Ligier Nissan DPi

Ligier Automotive
Industry	Automotive, Motorsport
Products	Daytona Prototype racing cars
Website	www.onroakautomotive.com

The Ligier Nissan DPi, also referred to as the Onroak Nissan DPi, is a Daytona Prototype manufactured by Ligier Automotive. It is derived from the Ligier JS P217 and was engineered to comply with the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 category standards for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The prototype made its competitive debut at the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona, where the Tequila Patrón ESM team secured a fourth-place finish.

Development

On 21 September 2016, Scott Sharp, owner of Tequila Patrón ESM, revealed the team's full-season return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for 2017, marking their exit from the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team renewed collaborations with OAK Racing and Onroak Automotive and entered into a multi-year agreement with Nissan Nismo to utilize the VR38DETT 3.8L V6 engine sourced from the Nissan GT-R GT3. Contrary to earlier speculation, ESM confirmed they would not deploy the VRX30A engine from the Nissan GT-R LM Nismo. This initiative was a customer-driven program without factory backing, with ESM securing a two-year exclusive partnership with Nissan.

The vehicle was revealed and underwent testing at Sebring International Raceway on 22 December 2016. Compared to the Ligier JS P217, significant alterations included an enlarged front nose section and redesigned side panels. The finalized design also varied from initial concepts submitted to the International Motor Sports Association.

The Nissan Onroak DPi weighed more than its Ligier JS P217 base, primarily because the VR38DETT engine added over 50 kilograms compared to the Gibson Technology engine employed in the JS P217.

2017 season

The 2017 campaign commenced at the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona, where both entries demonstrated competitive speed. The #2 car led through a rainy night segment but ultimately finished fourth due to electrical malfunctions, penalties, and spins under wet conditions. At the 2017 BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix held on the Long Beach Street Circuit, the #2 vehicle achieved its inaugural podium by finishing second and recording the fastest lap. Pipo Derani earned the car’s first Pole position during qualifying for the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The #22 car secured its initial victory at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America, ending Cadillac DPi-V.R.’s streak of seven consecutive wins with a one-two finish. This success followed a transition from Cosworth to Motec electronic systems aimed at enhancing reliability. During the season finale at Petit Le Mans, the #2 car claimed victory after late penalties were imposed on both its sister #22 and #5 cars from Mustang Sampling Racing.

2018 season

The 2018 season started with both cars retiring at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, despite the #22 car leading several laps. The team bounced back at the 12 Hours of Sebring, securing a win thanks to an impressive late-race effort by Pipo Derani. After encountering three engines and two failures during a difficult weekend at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, ESM reduced its participation to a single entry for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Even after Patrón ended its motorsport sponsorship, Extreme Speed Motorsports intended to continue competing in 2019 with the Nissan DPi. Subsequently, ESM relinquished its exclusivity agreement with Onroak Automotive, enabling other teams to acquire the car through Onroak. At America's Tire 250 held at Laguna Seca, the #22 captured its fourth and final win under ESM’s banner. While Derani secured pole position for his final race with ESM at the 2018 Petit Le Mans, the #22 finished sixth and the #2 car placed eleventh.

Following that season, ESM sold both vehicles to CORE Autosport and then ceased operations.

2019 season

After the departure of title sponsor Patrón Spirits, Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) halted its activities in November 2018. Following this, CORE Autosport took ownership of ESM’s chassis and fielded a single vehicle during the 2019 season. On 23 August 2019, CORE Autosport declared that it would discontinue its Daytona Prototype International (DPi) campaign following the 2019 Petit Le Mans, prompted by the retirement of team owner and driver Jon Bennett. The organization then redirected its efforts solely toward the Porsche factory GT Le Mans initiative. The cessation of CORE’s DPi involvement effectively marked the end of competition for the Nissan-powered entry, as Nissan exhibited minimal enthusiasm for ongoing support.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) Entries in bold denote pole position, while those in italics signify fastest lap.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
Year	Entrant	Class	Drivers	No.	Rds.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pts.	Pos.
2017	United States Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Ryan Dalziel United States Scott Sharp Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Pipo Derani Template:Country data NZL Template:Namespace detect showall Brendon Hartley	2	All All 1-2, 6 1, 12	DAY 4	SEB 11	LBH 2	COA 6	BEL 8	WGL 7	MOS 3	ELK 3	LGA 6	ATL 1	273	5th
2017	United States Tequila Patrón ESM	P	United States Johannes van Overbeek United States Ed Brown Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Bruno Senna Template:Country data NZL Template:Namespace detect showall Brendon Hartley Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Pipo Derani	22	All 1-5 1-2, 6, 12 1-2 7, 9, 11–12	DAY 7	SEB 10	LBH 9	COA 5	BEL 7	WGL 8	MOS 9	ELK 1	LGA 8	ATL 4	249	6th

Year	Entrant	Class	Drivers	No.	Rds.	1 !2 !3 !4 !5 !6 !7 !8 !9 !10 ! Pts. ! Pos.
2018	United States Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Ryan Dalziel United States Scott Sharp Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Olivier Pla Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Norman Nato	2	1-6, 9, 11–12 1-2, 6 12	DAY 19	SEB 16	LBH 2	MOH 10	BEL 4	WGL 15	MOS	ELK 9	LGA 11	ATL 11	186	13rd
2018	United States Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Pipo Derani United States Johannes van Overbeek Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Nicolas Lapierre Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Ryan Dalziel Germany Timo Bernhard	22	All 1-6, 9, 11–12 1-2, 6 7 12	DAY 18	SEB 1	LBH 12	MOH 9	BEL 7	WGL 16	MOS 12	ELK 6	LGA 1	ATL 6	232	9th

External links

Onroak Automotive Official Site