The Ligier JS31 was a Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 car designed by Michel Tétu and Michel Beaujon for the Ligier team for use in the 1988 Formula One season

1988 Formula One season

The 1988 Formula One season was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on April 3, 1988 and ended on November 13 after sixteen races...

. It was powered by the new Judd CV, atmospheric

Naturally-aspirated engine

A naturally aspirated engine is one common type of reciprocating piston internal combustion engine that depends solely on atmospheric pressure to counter the partial vacuum in the induction tract to draw in combustion air...

 V8 engine

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....

 and ran on Goodyear

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....

 tyres. Drivers for the team were French veteran René Arnoux

René Arnoux

René Alexandre Arnoux is a retired French racing driver who is a veteran of 12 Formula One seasons...

 and Swede Stefan Johansson

Stefan Johansson

Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters...

.

The JS31 was the first non-turbo

Turbocharger

A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...

 car produced by Ligier since the season and it proved to be very uncompetitive despite the best efforts of the team and its experienced drivers. The car's major failure was a lack of downforce with Johansson reporting several times during a frustrating season that he had to drive it as if on a wet track because it had so little grip. This was reflected in the car's results. Johansson, a frequent podium visitor in the previous three seasons with Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

 and McLaren

McLaren

McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

 failed to qualify six times and never finished above 9th while seven time grand prix winner Arnoux failed to qualify twice (San Marino and France) and never finished a race higher than 10th. Ligier did not score a point during 1988, and on several occasions both Johansson and Arnoux struggled to outqualify Stefano Modena in the uncompetitive EuroBrun

EuroBrun

EuroBrun Racing was a Formula One constructor from Senago, Milan, Italy, with an Italo-Swiss ownership. They participated in 46 grands prix, entering a total of 76 cars....

. In an effort to optimise the weight distribution of the car, it was designed with an unusual and heavy arrangement of fuel tanks: there were two cells either side of the driver, another between the driver and the engine and a fourth between the engine and gearbox.

The JS31 was replaced for 1989 by the Ligier JS33.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Year	Team	Engine	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts.	WCC
	Ligier Loto	Judd CV 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....  NA Naturally-aspirated engine A naturally aspirated engine is one common type of reciprocating piston internal combustion engine that depends solely on atmospheric pressure to counter the partial vacuum in the induction tract to draw in combustion air...		BRA 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 3, 1988 at the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Rio de Janeiro. It was the first race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Background:...	SMR 1988 San Marino Grand Prix The 1988 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Imola on May 1, 1988. It was the second round of the 1988 Formula One season. Ayrton Senna scored his first victory since joining McLaren at the start of the season. Turbocharged Honda powered cars swept the top 3...	MON 1988 Monaco Grand Prix The 1988 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 15, 1988 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. It was the third race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	MEX 1988 Mexican Grand Prix The 1988 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 29, 1988 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City. It was the fourth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	CAN 1988 Canadian Grand Prix The 1988 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 12, 1988 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. It was the fifth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	DET 1988 Detroit Grand Prix The 1988 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 19, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Ayrton Senna's third win of the season made it six out of six for McLaren in 1988, on the way to an unprecedented 15 wins and ten 1-2 finishes in 16 races...	FRA 1988 French Grand Prix The 1988 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 3, 1988 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. It was the seventh race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	GBR 1988 British Grand Prix The 1988 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 10, 1988 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone. It was the eighth race of the 1988 Formula One season....	GER 1988 German Grand Prix The 1988 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 24, 1988 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Pre-race:At the midpoint of the season, pre-qualifiers were re-evaluated...	HUN 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 7, 1988 at the Hungaroring, Budapest. It was the tenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	BEL 1988 Belgian Grand Prix The 1988 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 28, 1988 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the eleventh race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	ITA 1988 Italian Grand Prix The 1988 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 11, 1988 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza. It was the twelfth race of the 1988 Formula One season...	POR 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 25, 1988 at the Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril. It was the thirteenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	ESP 1988 Spanish Grand Prix The 1988 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1988 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera. It was the fourteenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	JPN 1988 Japanese Grand Prix The 1988 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on October 30, 1988. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	AUS 1988 Australian Grand Prix The 1988 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide, on November 13, 1988. It was the 53rd Australian Grand Prix to be held since the original 100 Miles Road Race was held in 1928, and it was the fourth race to be held on the streets of Adelaide as...	0	NC
			René Arnoux René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux is a retired French racing driver who is a veteran of 12 Formula One seasons...	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	18	17	Ret	Ret	13	10	Ret	17	Ret
			Stefan Johansson Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters...	9	DNQ	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	11	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	9

External links

• Ligier JS31 at Chicane F1
• Ligier JS31 at the Formula One DataBase