The Ligier JS P217 is a Le Mans Prototype 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 car also meets the regulations for the International Motor Sports Association’s (IMSA) WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the Prototype class. It was active in both of these championship series as well as the European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series.

The prototype made its racing debut at the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona and its FIA World Endurance Championship debut at the 2017 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 publicly in September 2016. It also performed tests at Magny-Cours in September 2016 and Daytona International Speedway 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 regulations. The car was developed in partnership with Nissan 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 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.

Ligier JS PX Revealed in 2021, the Ligier JS PX is an unrestricted track-day special based on the JS P217. Seemingly an evolution of the Onroak DPi, the JS PX utilizes a 3.8 liter V6 twin-turbo engine, yet developed to 825 hp. The chassis, suspension, and transmission are identical to the P217, though Ligier optimized ABS, TC, and ECU systems using input from Olivier Pla. A similarly large front panel to that of the Nissan DPi is utilized, with an extended nose and a copycat element directly under it. The PX retains single canards on each side like the P217, in place of the DPi's dual-canard setup on each side. While the enlarged cooling duct from the DPi used to cool the NISMO VR38DETT is present, the side panels see simplification in the form of removal of a turning vane.

The car would be featured as the main protagonist's Le Mans entry in the 2023 film Gran Turismo, complete with a racing livery with PlayStation and NISMO sponsorship, further proving relevance to the DPi racecar.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap. +YearEntrantClassDrivers123456789PointsSILSPA24HNURMEXCOTAFUJSHABHR2017 Tockwith MotorsportsLMP2 Nigel Moore34 Ret 9 Ret 0 NC Philip Hanson Ret 9 Ret Karun Chandhok Ret 9SPA24HSILFUJSHASEBSPA24HPoints2018 - 2019 Larbre CompétitionLMP2 Erwin Creed50 6 6 6 5 6 4 6 4855th Romano Ricci 6 6 6 5 6 4 6 4 Julien Canal 6 Thomas Dagoneau 6 Yoshiharu Mori 6 Keiko Ihara 5 Enzo Guibbert 6 Gunnar Jeannette 4 Nicholas Boulle 7 4SILFUJSHABHRCOTASPA24HBHRPoints2019 - 2020 Eurasia MotorsportLMP2 Nick Foster35 8 14 0 NC Roberto Merhi 8 14 Nobuya Yamanaka 8 14 Inter Europol Competition René Binder34 17 0 NC Matevos Isaakyan 17 Jakub Śmiechowski 17 EuroInternational Christophe d'Ansembourg11 Ret 0 NC Erik Maris Ret Adrien Tambay RetSPAPORMON24HBHRBHRPoints2021 ARC BratislavaLMP2 Miro Konôpka44 Ret 11 11211th Tom Jackson Ret 11 Darren Burke Ret Oliver Webb 11 11

Complete European Le Mans Series results Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap. +YearEntrantClassDrivers123456PointsSILMONRBRLECSPAPOR2017 Panis Barthez CompetitionLMP2 Fabien Barthez23 9 7 5 4 9 6417th Timothé Buret 9 7 5 4 9 6 Nathanaël Berthon 9 5 4 9 6 Algarve Pro Racing Matt McMurry25 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 114.513th Andrea Pizzitola Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 11 Andrea Roda Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret IDEC Sport Racing Patrice Lafargue28 8 9 Ret 11 10 108.512th Paul Lafargue 8 9 Ret 11 10 10 David Zollinger 8 Olivier Pla 9 Ret 11 Paul-Loup Chatin 10 10 United Autosports Filipe Albuquerque32 1 6 1 5 4 2982nd William Owen 1 6 1 5 4 2 Hugo de Sadeleer 1 6 1 5 4 2 Tockwith Motorsports Philip Hanson34 5 11 912.510th Nigel Moore 5 11 9LECMONRBRSILSPAPORPoints2018 United AutosportsLMP2 Philip Hanson22 12 10 3 Ret 1 1544th Bruno Senna 12 Filipe Albuquerque 10 3 Ret 1 1 Wayne Boyd32 9 11 15 10 6 32310th William Owen 9 11 15 10 6 3 Hugo de Sadeleer 9 11 15 10 6 3 Panis Barthez Competition Timothé Buret23 8 7 10 6 3 245.56th Julien Canal 8 7 10 6 3 2 Will Stevens 8 7 10 6 3 2 Algarve Pro Racing Tacksung Kim25 16 13 17 11 13 103.2518th Mark Patterson 16 13 17 11 13 10 Ate De Jong 16 13 17 11 10 Matt McMurry 13 IDEC Sport Racing Patrice Lafargue27 Ret 12 161.2519th Erik Maris Ret 12 16 14 William Cavailhes Ret 12 Nicolas Minassian 16 14 Aurélien Panis 14LECMONCATSILSPAPORPoints2019 United AutosportsLMP2 Philip Hanson22 6 4 7 Ret714th Paul di Resta 6 Filipe Albuquerque 4 7 Ret Alex Brundle32 12 3 8 837.58th Ryan Cullen 12 3 8 8 William Owen 3 8 8 Panis Barthez Competition René Binder23 10 9 15 719.511th Julien Canal 10 9 15 7 Will Stevens 10 9 15 7 Timothé Buret24 Ret 7 Ret 5 Ret 82010th Konstantin Tereshchenko Ret 7 Ret 5 Ret 8 Leonard Hoogenboom Ret 7 Ret IDEC Sport Racing Stéphane Adler27 Ret 16 14 13 Ret 13218th Erik Maris Ret 16 Ret Patrice Lafargue Ret 16 13 13 William Cavailhes 14 13 Ret 13 Inter Europol Competition Dani Clos34 15 13 Ret217th Léo Roussel 15 Jakub Śmiechowski 15 13 Ret 12 12 Ret Adrien Tambay Ret 12 Lukas Dunner 12 Sam Dejonghe 12 Ret Mathias Beche 12 RetLECSPALECMONPORPoints2020 Inter Europol CompetitionLMP2 René Binder34 7 11 6 12 Ret15.512th Matevos Isaakyan 7 11 6 12 Ret Jakub Śmiechowski 7 11 6 12 Ret

