IMSA: Shank, ESM to share Ligier P2

Ligier JS P2 chassis No. 9 is going to be a popular car this year. Two American teams will use the Honda-powered prototype for the world's most famous 24-hour races, and in both instances, the choice to use - and share - chassis No. 9 is being made for practical purposes.

It's the same car OAK Racing, whose parent company Onroak Automotive builds the JS P2, ran at last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with Laurens Vanthoor, Chris Cumming, and Kevin Estre behind the wheel, and is being used this week by Tequila Patron ESM for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. After the car is done racing in America, it will return to OAK's base in Le Mans where Michael Shank Racing will use chassis No. 9 for its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, and for any other early FIA World Endurance championship rounds the team chooses to enter.

For ESM co-owner Scott Sharp, the decision to ship the OAK factory car to Florida for the Rolex 24, rather than sending one of ESM's Ligiers, was the best choice available.

"Basically, it works all the way around for us," Sharp told RACER. "It was logistically the smart move to find an alternative method, and the OAK guys were great and we were able to structure something where we could lease the car.

"Since we're in the process of switching our Ligiers to Nissan engines in the WEC, leasing a car for Daytona from OAK has given our team the time to do the conversion without shipping the car with a Honda, then running it, then sending it back and doing the conversion after. It saves us a lot of time."

Shank (LEFT), who runs a Ligier JS P2-Honda in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, found the same efficiency as Sharp with Oak's lease plan. Turning up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with chassis No. 9 waiting for his team is, in his estimation, a perfect way for Michael Shank Racing to make its debut in France.

"This is adaunting task, so we're taking the path of the least resistance," he told RACER. "We're using everything from OAK. I'm bringing my guys and tools, and that's about it. It's about using their knowledge and the simplicity of it all."

With an early May WeatherTech Championship race in Monterey, and an early July race at Watkins Glen, Shank is thankful he can use chassis No. 9 in June for the official Le Mans test and the race without adding a logistical hassle with MSR's Ligier-Honda.

"When we come back from Laguna Seca, we prep our car for the June race at Watkins so we can focus on Le Mans and don't have to worry about passing customs, [or] if we crashed our car and need to thrash to rebuild it," he said.
"And chassis No. 9 is a good car. She was fast last year at Le Mans, it was fast with Sharp's team at the Roar, and I'm confident she'll give us a good shot when we head to France. It's a good workhorse."