Former F1 team owner Guy Ligier dies

A former French national rugby player, Ligier forged a path towards F1 after building a successful construction business specialising in building motorways across France.

He competed in sportscar racing in the 1960’s and then contested 12 F1 races in a Cooper Maserati and Brabham Repco in 1966 and 1967.

Although it would not be until 1976 that Ligier would enter F1 under his own name as a team entity after buying out Matra two years earlier.

A former F1 driver himself, Ligier began his sporting career in rugby. Considering this, they did not have as much success as they should have – over the 20 years of the team’s existence, they won only 9 races and no drivers’ championships despite being frontrunners in the 1980s.

Ligier would eventually be bought over by another Formula 1 legend – 4-time drivers’ champion Alain Prost purchased the team, renaming it Prost GP.

His good relationship with Mitterrand led to some controversial moves, with state-owned companies sponsoring the team and even talk of Renault being “persuaded” to supply engines.

Paying tribute to his countryman, McLaren team boss Eric Boullier said: “It was with great sadness that I heard the news that Guy Ligier had passed away”.

“As a child growing up in Le Mans, I was inspired and entranced by his iconic and attractive pale-blue-and-white Ligier Formula One cars, driven with panache and aplomb by such French racing heroes as Jacques Laffite, Patrick Depailler and Didier Pironi”, he added.

The Ligier name lives on in the production of micro-light cars, while it has also returned to sportscar competition with its successful JS P2 LMP2 racer. FormulaSpy would like to take this opportunity to express our sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Ligier.