Ligier JS P217 scores its first victory on American soil with Visit Florida

Visit Florida Ligier JS P217 was too fast for the Cadillacs

On Sunday 24th September the Visit Florida Racing gave the Ligier JS P217 its first victory on the American continent on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit in Monterey in California. Troy Flis’s team sealed this victory in the second-last round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on what was only its second outing with the #90 Ligier JS P217.

The whole team and its drivers Renger van der Zande and Marc Goossens had a flawless weekend both on the track and in the pits in practice and in the race. It was Visit Florida Racing’s third victory on the Californian track after its wins in 2012 and 2015.

In particular, this performance was due to a fantastic overtaking move by van der Zande on the #31 Cadillac DPi in the mythical Corkscrew corner on the second-last lap after the two had been locked in battle throughout the race.

The #90 Ligier JS P217-Gibson-Continental’s win is the first by an LM P2 car in the 2017 American championship. It is also Onroak Automotive’s second consecutive victory after the #22 Tequila Patron ESM’s Nissan DPi won on the Road America circuit in August putting an end to the series of seven successes on the bounce by a Cadillac DPi.

In addition, it’s the second consecutive victory by a Ligier on the Laguna Seca circuit where Michael Shank Racing finished first in 2016 in a Ligier JS P2.

The speed of the LM P2 car built by Onroak Automotive was also confirmed by Olivier Pla’s fastest lap in the race in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier JS P217.

The #2 and #22 Nissan DPi run by Tequila Patron ESM couldn’t do any better than sixth and eighth places this weekend.

The teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be at Road Atlanta from 4th to 7th October for the Petit Le Mans, the final race of the 2017 season.