FFSA GT: Cindy Gudet secures commanding Magny-Cours victory after runner-up finish in near perfect weekend
- RACERS
- Aug 3
- 5 min read
Backing up her Spa-Francorchamps breakthrough overall win with another outstanding weekend in Magny-Cours, Cindy Gudet claimed second place in Saturday's race before converting dominant pace into a commanding victory on Sunday in FFSA GT Championship's fourth round.
Backing up her Spa-Francorchamps breakthrough overall win with another outstanding weekend in Magny-Cours, Cindy Gudet claimed second place in Saturday's race before converting dominant pace into a commanding victory on Sunday in FFSA GT Championship's fourth round.
After a frustrating start to the 2026 FFSA GT4 season despite consistently demonstrating race-winning pace, Cindy Gudet arrived at Magny-Cours carrying renewed confidence following a victory at Spa-Francorchamps alongside teammate Joran Leneutre. Driving the #78 Akkodis ASP Toyota Supra GT4 EVO in the highly competitive Pro-Am class, Gudet and Leneutre had endured a string of missed opportunities at Nogaro and Dijon, where accidents and technical issues repeatedly denied them podium finishes despite front-running speed.
Their fortunes finally changed at Spa, where the duo controlled much of the race and, after initially losing the win to a late penalty that was subsequently overturned post-race, celebrated their first overall victory of the season. The result marked a deserved reward for their persistence and established Gudet and Leneutre as genuine contenders heading into the fourth round of the season at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.
The French pairing wasted little time confirming that their Spa success had been no one-off. Practice on Friday immediately showed the pace of the #78 Akkodis ASP Toyota Supra GT4 EVO: Joran Leneutre set the team's benchmark in the opening session with a lap of 1:46.729, placing the Toyota third fastest overall and just three tenths away from the outright pace setter in another extremely competitive FFSA GT field.
The encouraging form continued in the afternoon, with the duo ending the second practice session seventh fastest overall while continuing to refine the setup ahead of qualifying and race day.
Saturday morning's qualifying sessions once again highlighted the strength of the Akkodis ASP pairing. Leneutre took the wheel for the opening qualifying session under cloudy skies. After sitting eighth in the Pro-Am order following the first runs, the Frenchman produced an excellent improvement in the closing minutes, lowering his time to a 1:45.1 to secure fourth in the Pro-Am category and a strong starting position for Race 1.
Cindy Gudet then climbed aboard the #78 Toyota for the second qualifying session. She immediately announced herself as one of the favourites by posting a 1:46.181 to briefly top the overall timing sheets.
The Frenchwoman continued to improve throughout the session; with the fastest first sector of anyone in the field, Gudet lowered her best time to a 1:45.8, securing second in the Pro-Am class and third overall. Although she narrowly missed out on pole position, it was another strong qualifying effort that left the team perfectly placed for Sunday's race.
Race 1 began later on Saturday afternoon with Leneutre lining up fourth overall. The Toyota driver made a clean getaway and comfortably held position through the opening corners as the leading group remained tightly packed.
Early in the stint, Leneutre found himself sandwiched between Beltoise ahead and the Alpine of Papin behind, with both gaps remaining under a second.
The pressure from behind soon disappeared, as Papin was spun around after contact from Reynolds, sending the Alpine into a spin and allowing Leneutre some clean air. With Reynolds subsequently receiving a penalty for causing the collision, Leneutre suddenly found himself with a comfortable seven-second cushion over the chasing pack while continuing to pursue Beltoise ahead.
Maintaining consistently competitive pace, he kept the Toyota inside the leading group as the mandatory pit window approached.
Akkodis ASP elected to extend the opening stint by a couple of laps and Leneutre finally dove into pit lane on lap 17. A clean stop handed the car over to Gudet, who rejoined the race in third overall, immediately demonstrating the speed that she had shown in qualifying.
Quickly settling into a solid rhythm, Gudet began closing on André Jérôme, who occupied second place. The gap steadily disappeared before Gudet launched a decisive move on lap 27 to take second overall after another confident overtaking manoeuvre.
Behind her, Kevin Jimenez and Jérôme continued battling fiercely for the final podium position.
Their fight proved crucial; while the two rivals delayed each other, Gudet escaped by almost five seconds and looked increasingly secure in second place.
Only heavy traffic from slower-class competitors during the final lap allowed Jimenez to close the gap dramatically. Despite the late pressure, Gudet expertly negotiated the final corners and crossed the finish line just three tenths of a second ahead, securing an excellent second-place finish overall and another podium immediately after the breakthrough victory at Spa.
Sunday's second race offered another opportunity to build on that momentum. Thanks to Gudet's qualifying performance, she lined up third on the overall grid and immediately produced another excellent launch. The start itself, however, descended into confusion: although the starting lights remained red, the race nevertheless began, catching much of the field by surprise.
Gudet reacted brilliantly regardless, launching cleanly and moving into second place behind Julien Briche before race control quickly displayed the red flag due to the starting procedure malfunction.
Following the interruption, the race resumed behind the Safety Car.
As racing finally restarted, Gudet was handed an unexpected opportunity: leader Julien Briche suddenly slowed with technical problems almost immediately after the green flag, allowing Gudet to sweep into the overall lead. She immediately set about building an advantage.
Displaying superb pace, Gudet consistently posted purple sectors and gained nearly a second on second-placed Van Straaten during lap four alone. Within only a few laps, the Toyota had established a margin of more than two seconds.
A Full Course Yellow was then required after Neveu's Alpine Cup machine became stranded on circuit.
Once racing resumed, Gudet once again executed a perfect restart. Van Straaten immediately encountered difficulties and slipped backwards, promoting Kevin Jimenez into second place.
The change made little difference to Gudet, as the Frenchwoman continued extending her lead with another sequence of consistently rapid laps while confidently controlling the race from the front.
As the pit window opened, Gudet eventually brought the #78 Toyota into pit lane from the overall lead.
Leneutre climbed aboard for the second stint and initially rejoined second overall, with the #900 Toyota still yet to complete its mandatory stop. When Klaas Kooiker finally took over the #900 Toyota, Leneutre inherited both the overall and Pro-Am lead once more.
Behind him, Enzo Richer emerged as the nearest challenger, approximately four seconds adrift.
Leneutre expertly managed the gap throughout the closing stages; although Richer gradually chipped away a small portion of the advantage, the Toyota driver never appeared under serious pressure despite having to negotiate increasing traffic from slower classes.
Maintaining complete control until the chequered flag, Leneutre crossed the finish line to seal a commanding overall victory. Unlike Spa, where the result had only been confirmed after a successful post-race appeal, this triumph was now secured emphatically on track from start to finish.
Back-to-back victories represented a remarkable turnaround after the difficult opening rounds of the championship. Having spent the first half of the season watching podium opportunities disappear through circumstances beyond their control, Gudet and Leneutre are now fully showing their potential in the FFSA GT Championship.
With a second-place finish on Saturday followed by a dominant victory on Sunday, the #78 Akkodis ASP Toyota Supra GT4 EVO leaves Magny-Cours carrying enormous momentum into the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet on October 10-11, where Gudet and Leneutre will look to finish their campaign on a high.
