Ligier European Series: Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi recover to P6 in charging Le Mans race
- RACERS
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
"Stepping onto the track at Le Mans for the first time felt like living a dream I’ve carried with me for years" - Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi made their first appearance at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans and completed a remarkable comeback drive from 12th on the grid to finish sixth in the third round of the Ligier European Series, fighting back from a disrupted qualifying.
Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi made their first appearance at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans and completed a remarkable comeback from 12th on the grid to finish sixth in the third round of the Ligier European Series, despite the extremely limited track time before the one-hour race.
The Emirati sister duo bounced back from a challenging qualifying session — disrupted by incidents and a red flag — with a strong recovery drive. Amna charged through the pack in the first stint before Hamda took over and battled for a top-five finish in the closing stages.
Having transitioned from single-seaters to endurance racing in 2025, Hamda and Amna are contesting their first season in the Ligier European Series with Team Virage, sharing the #88 Ligier JSP4 prototype. The sisters bring a strong pedigree from the junior formulae, with multiple F4 victories and standout performances in the F1 Academy, where they represented Red Bull and VCARB.
After reaching the two-year participation limit in the all-female series, they made a strategic move to prototypes, aiming to build a long-term career in sportscar racing. Their debut at Barcelona showcased immediate promise, with front-running pace and a third-place finish in Race 2 despite early adversity in Race 1.
At the second round in Le Castellet, the sisters continued to impress with two strong fourth-place finishes, narrowly missing out on further podiums but collecting valuable championship points. As the Ligier European Series gains momentum as a key step on the sportscar ladder, Amna and Hamda quickly established themselves as serious contenders in the JSP4 class ahead of the flagship event at La Sarthe — the legendary venue that hosts the world’s most iconic endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As a support race to the main event, the Ligier European Series ran a one-day format on Sunday. It proved challenging for all drivers, who had to learn the 13.626 km circuit in a single 45-minute practice session in the morning — just minutes before heading straight into qualifying.
Hamda Al Qubaisi took the wheel of the #88 Team Virage Ligier for practice. On a very green track — in the first session of the week — she improved significantly with each lap and climbed from P11 to a 4:19.1 lap before pitting with 15 minutes remaining. Amna then got in the car but completed barely one lap before the session ended prematurely with a red flag. The sisters ended the session in P13.
Amna also handled qualifying duties, with just a 15-minute session to find pace. Her first lap was a 4:18.101, which placed her P10. As the short session allowed for only a handful of laps, she improved to a 4:16.280 — putting her P12. However, while improving again in sector 1, a red flag ended the session early, and Amna would have to start the race from P12 in the JSP4 class.
“It was an incredibly tough weekend,” said Amna Al Qubaisi. “My free practice session was red-flagged, so I went straight into qualifying with no real track time. With just three laps to learn the circuit, I managed to qualify P12.”
Amna lined up P12 on the grid and immediately began making moves, passing Julien Schell and Jacques Nicolet, then overtaking Ruben Hage to take P10 in the opening stages.
Amna continued to push and was briefly up to P8 before settling in P9 as she chased André Vieira by the end of lap one.
Hage fought back and Amna dropped to P10 but stayed close to the cars ahead as the field began to spread out. A safety car was deployed on lap 4 due to Papin's #18 car coming to a halt, bunching up the field. At the restart a lap later, Amna kept putting pressure on Vieira, who then passed Caussanel — and Amna followed through to regain P9.
Amidst chaos ahead and Pianezzola dropping down the order, Amna seized the opportunity and climbed to P6 just before pitting at the end of lap 6 for the driver change.
Hamda Al Qubaisi took over from seventh in class. With a group of cars pitting one lap later, she rejoined in sixth, then began her pursuit of Ben Caisley. Hamda closed the gap and entered a four-car battle, with Vieira and Caussanel also involved. She passed Caisley on lap 8, though the Nielsen Racing driver fought back, and the two traded positions.
Hamda continued to improve, setting strong lap times. When Perez Cabello pitted, she climbed to P5 and kept the pressure on Caisley while fending off Vieira with 12 minutes to go. By lap 10, she was lapping in the 4:12s, quicker than her immediate rivals.
However, more cars were charging through the field: Poulet overtook Vieira and then found a way past Hamda on lap 11; despite the setback, she remained in contention for the top five.
In the final laps, Hamda had to defend from the recovering Caussanel but held on firmly to finish P6, a strong result under challenging circumstances.
“Despite the challenge, I gave it everything I had and fought my way up to P6”, Amna summarized.
“Nevertheless, stepping onto the track at Le Mans for the first time felt like living a dream I’ve carried with me for years", she recalled. "I still remember watching my dad race here seven years ago! To be here now, following in his footsteps, means more than I can put into words.”
Despite often facing adversity in the first rounds of the season, Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi once again used their racecraft to maximise the result and secure valuable points in the championship. They now sit fourth in the standings with 53 points, just two points behind the sister car of Peters/Stevens.
The next round will be again a double-header event supporting the European Le Mans Series at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on 22–23 August.