The Ligier JS5 was the first

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

made by

Ligier Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champio ...

. Designed by

Gérard Ducarouge Gérard Ducarouge (23 October 1941 – 19 February 2015) was a French Formula One car designer whose career in motorsport started in 1965 when he joined Equipe Matra Sports. His Matra MS80 car, entered by the privateer Matra International te ...

, it competed in the

1976 Formula One season The 1976 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1976 World Championship of Drivers and the 1976 International Cup for Formula 1 Manufacturers . The two titles were contested over a sixteen race s ...

, gaining 20 points and getting sixth place overall in the Constructor's Championship. The car also gave its driver

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1. ...

and Ligier their first ever pole position at the 1976 Italian Grand Prix at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Background

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 owner ...

was a Frenchman that had become wealthy as a result of his construction company. Having participated briefly in Formula One as a driver in the 1960s, he founded a race car company in 1969. This made sportscars, including the JS2 which was raced at Le Mans in 1972. In late 1974, having secured backing from the French tobacco company

SEITA SEITA (''Société d'exploitation industrielle des tabacs et des allumettes''), was the former French state-owned tobacco monopoly. Cigarette brands included Gauloises and Gitanes, both created in 1910. It merged in 1999 with its Spanish equivale ...

, he recruited

from

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and we ...

and set about preparing an entry for Formula One.

Design and development

Ducarouge, with assistance from Michel Beaujon, drew up a conventional monocoque with a long wheelbase that was to be designated the JS5. The JS5 was powered by the Matra MS73

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

which has been used in sportscar racing for the previous few seasons. It was completed in October 1975 and exhibited at SEITA's main offices in Paris and the following month began testing at the

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...

. To drive the car, Ligier contracted

after briefly considering the experienced

Jean-Pierre Beltoise Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at th ...

. The early races of the year were completed with the JS5 bearing a large airbox (earning the car the nickname of "Teapot") but changes in regulations following the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix saw this drastically downsized. The rear wing was also moved forward. The aerodynamics were improved at the time of building the second JS5 chassis and were substantially less curved than the first chassis built and raced.

Racing history

The JS5 made its debut at the opening race of the season, the

Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...

, where Laffite qualified it in 11th place on the grid. He retired from the race itself, as he did from the following race in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. At

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, the third race of the year, from 12th on the grid, Laffite drove the JS5 to fourth place earning Ligier its first points. He scored his first podium in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where he finished in third place from sixth on the grid. Laffite followed this performance up with another fourth at the Swedish Grand Prix. By the time of the Austrian race, a new chassis had been completed which Laffite used to great effect by finishing second from fifth on the grid. He was again on the podium in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he finished third having qualified in pole position. By the end of the season, Ligier, with 20 points, placed sixth in the Constructor's Championship. Laffite was seventh in the Driver's Championship.

Results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* {{F1 cars 1976 Ligier JS05 1976 Formula One season cars