Ligier JS P217
This is the Ligier JS P217 that just unveiled
at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit following extensive testing at Magny-Cours
(the former home of the F1 racing in France). It was designed and built by Le
Mans-based chassis constructor Onroak Automotive, which uses the Ligier name
under license.
It bears the initials of Guy Ligier's longtime friend, Jo
Schlesser (who died in a crash at the 1968 French Grand Prix), with the P2
connoting its class and 17 for the year it's being rolled out.
The JS P217 is designed to meet the latest
regulations for the class issued by the FIA, ACO, and IMSA, and set to take
effect next season. It packs a 4.0-liter V8 engine rated at 600 Hp and
supplied by British engine constructor Gibson Technology. It
stretches a little longer than the hybrid LMP1s campaigned by Audi, Porsche,
and Toyota, but sits just as wide, and weighs slightly more at just over 2,000 lbs.
This same chassis will form the basis for the
Nissan-powered entry to be fielded by Tequila Patrón ESM in the DPi class of
the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Rival constructors Dallara, Oreca, and Riley/Multimatic are also developing closed-cockpit LMP2 chassis as the
four sole constructors licensed by the regulatory bodies to do so, and will
form the backbone of the prototype racing class on grids from Sebring to Fuji
to La Sarthe.
