Equipe Ligier

Ligier Full name Equipe Ligier Base Vichy (1976-1988) and Magny-Cours (1989-1996), France [1] Founder(s) Guy Ligier Noted staff Ken Anderson Loïc Bigois Cyril de Rouvre Frank Dernie Richard Divila Gérard Ducarouge Claude Galopin Tom Walkinshaw Noted drivers René Arnoux Patrick Depailler Jacques Laffite Andrea de Cesaris Olivier Panis Martin Brundle Subsequent name Prost Grand Prix Formula One World Championship career Debut 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix Races competed 326 Constructors' Championships 0 Drivers' Championships 0 Race victories 9 Podiums 50 Points 388 Pole positions 9 Fastest laps 9 Final race 1996 Japanese Grand Prix

Equipe Ligier is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from 1976 to 1996. The team was founded in 1969 as a sports car manufacturer.^[2]

Sports car origins

After retiring from racing following the death of his friend Jo Schlesser, Guy Ligier had engineer Michel Tétu develop a sports car named JS1 (Schlesser's initials). The Cosworth-powered JS1 took wins at Albi and Monthlery in 1970, but retired at Le Mans and from the Tour Automobile de France.^[3]

For 1971, Ligier had the JS1 developed into the JS2 and JS3. The JS2 was homologated for road use and used a Maserati V6 engine, while the JS3 was an open-top sports-prototype powered by a Cosworth DFV V8 engine. The JS3 won at Monthlery in 1971 but failed to finish the minimum distance in Le Mans. Therefore, it was retired,^[4] and Ligier installed the Cosworth DFV in the JS2 road car, finishing second overall at Le Mans in 1975.^[5] Guy Ligier then switched his efforts into Formula One.

Formula One

Acquiring the Matra F1 team's assets, Ligier entered Formula One in 1976 with a Matra V12-powered car, and won a Grand Prix with Jacques Laffite in 1977. This is generally considered to have been the first all-French victory in the Formula One World Championship.^[6]

The 1980 Ligier JS11/15 being demonstrated at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Ligier used a turbo engine for the first time in 1984. Andrea de Cesaris drives the JS23 chassis at that year's Dallas Grand Prix.

Ligier's last F1 car, the JS43, on display. Driven by Olivier Panis and Pedro Diniz, it provided Panis' only F1 victory and Ligier's last, at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.

The deal with Matra ceased in 1979 and Ligier built a Cosworth-powered wing-car, the Ligier JS11. The JS11 began the season winning the first 2 races in the hands of Laffite. However, the JS11 faced serious competition when Williams and Ferrari introduced aerodynamically modified cars. The rest of the season was less successful for the French marque.

The JS11 and its successors made Ligier one of the top teams through the early 1980s. Despite substantial sponsorship from Talbot and public French companies - mainly SEITA and Française des Jeux (deals which François Mitterrand helped to put in place^[7]) - the competitiveness of the team began to decline around 1982. Around this time, they were testing a Matra V6 turbocharged engine, which never raced.^[8] In the mid-1980s, the team benefitted from a "free" Renault turbo engine deal. This made them more competitive, though not a frontrunner, despite sponsorship from companies such as Gitanes, Loto and elf. When Renault left the sport in 1986, Ligier was left without a bona fide engine supplier. An abortive collaboration with Alfa Romeo (due to René Arnoux's harsh criticism on the Alfa Romeo engines) was followed by customer engine deals with Megatron (who provided them with rebadged BMW M12 engines), Judd and Cosworth and then works contracts with Lamborghini, Renault and Mugen-Honda.

In the last years Ligier had little public support and lacked funds. Surprisingly, the team was somewhat more competitive during this period, perhaps due to the talents of aerodynamicist Frank Dernie, whose skills had developed the Williams of Alan Jones that so regularly beat the Ligiers in the late 1970s.

The talent of the young engineer Loïc Bigois may have played some role as well. But this also brings some to think that, in previous years, Guy Ligier was more worried about making money than restoring the team competitiveness.^{[citation needed]} Famous for his histrionics and boisterous pitlane explosions, the recalcitrant Guy Ligier added greatly to the character of Formula One events from the mid-1970s onward, if not through the competitiveness of his teams. As one F1 commentator famously said, "You always had the feeling that even when they were winning they didn't know why...".^{[citation needed]} Certainly the team enjoyed an upswing when Guy Ligier sold the team to Cyril de Rouvre after a disappointing 1992 season when they once again failed to fulfil their potential despite being supplied with the same works Renault engines as the dominant Williams team - they scored eight podium finishes over the next four years, contrasting sharply with their failure to secure a single top three position between 1987 and 1992.

