The Ligier JS P217 is a

Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were cr ...

built by Onroak Automotive and named in a partnership with French racing driver Guy Ligier. The Ligier JS P217 was built to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO regulations for 2017 for the LMP2 category in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

. The car also meets the regulations for the

International Motor Sports Association 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 ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dire ...

’s (IMSA) WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the Prototype class. It is active in both these championship series as well as the

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 ...

and Asian Le Mans Series in 2017. The prototype made its racing debut at the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona and its

debut at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Development

The Liger JS P217 was conceived in 2016 in preparation for the FIA and ACO's new regulation changes in 2017. Onroak Automotive built a brand new chassis from scratch and focused on improving the mechanics of the car from the Ligier JS P2. Onroak and technical partners focused on the air cooling of the engine radiators and brakes and cockpit air conditioning. The mechanical features of the car that were concentrated on was the implementation of a new axle, nut, and rim to lessen the time of tire changes, the efficiency of the axles, weight distribution, accessibility of mechanics at the front of the cockpit, aerodynamic efficiency, LMP1 style power steering, and a limited number of chassis pieces. The driver's comfort, space, controls accessibility, and visibility also was paid attention to as well. The car was unveiled at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

publicly in September 2016. It also performed tests at Magny-Cours in September 2016 and

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...

in November 2016 for preparation for the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Nissan Onroak DPi

A variation of the prototype, the Nissan Onroak DPi, also known as the Ligier Nissan DPi, was created for the IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class under the

DPi A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replaceme ...

regulations. The car was developed in partnership with

Nissan , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...

and Nismo. The powerplant of the vehicle is a 3.8 litre V6 twin-turbo engine from the Nissan GT-R GT3. Other alterations from the P217 include a large front panel and revised side panels. Onroak Automotive supplied Tequila Patrón ESM with two prototypes for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. ESM ran the DPi until closing due to a lack of sponsorship in late 2018.

CORE Autosport CORE Autosport was an American auto racing team founded by Jon Bennett in 2010 and based out of Rock Hill, South Carolina. After claiming the IMSA Lites Championship in 2010, the team, led by team manager, Morgan Brady, made the move to competin ...

would purchase the ESM DPis and run them for the 2019 season. The program would not continue due to the retirement of team owner Jon Bennett.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.

References

External links

{{WEC cars 2021 Le Mans Prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Ligier racing cars