French constructor Ligier, along with Ginetta in the UK, plan to inject new life into the SRO’s stuttering GT2 formula in 2026 and beyond by widening the net for potential customers with new cost-effective race cars.
For Ligier, its JS2 RS has been put forward and homologated as the car which it will use to enter the GT2 marketplace, and the early signs are promising for the project.
On the face of it, the RS is a really attractive prospect. It’s a beefed-up version of Ligier’s increasingly popular single-make JS2 R racer, which has been a hit with teams and drivers in the Ligier European Series and JS Cup France.
Entering the GT2 arena, though, is as much of a risk as it is an opportunity for an organisation like Ligier right now. It’s a small, low-volume, motorsport-focused manufacturer that already has its fingers in many pies. LMP3 business is booming, there’s a new LMP2 era on the horizon, its Formula Regional single-seater business takes up a huge chunk of its capacity, and it remains a prospect for a future Hypercar project. So why push to be a part of a platform that to this point has failed to attract big numbers and leave a mark, and why now?
“When the JS2 RS project started, we always had GT2 in mind. We wanted to collaborate with SRO to work on a homologation,” Pierre Nicolet, the managing director of Ligier Automotive, told DSC.
“With the JS2 R back in 2019, we produced a silhouette car with a very good performance-cost ratio with a tubular chassis, stock engine and fibreglass bodywork. From there, we always wanted to go further into the GT pyramid with more than one car, so for us, the GT2 category is the highest level a non-OEM can join today.
It’s clear, with the JS2 RS, as a completely new car with a carbon monocoque, the natural path is for us to invest in GT2.”
The car’s price and running cost are vital to Ligier’s business model for the JS2 RS and its viability as a GT2 car going forward. With a 3.5L Ford EcoBoost V6 engine that produces up to 650 horsepower and a pre-BoP weight of 1,100 kg, Ligier (like Ginetta) feels it has found a gap in the market by producing a car for customers who wish to compete with GT3 levels of performance, at roughly GT4 levels of cost.
“The RS is cost-effective to anyone who wants to get a start in a bespoke carbon GT chassis with the aim of an endurance format,” Nicolet explained. “We’ve had positive feedback from teams and drivers since we first launched the RS originally, and the GT2 homologation has only added to that.
“The aim is to feed drivers in GT racing into a category with a high level of performance at a relatively affordable cost to run, as it’s 259,000 Euros and has the performance of cars that are a lot more expensive. The initial comment has been that it fits the market in line with those that are ambitious, but don’t want to spend big money on a GT car.”
The aim is to feed drivers in GT racing into a category with a high level of performance at a relatively affordable cost to run
The GT2 homologation for the car will be the JS2 RS’s only specification. All it needs now is the BoP parameters to finalise the car’s weight and power.
“We expect the car to run with some ballast, because the other GT2 cars are a lot heavier!” Nicolet pointed out.
In testing over the winter, the car has shown promise in its reliability and performance capabilities.
“It’s obviously a completely different car to the JS2 R, but what anyone who steps up will find is that you get higher performance with the same assets. It’s easy to maintain, it’s got a completely removable front block like an LMP, and a completely new carbon and fibreglass bodywork to keep the cost down,” Nicolet said.
“In testing in Magny-Cours and Barcelona, the experienced GT drivers we have on board to help, like Yvan Muller, Xavier Pompidou and Olivier Pla, say that it’s super easy to drive. In the wet, it produced LMP3 laptimes off the bat, which was very surprising. We’ve had no major issues or technical problems and feel it’s ready to race.”
So, where will we see it compete, and how many cars in year one will roll off the production line? Ligier will deliver multiple cars to customers and expects to have two cars in the GT2 European Series, two in Ultimate Cup and a single car racing in the USA-based World Racing League.
Having two cars in the GT2 European Series is the big, positive headline, as Ligier is one of four manufacturers signed up to the SRO GT Academy initiative (along with Maserati, Ginetta and Mercedes-AMG). The programme is for Silver-graded drivers under 30 years old competing in the 2026 GT2 European Series with one of the four brands. The winner will receive a full-season programme in the 2027 GT World Challenge Endurance Cup.
We won’t know how effective the launch of the SRO GT Academy has been in attracting new drivers and teams to the series until the entry list for the season is published. But there are encouraging signs.
Ligier and Ginetta have already confirmed two cars apiece, and DSC expects converted Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeos to feature too. That’s before we get into tallying up teams from the Audi, KTM, Maserati and Mercedes-AMG camps. Will the field hit the high teens or even surpass 20? We’ll have to wait and see.
Looking further afield, as a car that fits the bill in open categories like SPX in the NLS/N24 and 24H Series, there’s also the potential to see the JS2 RS GT2 compete in major endurance races this year and beyond, too. Nicolet kept his cards close to his chest at this stage when quizzed on this, but teased that there is more to come.
“We are targeting other series in the future, that’s for sure. I can say at this stage that we have some fun plans,” he said.
Images courtesy of Ligier Automotive
