The Ligier JS P2 is a

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...

designed and built by French manufacturer

Onroak Automotive Ligier Automotive, formerly Onroak Automotive, is a French company which designs, manufacturers, and sells auto racing, racing cars, specifically sports prototypes for various international series. Onroak was founded in 2012 by Jacques Nicolet w ...

and named in partnership with French former racing driver

Guy Ligier Guy Camille Ligier (; 12 July 1930 – 23 August 2015) was a French racing driver and team owner. He maintained many varied and successful careers over the course of his life, including rugby player, butcher, racing driver and Formula One team ow ...

. Designed for the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) regulations, it is intended as a second option to Onroak's Morgan LMP2 that has been competing since 2012. As well as being the first closed-cockpit car offered by Onroak, it is also the first car they designed entirely in-house. The JS P2 debuted at the

2014 24 Hours of Le Mans The 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans () was an 24-hour endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance racing event for teams of three drivers entering Le Mans Prototype and LM GTE, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 11 to 15 June ...

, and has been campaigned in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second s ...

and

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

Development

Onroak initially planned to develop a car for the Le Mans Prototype 1 category but cancelled these plans to concentrate on the LMP2 category. The design was seen by Onroak as marketable in North America where closed-cockpit designs, which were required for all LMP1 cars, were also prominent choices for LMP2s and

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand-Am Road Racing, Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype rac ...

s in the new United SportsCar Championship. The LMP1 design was therefore evolved into an LMP2 design with measures taken to assure the car met the

Automobile Club de l'Ouest The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...

's (ACO) cost limitations in LMP2. The car was designed to be able to utilize available LMP2 engines:
A flat-plane crankshaft version of a

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

V8 aluminum

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...

4-valve engine ( VK45). Judd's

naturally aspirated A naturally aspirated engine, also known as a normally aspirated engine, and abbreviated to N/A or NA, is an internal combustion engine in which air intake depends solely on atmospheric pressure and does not have forced induction through a turboc ...

HK V8 (

BMW S65 The BMW S65 is a naturally aspirated V8 petrol engine which was produced from 2007 to 2013. Its main use was in the BMW M3#E90/92/93 M3, BMW M3 (where it replaced the BMW M54#S54B32, BMW S54 straight-six engine). There is no direct replacement for ...

Variant), and

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

's HPD V6 double turbo engine; (HR28TT). A high downforce sprint design and a low downforce Le Mans setup are offered for the car. Naming of the JS P2 came about through an alliance between Onroak and Guy Ligier's partnership of

Équipe Ligier Équipe Ligier () is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from to . The team was founded in 1968 by former French rugby union player Guy Ligier as a sports car manufacturer. Sports car origins After retiring fr ...

and

Automobiles Martini Automobiles Martini is a constructor of Formula racing cars from France, founded by Renato "Tico" Martini in 1965, when Martini and partner Bill Knight founded the Winfield Racing School at the Magny-Cours circuit, in France. Martini's first car ...

. The JS P2 follows Ligier's naming scheme of his cars being named after French racing driver

Jo Schlesser Joseph Théodule Marie Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968) was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He score ...

(JS). The partnership included Onroak taking over development of Ligier-Martini's

Group CN Group CN is a category of vehicles used in motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1993 for sports car racing. Group CN cars are mainly used in hillclimbing championships or sports racing series. Group CM is a non-FIA class which is closely rel ...

car.

Racing history

The JS P2 began initial testing in March 2014. The debut of the first JS P2s was set for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, where the Ligier name would race for the first time since a

Ligier JS2 The Ligier JS2 is a Mid-engine design, mid-engined sports coupé that was built by Ligier in the French commune of Abrest near Vichy in the department of Allier between 1971 and 1975. Road-going and competition versions were built. Conception an ...

had finished second overall in . OAK would enter two cars, one backed by Nissan's drivers and engine while the other car featured three Chinese drivers and a Honda powerplant. The third car was purchased by

privateers A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

Thiriet by TDS Racing and also used a Nissan engine. The two Nissan JS P2 qualified well, with TDS's car on pole position and the first OAK car in third. All three cars finished the 24 hour endurance with TDS in second and OAK in fifth and seventh places in class. Following Le Mans TDS Racing campaigned their Ligier in the remainder of the

, but were unable to finish the three races in which they participated. OAK Racing meanwhile brought their Ligier to the United States for the two remaining rounds of the

United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association ( ...

, where

Alex Brundle Alexander Brundle (born 7 August 1990) is a British racing driver and broadcaster. He was the 2016 European Le Mans Series champion (LMP3) and is the son of Formula One driver-turned-commentator Martin Brundle. He attended Oakham School in Rutla ...

put the Honda-powered JS P2 on pole position on debut at

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located in Austin, Texas, United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Pr ...

en route to a second-place finish. The Nissan-powered OAK car moved to the

where it earned five consecutive pole positions in the five remaining races as well as class victories at

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Shizuoka, Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the ...

and

Shanghai International Circuit The Shanghai International Circuit (), also called the SAIC Shanghai International Circuit () for sponsorship purposes, is a motorsport race track, situated in the Jiading District, Shanghai, China. The circuit is best known as the venue for the ...