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap. YearEntrantClassDrivers1234PointsSHABENSEPCHA2019 - 2020 Eurasia MotorsportLMP2 Daniel Gaunt1 Ret Ret Ret 4137th Nobuya Yamanaka Ret 4 Masataka Yanagida Ret Ret Nick Cassidy Ret Ret 4 Shane van Gisbergen Ret Nick Foster36 2 2 2 5653rd Roberto Merhi 2 2 2 5 Aidan Read 2 2 2 5 Inter Europol Competition John Corbett33 5 4 6 6384th Nathan Kumar 5 4 6 6 Mitchell Neilson 5 4 Danial Frost 6 6 Mathias Beche34 4 Ret 5 7285th Jakub Śmiechowski 4 Ret 5 7 James Winslow 4 Ret 5 7DUB 1DUB 2YMC 1YMC 2Points2021 EuroInternational - OjetsLMP2 - Am John Corbett11 2 Ret182nd Neale Muston 2 RetDUB 1DUB 2YMC 1YMC 2Points 2022 ARC Bratislava LMP2LMP2 Am Miro Konôpka 44 4 4 5 4 51 4th Neale Muston 4 4 5 4 John Corbett 4 4 5 4633rd

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap. YearEntrantClassDrivers1234567891011PointsDAYSEBLBHAUSBELWGLMOSELKLGAATL2017 PR1/Mathiasen MotorsportsP Tom Kimber-Smith52 9 7 52377th José Gutiérrez 9 7 9 4 7 7 10 Mike Guasch 9 7 R. C. Enerson 9 Will Owen 5 Marco Bonanomi 9 Kenton Koch 10 Ryan Lewis 10 Olivier Pla 4 7 7 10 Nicholas Boulle 8 David Ostella 8 Julien Canal 10 VisitFlorida Racing Marc Goossens90 5 1 72338th Renger van der Zande 5 1 7 René Rast Jonathan Bomarito 7DAYSEBLBHMOHBELWGLMOSELKLGAATLPoints2018 United AutosportsP Fernando Alonso23 131819th Philip Hanson 13 Lando Norris 13 Paul di Resta32 4 5 48215th Bruno Senna 4 Will Owen 4 Hugo de Sadeleer 4 Philip Hanson 5 4 Alex Brundle 5 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra52 12 11 11 6 8 9 9 1321112th Gustavo Yacamán 12 11 11 6 8 9 9 13 Roberto González 12 11 Nicholas Boulle 12 José Gutiérrez Will Owen 9DAY 1DAY 2SEBMOHBELWGL 1WGL 2ELKLGALBHATLPoints2021 RWR EurasiaLMP2 Austin Dillon51 40NC Sven Müller 4 Cody Ware 8 4 Salih Yoluç 8 4DAYSEBWGLMOSELKIMSATLPoints2024 Sean Creech MotorsportLMP2 João Barbosa339411108124011th Lance Willse941110 Jonny Edgar9411 Nolan Siegel9 Tõnis Kasemets8

Race Victories +YearSeriesRaceCircuitTeamSpecification2017ELMS4 Hours of Silverstone Silverstone Circuit United AutosportsLMP2ELMS4 Hours of Red Bull Ring Red Bull Ring United AutosportsLMP2IMSAContinental Tire Road Race Showcase Road America Tequila Patron ESMNissan DPiIMSAAmerica's Tire 250 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca VisitFlorida RacingLMP2IMSAMotul Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta Tequila Patron ESMNissan DPi2018IMSAMobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Sebring International Raceway Tequila Patron ESMNissan DPiIMSAContinental Tire Monterey Grand Prix WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Tequila Patron ESMNissan DPiELMS4 Hours of Spa Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps United AutosportsLMP2ELMS4 Hours of Portimao Algarve International Circuit United AutosportsLMP22022ESET CupGT Sprint Race 1 Slovakia Ring ARC BratislavaLMP2ESET CupGT Sprint Race 2 Slovakia Ring ARC BratislavaLMP2

References

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