Guy Ligier is a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 former rugby player

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 and racing driver.

He first made his name as a rugby player in the late 1940s when he was working as a butcher's assistant in his home town of Vichy

Vichy

Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...

. An orphan, he was determined to build up a successful business and saved all his money in order to buy a bulldozer and then went into the construction business. When his rugby career ended - after he had played for the French national team - he began racing motorcycles before trying his hand at single-seater racing with a Formula Junior

Formula Junior

Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...

 Elva

Elva (car manufacturer)

Elva was a sports and racing car manufacturing company based in Bexhill, then Hastings and Rye, East Sussex, United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1955 by Frank G. Nichols. The name comes from the French phrase elle va .-Racing cars:...

.

With motorway construction booming in France, Ligier was able to build a large construction empire and during the period made important friends in local politicians François Mitterrand

François Mitterrand

François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

 and Pierre Bérégovoy

Pierre Bérégovoy

Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy was a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.-Early career:...

.

In the late 1960s Guy started racing Porsche

Porsche in motorsport

Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted...

 sportscars and even raced in F1 with privately entered Cooper

Cooper Car Company

The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...

-Maserati

Maserati in motorsport

Throughout its history the Italian auto manufacturer Maserati has participated in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, sportscar racing and touring car racing, both as a works team and through private entrants.-Beginnings:...

 and Brabham-Repco

Repco

Repco is an Australian automotive engineering company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and it is best known for spare parts and motor accessories....

 machinery. Neither was very successful and so in 1968 Ligier decided to form a partnership with Jo Schlesser

Jo Schlesser

Joseph Schlesser was a Formula One and sports car racing driver from France. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed...

 and the two bought a pair of McLaren Formula 2 cars. Schlesser was killed that year on his F1 debut at the French Grand Prix

1968 French Grand Prix

The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was the sixth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:** 1st Win - Jacky Ickx...

, at the wheel of the curious air-cooled Honda F1 car, and Ligier decided he had had enough and retired. He decided that he would build racing cars instead and hired Michel Tétu to design the Ligier JS1, a production sportscar (the initials JS were a tribute to Jo Schlesser). The company was built up in sportscar racing but at the end of 1974 Ligier bought the assets of Matra Sports

Matra

Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...

 and embarked on a Formula 1 team. This began racing in 1976 with Jacques Laffite

Jacques Laffite

Jacques-Henri Laffite is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six grand prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. He is now a TV commentator on French television TF1....

 driving. The team became highly successful in the early 1980s with Laffite

Jacques Laffite

Jacques-Henri Laffite is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six grand prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. He is now a TV commentator on French television TF1....

, Patrick Depailler

Patrick Depailler

Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.Depailler was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme. As a child, he...

 and Didier Pironi

Didier Pironi

Didier Joseph Louis Pironi was a racing driver from France. During his career he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell , Ligier and Ferrari...

 driving. In 1981 Ligier's old friend François Mitterrand

François Mitterrand

François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

 became President of France and when Ligier ran into trouble in 1983 the President ordered that government-owned companies such as Elf

Elf Aquitaine

Elf Aquitaine was a French oil company which merged with TotalFina to form TotalFinaElf. The new company changed its name to Total in 2003...

, Gitanes

Gitanes

Gitanes is a brand of French cigarettes, sold in many varieties of strengths and packages. It is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008, having been owned by SEITA before that. Originally rolled with darker or brun tobacco, in contrast to...

 and Loto

Loto

Loto are a Portuguese band from Alcobaça. The band consists of Ricardo, JT and Pedrosa, and they produce electro-pop-rock-dance music.Their debut was in October 2002 with the EP Swinging on a Star....

 should supply sponsorship.

Ligier also had preferential treatment when it came to engines, political pressure being applied to Renault

Renault F1

Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

 to force the company to supply the team, which used Renault engines from 1984 to 1986 and from 1992 to 1994.

The Ligier-Mitterrand-Bérégovoy alliance reached its peak in the early 1990s with the reconstruction of the Magny-Cours

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...

 racing circuit as a new headquarters for Ligier and as a racing circuit to host the French Grand Prix. President Mitterrand and Prime Minister Bérégovoy backed the idea.

In 1992 Ligier realized that the socialist government would not last forever and sold his team to Cyril de Rouvre. He used the money he gained to corner the market in natural fertilizer in central France and set about building another fortune. Within a few months Mitterrand's Socialist Party

Socialist Party (France)

The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

 was annihilated in the elections

French legislative election, 1993

French legislative elections took place on 21 and 28 March 1993 to elect the 10th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.Since 1988, President François Mitterrand and his Socialist cabinets had relied on a relative parliamentary majority. Without the support of the Communists, Prime minister...

 and Bérégovoy committed suicide.

Ligier also built a successful business building Ligier micro-cars. The Ligier team eventually came into the ownership of former driver Alain Prost

Alain Prost

Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...

 and was renamed Prost Grand Prix

Prost Grand Prix

Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One racing team managed by former world champion Alain Prost. The team participated in five seasons from 1997 to 2001.-Purchase of Ligier:...

