The success of the Ligier Junior Programme
Just a few days before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary, the French constructor, present at every level of the endurance racing pyramid, announced the creation of the Ligier Junior Programme. The programme aims to create bridges between different championships, enabling young talent to progress up the endurance racing pyramid thanks to a unique prize system.
The Ligier JS Cup France is the first series to join the Ligier Junior Programme. In 2024, it launched a Junior classification. The winner will be allocated a Ligier JS P4 for the following season, enabling him or her to compete in the Ligier European Series in the Ligier JS P4 category.
“For several years, we have been working to strengthen and develop the endurance sector we have created as a constructor of racing cars”, explains Jacques Nicolet. “The budget is often the main obstacle in the development of young drivers. The Ligier Junior Programme aims to identify young talent in championships that share the same values as our brand and to give them the means to continue to develop.”
The Ligier Junior Programme was an immediate success. Thirteen young drivers signed up in 2024. Aged between 17 and 24, they have all made their first forays in karting, single-seaters, Clio Cup or GT4. They all have the same objective: to begin a professional career in endurance racing.
“With more than 13 Juniors in the first edition, it's been a total success,” exclaims Benoît Abdelatif, organiser of the Ligier JS Cup France. “Over 30 cars on average per race this year, and the behaviour on the track remains exemplary. This immediate enthusiasm is proof of the need that existed for the creation of a genuine endurance programme. Now, Ligier support future drivers from the moment they leave karting right up to the highest professional level, and all this for one of the lowest starting budgets in existence. The first step has been taken and we hope that it will soon be sealed for the years to come. Single-seater racing had its own system, and now endurance racing has its own too!”
Read the interview of Romain Boeckler, leader of the Junior classification in Ligier JS Cup France.
This award reinforces the prize system already in place in the Ligier European Series. The European single-make championship has offered since 2022 prize money to the champion(s) in each category to help them continue their progression up the ACO endurance pyramid: €100,000 for the JS2 R champion(s) to compete the following season in the Ligier European Series behind the wheel of a JS P4 and €150,000 for the JS2 R champion(s) to compete in the next season in the Ligier European Series behind the wheel of a JS P4. 000 for the JS2 R champion(s) to compete the following season in the Ligier European Series behind the wheel of a JS P4 and €150,000 for the JS P4 champion(s) to compete in the next season in the Michelin Le Mans Cup behind the wheel of a Ligier JS P320 (LMP3).
THE LIGIER JUNIOR PROGRAMME IN THE LIGIER JS CUP FRANCE, IN BRIEF:
- Only drivers aged between 16 and 26 are eligible for the Ligier Junior Programme.
- A Junior driver joins a team of one or two drivers entered in Ligier JS Cup France in a Ligier JS2 R.
- Two Juniors may not race in the same car. If this is the case, only one of them can claim the prize money.
- Ligier JS Cup France races last 4 or 6 hours with two or three drivers per car.
- The Junior drivers are the only ones to qualify the car.
- Junior drivers must start the races. At the end of 40 minutes and one lap, a ranking is established between the Juniors only. This is the result of the Ligier Junior Programme race. However, the race does not stop and the Junior drivers continue to gain experience. The Juniors' result does not depend on that of their team-mates or on the outcome of the race. No matter who they race with, they are neither advantaged nor penalised.
- The winner of the Ligier Junior Programme in the Ligier JS Cup France will be allocated a Ligier JS P4 to take part in the Ligier European Series the following season in a bid to win a new grant to continue their ascent up the endurance racing pyramid (the €150,000 prize money offered to the Champion(s) to move up to the Michelin Le Mans Cup in the LMP3 category at the wheel of a Ligier JS P320).
For more information on the Ligier Junior Programme, click here.
For more information on the Ligier JS Cup France, click here.
For more information on the Ligier European Series, click here.
For more information on the Ligier JS2 R, click here.
For more information on the Ligier JS P4, click here.