to edge away in the closing stages, Lacquemanne remained in her slipstream. With just two laps remaining, he closed to within one tenth of a second, however Gudet protected her position well. Completing an excellent recovery drive, Gudet matched her season’s best finish of fourth as she took the chequered flag less than half a second ahead of Lacquemanne.
The season finale at Portimao took place later on Friday afternoon with Gudet lining up from fifth on the JS2 R grid courtesy of her performance in the second qualifying session. It was a good getaway from the M Racing driver who held fifth position through the opening lap, before the safety car was deployed for the stopped car of Andre Viera.
When the race resumed, Gudet was on the move as she enjoyed a fantastic restart lap. Cindy overtook newcomer Nickolas Ellis and began to mount an attack on the podium runners, before the JS P4 machine of Jacques Nicolet halted her progress. As Nicolet got up to speed following the restart, he overtook Gudet and this lost the French racer some momentum with Steven Palette following Nicolet through.
Gudet was now in fifth position and as she looked to fight back and close the deficit to Lacquemanne, she came under threat from Ellis. On lap seven, Ellis took advantage and moved his Trajectus Motorsport machine ahead before himself closing in on teammate Lacquemanne. On lap eight, the safety car was deployed for a second time after fellow JS2 R driver Henrique Cruz had come to a stop after contact with Florian Teillais.
On the second restart, Gudet lost out to Filippo Tornaghi and therefore the M Racing driver was into seventh position as the race settled into a rhythm. The positions in the JS2 R class remained closely contested with the midfield pack running nose-to-tail as the pit window opened. On lap 13, some of Gudet’s rivals pitted and with Cindy staying out for one further lap, she briefly moved into the top-5 before bringing her M Racing machine to the attention of her crew.
Following the conclusion of the pit cycle, Gudet ran in sixth position following an issue for August Therbo on his in-lap. Therefore, the Danish racer was keen to make up for lost time and he overtook Gudet on lap 16 in order to keep his championship hopes alive. Despite now running in seventh once again, Gudet was just six seconds away from a spot on the JS2 R class podium to underline the close competition in the season finale.
After Therbo passed Lacquemanne, Gudet’s main championship rival was now ahead and the margin between the two drivers stood at less than two seconds. On lap 20, a new personal best time of a 1:53.857 saw Gudet reduce the gap to under two seconds, before another improvement on the following lap increased the pressure further.
As the race entered the closing stages, Gudet and Lacquemanne traded times with the margin remaining at around two seconds. Both drivers then began to catch Jules Treluyer in the final five minutes with Gudet showing good speed in comparison to both Trajectus Motorsport machines. Gudet just ran out of time to make a move as she finished race two in seventh position after a clean and composed drive.
Although Gudet narrowly missed out on finishing fourth in the JS2 R championship standings, it was an excellent season for the M Racing driver. Gudet banked valuable experience as a solo driver as she finished every race of the season while scoring championship points in the process. Edging close to a podium finish throughout the campaign, Gudet was able to improve her skills in a competitive multi-class series racing at some of the most iconic circuits across Europe.