.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Yr	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Points
1966 1966 Formula One season The 1966 Formula One season was the 17th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 22 and ended on October 23...	Guy Ligier	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  T81 Cooper T81 The Cooper T81 was one of the last Formula One racing cars produced by the Cooper Car Company. It was designed ahead of the World Championship season to operate within the new 3 litre engine regulations that came into effect that year...	Maserati Maserati in motorsport Throughout its history the Italian auto manufacturer Maserati has participated in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, sportscar racing and touring car racing, both as a works team and through private entrants.-Beginnings:...  V12 V12 engine A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....	MON 1966 Monaco Grand Prix The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 1966. It was the opening round of the 1966 Formula One season, the first of a new era for Formula One, the 'return to power' as engine regulations were altered from 1.5 litres of maximum engine... NC	BEL 1966 Belgian Grand Prix The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 June 1966. It was the second round of the 1966 Formula One season. The race was the 26th Belgian Grand Prix which to this point had only been held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit... NC	FRA 1966 French Grand Prix The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 3, 1966. It was the '60th Anniversary race' of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was the third round of the 1966 World Championship... NC	GBR 1966 British Grand Prix The 1966 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 16, 1966. It was the fourth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 21st British Grand Prix and the second to be held at Brands Hatch... 10	NED 1966 Dutch Grand Prix The 1966 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on July 24, 1966. It was the fifth round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 16th Dutch Grand Prix since it was first held in 1948... 9	GER 1966 German Grand Prix The 1966 German Grand Prix was a mixed Formula One and Formula Two motor race held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife on August 7, 1966. It was the sixth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 28th German Grand Prix and the 22nd to be held at the Nordschleife... DNS	ITA 1966 Italian Grand Prix The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 4, 1966. It was the seventh round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 36th Italian Grand Prix and the 32nd to be held at Monza...	USA 1966 United States Grand Prix The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1966 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...	MEX 1966 Mexican Grand Prix The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 23, 1966. It was the ninth and final round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the fifth Mexican Grand Prix...			NC	0
1967 1967 Formula One season The 1967 Formula One season was the 18th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over an eleven race series which commenced on January 2, 1967, and ended on October 22...	Guy Ligier	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  T81 Cooper T81 The Cooper T81 was one of the last Formula One racing cars produced by the Cooper Car Company. It was designed ahead of the World Championship season to operate within the new 3 litre engine regulations that came into effect that year...	Maserati Maserati in motorsport Throughout its history the Italian auto manufacturer Maserati has participated in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, sportscar racing and touring car racing, both as a works team and through private entrants.-Beginnings:...  V12 V12 engine A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....	RSA 1967 South African Grand Prix The 1967 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Kyalami on January 2, 1967.- Race report :For the first time, the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg was being used. There were some changes in the driver line-ups: John Surtees was driving for Honda, Mike Spence signed for BRM whilst...	MON 1967 Monaco Grand Prix The 1967 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 7, 1967.- Race report :The opening few laps were eventful - Jack Brabham spun in front of Bruce McLaren and Jo Siffert who collided taking avoiding action, whilst Jim Clark had to take to the escape road.Jackie Stewart swept...	NED 1967 Dutch Grand Prix The 1967 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 4, 1967.The race saw the debut of the Ford Cosworth DFV engine, in Jim Clark and Graham Hill's Lotuses.- Classification :-Notes:*Pole position: Graham Hill - 1:24.6...	BEL 1967 Belgian Grand Prix The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 18, 1967.- Race report :Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the... 10	FRA 1967 French Grand Prix The 1967 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans on July 2, 1967.- Race report :The new Bugatti circuit used the main pit straight at Le Mans, but then used an infield section comprising several second and third gear corners, which was universally unpopular... NC							19th	1
		Brabham BT20	Repco Repco Repco is an Australian automotive engineering company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and it is best known for spare parts and motor accessories....  V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....						GBR 1967 British Grand Prix The 1967 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Silverstone on July 15, 1967.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... 10	GER 1967 German Grand Prix The 1967 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Nürburgring on August 6, 1967.- Classification :Note: The race was run with both Formula One and Formula Two cars running together... 8*	CAN 1967 Canadian Grand Prix The 1967 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on August 27, 1967. The race was won by Jack Brabham driving for his own Brabham team....	ITA 1967 Italian Grand Prix The 1967 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 10, 1967. It was won by British driver John Surtees driving a Honda RA300. Jim Clark led the race until a little after the half way point when he picked up a puncture and lost an entire lap. He... Ret	USA 1967 United States Grand Prix The 1967 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 1, 1967 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... Ret	MEX 1967 Mexican Grand Prix The 1967 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 22, 1967.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:47.56* Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:48.13... 11

* Ligier finished 8th in the 1967 German Grand Prix, but was awarded the point for 6th place as the two F2 drivers who finished ahead of him on the road were ineligible to score points