Between 1987 and 1991, the team struggled, failing to score points in 1990 and 1991. In 1990, when fellow team Larrousse were disqualified after claiming their chassis was built by themselves, while in fact it was built by Lola Cars, Ligier moved up into the important 10th place in the Constructors' Championship, which gave them subsidized travel benefits, despite actually not being classified due a to lack of points.

In 1996, the Mugen Honda-powered JS43 turned out to be a well balanced car, if not on par with the Williams entries. It became a surprise winner as well, with the team taking the chequered flag with Olivier Panis at the Monaco Grand Prix, albeit in a race of heavy attrition, with only three cars finishing. It was the first "all-French" victory at Monaco since René Dreyfus in Bugatti in 1930.

The team was sold to Alain Prost soon after and became Prost Grand Prix in 1997. Prost GP, despite substantial financial backing by large private French companies failed to make the team competitive and went bankrupt in 2002.

The team traditionally used numbers 25 and 26.

After Formula One

In 2004, Ligier returned to motorsport after acquiring Automobiles Martini. Tico Martini had designed a Formula 3 chassis that was introduced at the 2004 Paris Motor Show^[9] as the Ligier JS47, but with the F3 market cornered by Dallara, the car only raced in the minor Recaro F3 Cup.

In 2005 Ligier introduced a "gentlemen driver" sports car, the JS49, a sport prototype^[10][11] made for the 2000 cc CN class, which can be used in the V de V Challenge.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Chassis	Engine(s)	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Points	WCC
1976	Ligier JS5	Matra MS73 V12	G		BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA	JPN		20	5th
				Jacques Laffite	Ret	Ret	4	12	3	12	4	14	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	7
1977	Ligier JS7	Matra MS76 V12	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN	18	8th
				Jacques Laffite	NC	Ret	Ret	9	7	7	Ret	1	8	6	Ret	Ret	2	8	7	Ret	5
				Jean-Pierre Jarier																	Ret
1978	Ligier JS7 Ligier JS9	Matra MS78 V12	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	MON	BEL	ESP	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN		19	6th
				Jacques Laffite	16	9	5	5	Ret	5	3	7	7	10	3	5	8	4	11	Ret
1979	Ligier JS11	Ford Cosworth DFV V8	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA			61	3rd
				Patrick Depailler	4	2	Ret	5	1	Ret	5
				Jacky Ickx								Ret	6	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Jacques Laffite	1	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	8	Ret	3	3	3	Ret	Ret	Ret
1980	Ligier JS11/15	Ford Cosworth DFV V8	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA				66	2nd
				Didier Pironi	Ret	4	3	6	1	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	3	3
				Jacques Laffite	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	11	2	3	Ret	1	4	3	9	8	5
1981	Ligier JS17	Matra MS81 V12	M		USW	BRA	ARG	SMR	BEL	MON	ESP	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	CPL			44	4th
				Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ret	7
				Jean-Pierre Jabouille			DNQ	NC	Ret	DNQ	Ret
				Patrick Tambay								Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Jacques Laffite	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	2	3	2	Ret	3	3	1	Ret	Ret	1	6
1982	Ligier JS17 Ligier JS17B Ligier JS19	Matra MS81 V12	M		RSA	BRA	USW	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	CAN	NED	GBR	FRA	GER	AUT	SUI	ITA	CPL		20	8th
				Eddie Cheever	Ret	Ret	Ret	WD	3	Ret	2	10	DNQ	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	3
				Jacques Laffite	Ret	Ret	Ret	WD	9	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	Ret
1983	Ligier JS21	Ford Cosworth DFV V8	M		BRA	USW	FRA	SMR	MON	BEL	DET	CAN	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	RSA			0	NC
				Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	8	7	Ret	9	Ret	10
				Raul Boesel	Ret	7	Ret	9	Ret	13	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	10	DNQ	15	NC
1984	Ligier JS23	Renault EF4 V6 (t/c)	M		BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR		3	10th
				François Hesnault	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	8	7	Ret	10	Ret
				Andrea de Cesaris	Ret	5	Ret	6	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	12
