8Star Confirms Ligier JS P2 for TUSC

Photo: DPPI/Onroak Automotive

One of the most talked-about new LMP2 cars is now set to debut in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship later this year.

8Star Motorsports has revealed plans to campaign the Ligier JS P2 in the final three Prototype rounds of the season, beginning with the series’ trip to Road America on August 10.

The Onroak Automotive-built prototype, which broke cover for the first time last month, is slated to make its race debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with at least two entries, both with Nissan and HPD power.

Team boss Enzo Potolicchio confirmed to Sportscar365 last weekend that an order for the car has been placed, but with a to-be-determined powerplant. No word has been given on the driver lineup, although the Venezuelan owner/driver said he plans to make his car available to customers in 2015.

“The car’s ordered, and our plan is to run the final three races,” Potolicchio said. “We are currently waiting for the car to be homologated, and we hope to have it delivered right after Le Mans [in June].”

The link-up came through Potolicchio’s relationship with Onroak President Jacques Nicolet, whose OAK Racing team has been running in the TUDOR Championship with logistical assistance from 8Star.

The Florida-based operation made a splash in sports car racing last year, campaigning a pair of Corvette DPs in the Rolex Sports Car Series alongside a late-season Prototype Challenge entry, which debuted at the Petit Le Mans.

Since then, the 8Star has focused on PC, having scored a runner-up finish in class at Daytona and currently sits second in the championship standings. The team’s PC program, with drivers Sean Rayhall, Tom Kimber-Smith, Mike Marsal and Eric Lux, will continue unaffected from its plans to re-enter the top prototype class.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John