24h Le Mans
After its first tests at the Magny-Cours circuit, the Ligier JS P217 was revealed this evening at Spa-Francorchamps. At the occasion of the fifth round of the European Le Mans Series, Onroak Automotive presented its all-new LM P2 model in front of guests, media, teams and drivers.
The Ligier JS P217, the new LM P2 chassis compliant with the technical regulations in effect in 2017, was unveiled today, Friday, September 23rd after a year of intense work. This new model encompasses all of Onroak Automotive's experience in the construction of LM P2 chassis.
The design of the Ligier JS P217 is the result of the savoir-faire of Onroak Automotive's consulting office led by Nicolas Clémençon. This model is completely new and benefits from highly focused aerodynamics studies which have optimized drag reduction and developed a particularly efficient cooling system.
The Ligier JS P217 left the Le Mans workshops early in the week to conduct several driving sessions at the Magny-Cours circuit: the tests met every Onroak Automotive expectation and the development program will continue so as to deliver to the first clients the most efficient and complete cars possible at the end of the year, in time to head to the U.S. where the first race will take place in January.
This presentation arrived a few days after the announcement of Onroak Automotive's presence in DPi, via a project in partnership with Extreme Speed Motorsports and Nissan: two Onroak Nissan DPi, based on the Ligier JS P217 chassis and powered by Nissan, will compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2017.
President of Onroak Automotive Jacques Nicolet: "The presentation of a new model is always an emotional endeavor. After many months of confidential and intensive work by all our teams, it is very exciting today to reveal our new LM P2 in which we have put all our passion and professionalism. After the Ligier JS P2 and the Ligier JS P3 in 2014 and 2015, we are very proud to present the Ligier JS P217. It retains the initials 'JS' as a historic tribute to Jo Schlesser by Guy Ligier of whom I am definitely thinking today."
Pôle du Mans Director Sébastien Metz: "The Ligier JS P217 is the fruit of the work done by our consulting office and our various services, and also the very strong collaborations we have had with technical partners who were a part of this program. We are very satisfied with the first laps we've done at the Magny-Cours circuit and we are going to continue to work in the coming weeks to provide the teams full satisfaction."
