Sita Vanmeert collected her strongest results to date in the Ligier European Series at Spa-Francorchamps, securing a fourth and fifth place finish at her home round despite challenges with penalties and car issues.
Sports car rookie Sita Vanmeert enjoyed her best weekend in the Ligier European Series to date, securing fourth and fifth place finishes overall at her home round at Spa-Francorchamps, during the fourth round of the championship.
After a strong debut in Barcelona, where she finished fifth and sixth in her first-ever races after her transition from karting, Vanmeert faced challenges at Paul Ricard, then finished seventh in the single Le Mans race at the legendary Circuit de La Sarthe.
Determined to bounce back on home soil at the equally iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Vanmeert shared the JS2R operated by Les Deux Arbres team with Sacha Bottemanne for the fourth round of the season.
In the first practice session, the team gradually built speed, recording a 2:35.220 lap time. Improvements continued in the second session, with a 2:33.447 lap placing the #86 Les Deux Arbres Ligier fifth in class. However, several track limits infractions by Bottemanne hampered Sita's driving time, as her car had to serve a penalty cutting into her session.
In Qualifying 1, Vanmeert initially placed P7 in the opening minutes, then improved her lap time consistently, moving up to third with five minutes to go. As times dropped in the final minutes, she ultimately qualified in a respectable P7 with a best lap of 2:33.625 despite her limited track time leading up to qualifying.
In Qualifying 2, Bottemanne took over the #86 Ligier but had contact with the pole-sitting car of Granzella, leading to a red flag with four minutes remaining. The session was not resumed, and they would start from P6 on the grid in Race 2.
“In qualifying, it actually didn’t go that bad", Sita explained. "I just struggled to put a good lap together because I didn’t get many laps in practice since I am sharing the car now. My teammate got too many track limits, so we got a penalty when it was my time to drive,” she recalled.
Vanmeert retained P7 at the start of the first race, surviving a hectic start into Turn 1, with a prototype spinning ahead that forced several drivers to take evasive action through the gravel. Vanmeert gained a position in the following laps, moving up to sixth, but later settled back into seventh, consistently improving her personal best sectors.
After the mandatory pit stops, Vanmeert handed over the car to Bottemanne, who rejoined in P7. The Frenchman delivered a strong second stint, making up positions on some AM drivers after the pit stops, climbing to fifth in the JS2R class after passing Bertocco's Iron Lynx machine on lap 20.
When Marta Garcia, in her first-ever GT race, received a 30-second penalty for track limits, Vanmeert and Bottemanne moved up to fourth, marking Sita's best result of the season to date. The 18-year-old Belgian driver improved on her fifth-place finish at Barcelona, despite battling car issues earlier in the weekend, showing there was even more potential.
A few hours later, Vanmeert had another chance to build on the momentum in Race 2. Starting from sixth on the grid, Bottemanne made a massive start, moving up to third in class and holding position behind Marta Garcia and Tomas Granzella.
The Safety Car was deployed on lap 2 due to Bertocco's stranded Iron Lynx car. After the restart, Bottemanne battled for the lead and a mistake at the Bus Stop chicane by Garcia promoted him to second. However, a contact with Granzella at Les Combes sent the latter spinning. Bottemanne took the lead but was under pressure from Garcia, and had a potential penalty pending.
Another accident on the Kemmel Straight for the #44 JSP4 prototype of Vieira brought out a second Safety Car with 40 minutes to go. When the race resumed, Bottemanne led Garcia but was eventually handed a drive-through penalty, dropping him to the back on lap 10. Vanmeert took over from seventh in the JS2R category, with a significant gap to the pack, having over one minute to close.
The race dynamics changed again when contact involving Winslow’s Monza Garage JSP4 prototype caused a third Safety Car. The caution was beneficial for Vanmeert, who could catch up with the pack for the final part of the race.
When the green flag waved, all battles were on: Vanmeert gained a position, moving up to P6 after Stern received a drive-through penalty. She then overtook the #50 sister car of Lepesqueux with two laps to go, securing fifth place and eventually crossing the line in P5, claiming her third top-five finish of the season.
"Then the races were a bit more difficult", Sita said. "We were struggling with the car, so we tried to fix this for race two. Shortly after we were leading, we had contact and got a penalty. After the drive-through, we lost many places," she summarized.
While Vanmeert and Bottemanne showed they had the pace to contend for podiums, the result slipped away at Spa. Nevertheless, the home round was still a positive outing for young Sita, who collected two strong results and valuable championship points. She is now sixth in the JS2R standings with 50 points to her name.
The next round will be at Mugello, Italy, on September 27-28, the fifth and penultimate round of the season.
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