On her return to the series, Cindy Gudet secured her first pole position in the Ligier European Series at Mugello, then added two more top-five finishes to her consistent 2024 campaign.
Making her return to the Ligier European Series after her injury in GT4 Europe two months ago, Cindy Gudet was the protagonist of a brilliant weekend at Mugello in the Ligier one-make series, securing her first pole position in the JS2 R class and claiming two more top-five finishes in the races.
Gudet, who is making her sports car racing debut in 2024 after a highly successful career in hillclimb competitions, is making strides in both the Ligier European Series – a stepping stone to the European Le Mans Series category – as well as GT4 European Championship, where she shares the Toyota GR Supra GT4 operated by Matmut Evolution with Gabriela Jilkova. The duo have already claimed a podium finish in the Pro-Am class.
In the Ligier series, Gudet is contesting a solo campaign at the wheel of the #53 M Racing machine, and has immediately shown great speed, particularly in qualifying.
On her debut, she was second fastest in both qualifying sessions at Barcelona and has since finished every race within the top five – only failing to score a podium due to the pit stop handicaps that silver-rated solo drivers have to serve, making it difficult to recover in the second stints without neutralizations.
While a leg fracture sustained at Hockenheim in GT4 Europe meant that the French racer had to miss the fourth round of the Ligier European Series season at Spa Francorchamps, Gudet returned behind the wheel at Monza in GT4, then one week later contested the two Mugello heats of the ELMS support series.
On the very demanding Tuscan circuit, Gudet immediately found herself at ease and made good improvements in practice, as she learned the track. Qualifying on a rainy Friday, however, marked a significant step forward.
In the wet first session, Gudet set a good first lap, placing her fourth in the JS2 R class just before a red flag with 8 minutes to go. When the session resumed, Cindy briefly moved to the top with a 2:22.713, before being overtaken by Bertocco and Lapesqueux, who took pole with a last-second effort of 2:21.454. Gudet ultimately finished fourth, having been the fastest overall in sector 1.
The second session, held a few minutes later to set the grid for race two, saw Gudet once again go to the top after the first timed laps with a strong 2:22.408. Pianezzola and Caussanel clocked competitive times, but Gudet remained unbeaten. A late-session red flag ended qualifying early, handing Gudet her first pole position in the series.
"It's terrific to be back racing again", Gudet said. "It's the first qualifying we've done in the rain and the first time we've driven in the rain all season. It was important to be able to adapt."
"It was a super session, getting to know the car again in the rain", she continued. "The circuit lends itself well to this, with some 15 corners and a lot of banking. Occasionally, we had to look for a slightly different trajectory. And then the conditions changed because it was drying. It was interesting to have to adjust to all these parameters. It's a great result also for the team."
The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday morning, with the track still slightly damp from overnight rain. Cindy Gudet started from P4 on the grid, determined to convert her strong qualifying pace into a solid race result. As the lights went out for the 1-hour race, Gudet initially dropped to fifth place after a cautious start but quickly regained her composure and began applying pressure to the cars ahead. Within a few laps, she had reclaimed her starting position in fourth, engaging in a tight battle with Clement Moreno, who was directly behind her.
On lap 2, class leader Antoine Lapesqueux had an off-track moment, sliding into the gravel trap. This allowed Gregorio Bertocco in the Iron Lynx car to move into the lead of the JS2 R class, followed by Julien Schell in second.
As the leaders swapped positions, Gudet was embroiled in a fierce contest for fourth with Moreno, the two drivers matching each other's pace lap after lap. At the exit of the final corner, Gudet briefly lost out to Moreno, falling back to fifth, but she remained close behind, waiting for the right opportunity to respond.
That opportunity came on lap 12 when Gudet, now faster than Moreno, went for an overtake and successfully passed him to reclaim fourth place. With clean air ahead, she quickly began pulling away, establishing a gap and setting her sights on the leaders.
As the pit window opened on lap 13, Gudet dived into the pits for the mandatory stop. However, as a silver-rated solo driver, she had to serve a longer pit stop handicap, meaning she rejoined the race in fifth position, about 10 seconds behind Da Cunha and Moreno.
Despite the time lost in the pits, Gudet immediately began pushing to close the gap.
Just as she started gaining on the cars ahead, an incident involving Ryan Shehan, who was taken out by the #44 prototype of Vieira and stranded in the gravel, brought out the safety car on lap 21.
The safety car bunched up the field and allowed the French driver to get back into contention for a higher finish. With six minutes left on the clock, the race resumed, and Gudet aimed to recover positions. Pianezzola led the pack, followed by Caussanel and Moreno, while Da Cunha passed Moreno for third.
Gudet battled with Moreno once again for fourth place; on the penultimate lap, she successfully made her move, overtaking Moreno to secure P4. Although she was unable to close the gap to Da Cunha in the final moments, Cindy Gudet crossed the line in fourth place, completing a strong and hard-fought race 1.
Sunday’s race offered Gudet another opportunity to challenge for her first podium, as she lined up on pole position thanks to her stellar qualifying performance in the rain. As the lights went out, Gudet defended her position into the first corner, holding the inside line against Pianezzola. However, an incident further back involving a spinning JSP4 prototype forced the leading JS2 R cars to take evasive action. Gudet managed to avoid the chaos but lost her lead to Pianezzola, who took advantage of the outside line and moved into first, with Moreno slotting into third.
A safety car was immediately deployed to recover the stranded Monza Garage prototype. When the race restarted at the end of lap 3, Gudet was right on Pianezzola’s tail, determined to reclaim the lead. The two drivers, now clear of traffic, began to break away from the rest of the JS2 R field. Gudet set the fastest lap in class, pushing hard to close the gap to Pianezzola, but traffic of the JSP4 cars hampered her progress, allowing her rival to extend his lead by a couple of seconds.
Meanwhile, Da Cunha, who had cleared Moreno for third, began catching Gudet with rapid lap times. Despite her best efforts to defend, Gudet lost second place to Da Cunha on lap 7 after a hard-fought battle at Turn 1. Da Cunha, clearly the fastest in the field at this stage of the race, pulled away, while Gudet focused on maintaining a safe gap to the cars behind.
As the pit window opened on lap 12, Gudet headed into the pits and rejoined in sixth position, just ahead of Sita Vanmeert in seventh – and with now over 10 seconds to make up on the cars ahead.
Gudet immediately set faster lap times than Delomier in fifth and gradually closing the gap to just 4 seconds. Despite her determined efforts, the gap remained stable, making it difficult for Gudet to advance further up the field without a late-race neutralization.
Towards the end of the race, drama unfolded as Bertocco, the leader in the Iron Lynx car, received a stop-and-go penalty for a pit stop infraction. This handed the lead to Moreno, with Schell moving into second place. He would however rejoin ahead of Gudet.
With two laps to go, Moreno made contact, resulting in damage and further position changes. Gudet, did manage to pick up a position, ultimately salvaging a fifth-place finish—another strong result that kept her streak of top-five finishes intact form the start of the season.
Despite the pit stop handicaps and an uninterrupted second race that saw limited opportunities for recovery, Gudet showcased her consistency and ability to maximize results.
After a weekend that saw her claim her first pole position and add two more top-five finishes to her tally, Gudet’s performance at Mugello cemented her as a top contender in the JS2 R class of Ligier European Series: she now sits fifth in the drivers' standings with 80 points, despite missing a double-header earlier in the season.
The final round of the 2024 Ligier European Series is scheduled for October 17-19, at the ELMS season finale in Portimão, Portugal, where Gudet will aim to end the season on a high.
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