1985	Ligier JS25	Renault EF4B V6 (t/c)	P		BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS		23	6th
				Andrea de Cesaris	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	14	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Philippe Streiff												10	9	8	WD	3
				Jacques Laffite	6	Ret	Ret	6	8	12	Ret	3	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	WD	2
1986	Ligier JS27	Renault EF15 V6 (t/c)	P		BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	BEL	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	MEX	AUS		29	5th
				René Arnoux	4	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	6	Ret	5	4	4	Ret	10	Ret	7	15	7
				Jacques Laffite	3	Ret	Ret	6	5	7	2	6	Ret
				Philippe Alliot										Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	8
1987	Ligier JS29B Ligier JS29C	Megatron I4 (t/c)	G		BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS		1	11th
				René Arnoux		DNS	6	11	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Piercarlo Ghinzani		Ret	7	12	Ret	Ret	EX	Ret	12	8	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	Ret
1988	Ligier JS31	Judd CV V8	G		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS		0	NC
				René Arnoux	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	18	17	Ret	Ret	13	10	Ret	17	Ret
				Stefan Johansson	9	DNQ	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	11	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	9
1989	Ligier JS33	Ford Cosworth DFR V8	G		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	USA	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS		3	13th
				René Arnoux	DNQ	DNQ	12	14	DNQ	5	Ret	DNQ	11	DNQ	Ret	9	13	DNQ	DNQ	Ret
				Olivier Grouillard	9	DSQ	Ret	8	DNQ	DNQ	6	7	Ret	DNQ	13	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret
1990	Ligier JS33B	Ford Cosworth DFR V8	G		USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS		0	NC
				Nicola Larini	Ret	11	10	Ret	Ret	16	14	10	10	11	14	11	10	7	7	10
				Philippe Alliot	EX	12	9	Ret	Ret	18	9	13	DSQ	14	DNQ	13	Ret	Ret	10	11
1991	Ligier JS35 Ligier JS35B	Lamborghini 3512 V12	G		USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS		0	NC
				Thierry Boutsen	Ret	Ret	7	7	Ret	8	12	Ret	9	17	11	Ret	16	Ret	9	Ret
				Érik Comas	DNQ	Ret	10	10	8	DNQ	11	DNQ	Ret	10	Ret	11	11	Ret	Ret	18
1992	Ligier JS37	Renault RS3B / RS3C V10	G		RSA	MEX	BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	AUS		6	7th
				Thierry Boutsen	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	10	Ret	10	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	5
				Érik Comas	7	9	Ret	Ret	9	10	6	5	8	6	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
1993	Ligier JS39	Renault RS5 V10	G		RSA	BRA	EUR	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	AUS		23	5th
				Martin Brundle	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	6	5	5	14	8	5	7	Ret	6	9	6
				Mark Blundell	3	5	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	3	7	11	Ret	Ret	7	9
1994	Ligier JS39B	Renault RS6 V10	G		BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS		13	6th
				Éric Bernard	Ret	10	12	Ret	8	13	Ret	13	3	10	10	7	10
				Johnny Herbert														8
				Franck Lagorce															Ret	11
				Olivier Panis	11	9	11	9	7	12	Ret	12	2	6	7	10	DSQ	9	11	5
1995	Ligier JS41	Mugen Honda MF301 V10	G		BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN	AUS	24	5th
				Martin Brundle				9	Ret	10	4	Ret		Ret	3	Ret	8	7			Ret
				Aguri Suzuki	8	Ret	11						6						Ret	DNS
				Olivier Panis	Ret	7	9	6	Ret	4	8	4	Ret	6	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	5	2
1996	Ligier JS43	Mugen Honda MF301HA V10	G		AUS	BRA	ARG	EUR	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN		15	6th
				Olivier Panis	7	6	8	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	7	5	Ret	Ret	10	7
				Pedro Diniz	10	8	Ret	10	7	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ligier.

• Official website

v t e Ligier Founder Guy Ligier Designer Gérard Ducarouge Notable Drivers René Arnoux Patrick Depailler Jacques Laffite Didier Pironi Andrea de Cesaris Olivier Panis Martin Brundle Microcars Ambra Be Two Be Up JS4 JS6 JS8 Nova Optima X-TOO X-TOO Max Sports cars JS1 JS2 JS3 JS49 JS51 Formula One cars JS5 JS7 JS7/9 JS9 JS11 JS11/15 JS17 JS17B JS19 JS21 JS23 JS25 JS27 JS29 JS29B JS29C JS31 JS33 JS33B JS35 JS35B JS37 JS39 JS39B JS41 JS43 Formula Three cars JS47