Cindy Gudet scores first podium in Ligier European Series finale

Cindy Gudet finished her rookie season in the Ligier European Series with her first podium in the championship with a remarkable recovery drive in race 1 that saw the French racer charging from the back of the JS2R field to runner up.

Photo credits: Ligier European Series

Cindy Gudet completed her first season in the Ligier European Series in style, claiming her first podium finish with a brilliant run in Portimao's first race, which saw the M Racing driver charge from the back of the grid after the first lap to finish as runner-up.

Gudet, who scored points in every race she entered, had taken her maiden pole position at the previous round at Mugello, where she returned to the Ligier one-make series after recovering from an injury in the GT4 European Championship a couple of months earlier.

Fully recovered, Gudet again proved she belongs among the top competitors in the JS2R class but had to settle for fourth and fifth place finishes in the races, with the minimum pit stop times for Silver solo drivers making her recoveries challenging in the second half of the races.

Often remarkably quick in qualifying, former hillclimb champion Gudet showcased strong racecraft but had always marginally missed a podium finish—until the Portimao season finale.

Her weekend at the tricky and undulating Portuguese circuit started with the fifth-fastest time in the opening practice session, held in wet conditions. In the second session, Cindy was again fifth-fastest, quickly finding time and familiarizing herself with the track in finally dry conditions.

In qualifying, held on Thursday afternoon, Gudet clocked a 1:53.223 in Q1, placing her #53 purple Ligier JS2R machine in fifth place. She improved by two-tenths in a red-flag-disrupted Q2, again securing a start from fifth on the grid for Race 2.

Photo credits: Ligier European Series

The Friday morning race started in a challenging way for Gudet, who found herself eighth after the first lap following contact at turn 1, dropping her to the last position in class. Therbo led ahead of Trojani and Garcia, but soon after, Tanaka went off, leading to a safety car deployment, giving Gudet a chance to catch back up with the pack.

At the restart on lap 5, Gudet attacked Stern for sixth after she had immediately cleared Schell at the restart. By lap 7, she had passed Stern and moved into P6. Cindy’s pace was strong, gaining almost a second per lap on the cars ahead.

Gudet moved up to fifth after Garcia was hit and spun on lap 12 from third. A second safety car was deployed with 32 minutes to go, just as the pit window opened. Gudet pitted under caution but, due to the solo minimum pit stop time, rejoined in seventh after the pit stops. She however quickly got back ahead of Caussanel.

With 22 minutes remaining, Cindy passed Trojani after a hectic first lap under green and had Stern ahead to clear. Soon after, she overtook Stern with a determined move, moving up to third. Gudet then moved into second when Bertocco served his drive-through penalty for hitting Garcia in the first stint. She closed the 3-second gap to Da Cunha but had to manage JSP4 traffic, which cost her valuable time.

Despite her efforts, Da Cunha pulled away, opening a 5-second margin. Da Cunha took the win ahead of Gudet, who secured her first podium of the season after an incredible recovery drive. Notably, this marked the first time two female drivers stood on the podium in the series’ history, with Sita Vanmeert also finishing third.

Photo credits: Ligier European Series

Later in the afternoon, it was time for Race 2, presenting another chance for Gudet to close the season on a high. She had a good getaway, moving up to fourth after one lap and settling there in the early stages.

Gudet was briefly passed by Bertocco but fought back, overtaking him after a good scrap on the main straight. The battle between Gudet and Bertocco allowed Sita Vanmeert to close in, and both Bertocco and Vanmeert eventually passed Gudet.

A collision for Stern triggered by a JSP4 car brought out another safety car just as the pit window opened: Gudet’s longer stop saw her rejoin in P6. She managed to catch up to Therbo, but both drivers were trapped a lap down due to unfortunate safety car timing.

With cars from fourth place down trapped a lap behind after the safety car, the final 20 minutes saw an effective three-way battle for the win. Nevertheless, Gudet attacked immediately, clearing Schell and moving up into fifth at the green flag. However, she had to defend from Pianezzola, and the bright yellow Iron Lynx car demoted Cindy to P6 on lap 22, with 10 minutes to go.

Despite managing traffic from the class leaders, Gudet couldn’t quite keep pace with Pianezzola and had to settle for 6th. Unlucky with safety car timing and positioning, it was nonetheless a solid race following her first podium in the morning.

Despite missing one round at Spa Francorchamps, Cindy Gudet completed her rookie season in the Ligier European Series fifth in the JS2R category standings, with 108 points collected, a podium, and five fourth-place finishes.

In her first season of circuit racing, Gudet has shown remarkable development, highlighted by her participation in the ELMS end-of-season rookie test, where she drove the #13 M Racing LMP3 machine, setting a personal best lap time of 1:41.325 - and aims to continue on this trajectory in 2025.

Before the winter break, however, Gudet will compete in one more round at the GT4 European Championship season finale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 29-30.