9 Ligier JS P217s will race in the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours
The lists of teams which will race in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series have been unveiled. A total of 10 Ligier JS P217s and 15 Ligier JS P3s will race in these three events.
The traditional early-season Automobile Club de l'Ouest press conference was held this Friday at the Rétromobile Show in Paris. The list of the 60 entries for the 86th Le Mans 24 Hours as well as that of the teams and cars entered for the 2018-2019 FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season were unveiled.
Among the 20 LM P2s in the field are nine Ligier JS P217s that have been selected to race in the 86th Le Mans 24 Hours on 16-17 June.
Jackie Chan DC Racing, awarded two invitations for its two titles in the Asian Le Mans Series, will run two Ligier JS P217s in the Sarthe. After driving a Morgan LM P2 followed by a Ligier JS P2 in the Le Mans 24 Hours and then clinching three titles in Ligier JS P3s entered by his own team, David Cheng is continuing this adventure shared with Onroak Automotive.
In 2017, United Autosports finished fourth in LM P2 on their first outing in the Sarthe classic, and they are back in 2018 with two Ligier JS P217s after their singleton entry last year.
Algarve Pro Racing, Eurasia Motorsport, IDEC Sport and Panis Barthez Compétition are also back for the second year running with a Ligier JS P217.
And Larbre Compétition is making its comeback to the LM P2 category in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the whole FIA WEC. After running a Morgan LM P2 in 2014, Jack Leconte's team has chosen the Ligier JS P217 for its world campaign in 2018.
Two more Ligier JS P217s are on the reserve list with the IDEC Sport and ARC Bratislava teams in seventh and eight positions.
The list of entries for the 2018 European Le Mans Series was unveiled yesterday at 5:00 pm and it included six Ligier JS P217s and 15 Ligier JS P3s. For the third year on the bounce Onroak Automotive is the constructor with the highest number of cars in the European field.
Winner of two rounds in 2017 with a Ligier JS P217 and LM P3 champion in the last two European Le Mans Series, United Autosports are entering four Ligiers in 2018: two JS P217s and two JS P3s.
In 2018, IDEC Sport is running two Ligier JS P217s in the European Championship compared to one last year.
Panis Barthez Compétition and Algarve Pro Racing are also both continuing in the series this year.
In the LM P3 category the list of Ligier JS P3 remains stable. It is very similar to that of 2017 and it looks like the category will be the theatre of some ding-dong battles. In the six rounds last year seven Ligier JS P3 driver line-ups were on the podium and four won at least once.
Among the newcomers is the Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen team, second in the Michelin Le Mans Cup and winner of the English LM P3 series in 2017. Inter Europol Competition has entered a second Ligier JS P3, and BHK Motorsport that raced a Ligier JS P3 in the V de V Endurance Series has moved up to the European series.
Jacques Nicolet: “The unveiling of the ACO lists is an important date on the endurance calendar. It provides a global overview of the teams entered for the coming season and 2018 is set to be a very competitive year in which the overall level is very high. We're delighted to be present in such numbers and to have a car racing in the whole world championship again thanks to Larbre Compétition's entry.
“I'm very touched by the loyalty of the teams which have put their trust in us. We've done a lot of work to meet the challenge that awaits us this year, and once again we're going to deploy a large client support service to accompany the teams running our cars.”
Photo DPPI images