. In 2015 the American

Krohn Racing Krohn Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Houston, Texas (U.S. state), Texas. The team competes in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype class, and has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Inter ...

team purchased a JS P2 for a partial season in the United SportsCar Championship and a full season in the European Le Mans Series, and will be the first team to utilize Judd power in the Ligier.

Michael Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing (MSR; formerly Michael Shank Racing) is an American motorsport organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. History Atlantic Championship Michael Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing ...

purchased a Honda-powered JS P2 for a full United SportsCar Championship campaign, and won pole position at the

Rolex 24 at Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout, ...

. In 2016,

Extreme Speed Motorsports Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) was an American auto racing team based out of Riviera Beach, Florida, Riviera Beach, Florida. Founded by Scott Sharp and Patrón CEO Ed Brown (racing driver), Ed Brown, the team competed in the FIA World Endurance ...

entered a JS P2 in the United Sportscar Championship, winning both the

2016 24 Hours of Daytona The 2016 24 Hours of Daytona (formally the 54th Rolex 24 at Daytona) was an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned 24-hour automobile endurance race for Prototype and Grand Touring sports cars held at the Daytona Internatio ...

and the

2016 12 Hours of Sebring The 64th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida was an endurance sports car racing event held at Sebring International Raceway near Sebring, Florida from 16 to 19 March 2016. The race was the second round of the 2016 IMSA Sport ...

, with the JS P2 becoming the first car to defeat a

at the 24 hours, as well as the team becoming the first to win the so-called "36 Hours of Florida" since 1998.

Results summary

Complete World Endurance Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap. Green background indicates second team entry; eligible only for Drivers' championship points. ^* Points were scored with the Morgan LMP2 ^* Points were scored with the HPD ARX-03b

Complete European Le Mans Series results

(key) Races in bold indicates

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap. ^* Points were scored with the Morgan LMP2

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap. ^* Points were scored with the Morgan LMP2

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

(key) Races in bold indicates

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap.

Gallery

File:2014 Lone Star Le Mans (15294691621).jpg, The No. 42 car of

OAK Racing OAK Racing is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans Prototype, LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA ...

at the

2014 Lone Star Le Mans The 2014 Lone Star Le Mans was a Sports car racing, sports car race sanctioned by the IMSA, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on September 20, 2014. The race served as the twelfth of ...

File:Two Ligiers at Daytona.png, The No. 57 and No. 60 cars of

and

, respectively, at the

2015 24 Hours of Daytona The 53rd Rolex 24 at Daytona was an endurance sports car racing event held at the Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida from 22–25 January 2015. The 53rd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona was also the first race for the 2 ...

File:20150412-EU5A6854 (17249797735).jpg, The No. 28 car of

G-Drive Racing G-Drive Racing is a Russian sports car racing team. It is named after the commercial fuel distributed by Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of oil giant Gazprom. They made their debut in the LMP2 class of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship in a p ...

at the 2015 4 Hours of Silverstone File:Scott Sharp Ed Brown Johannes van Overbeek, Extreme Sports Motorsports Jigier JS P2-Nissan, 2016 World Endurance Championship R1, 6 Hours of Silverstone, Silverstone, 17th April (26549190686).jpg, The No. 30 car of

at the

2016 6 Hours of Silverstone The 2016 6 Hours of Silverstone was a six-hour Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance Sports car racing, sports car racing event held for Le Mans Prototype and LM GTE, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars at the Silverstone Circuit in Northam ...

File:Ligier JS P2 - Lombard Racing - 24 Heures du Mans 2016.jpg, The No. 22 car of Lombard Racing at the

2016 24 Hours of Le Mans The 84th 24 Hours of Le Mans () was a 24-hour automobile endurance racing event held for teams of three drivers each fielding Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars from 15 to 19 June 2016 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, ...

File:Ligier JS P2 - Nissan - Panis Barthez Compétition - 24 Hours of Le Mans 2016.jpg, The No. 23 car of Panis Barthez Competition at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans File:Algarve Pro Racing's Ligier JS P2 Nissan Driven by Michael Munemann, Sir Chris Hoy and Andrea Pizzitola (30436644570).jpg, The No. 25 car of

Algarve Pro Racing Algarve Pro Racing (APR) is a Portuguese sports car racing team founded in 2010 by husband and wife Stewart and Samantha Cox. The team focuses on prototype racing, fielding LMP2 entries in the European Le Mans Series, as well as partnering wit ...

at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans File:United Autosports's Ligier JSP2.jpg, The No. 22 car of

United Autosports United Autosports is a sports car racing team based in Wakefield, England, United Kingdom, founded by businessman Zak Brown and former driver Richard Dean (racing driver), Richard Dean. United Autosports has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans (LMP2 Cl ...

at the 2019 4 Hours of Sepang

References

External links

Onroak Automotive
{{WEC cars 2016 Le Mans Prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Ligier racing cars