Siegel: “Incredible” to See Ligier Competitive in LMP2 Field

Nolan Siegel has described the performance of the Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P217 Gibson in the LMP2 field as “incredible” in the run up to this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Indy NXT regular Siegel is part of the driving lineup for the only non-Oreca in the 13-strong LMP2 class for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, and the first in the Rolex 24 since 2021, alongside Joao Barbosa, Lance Willsey and Jonny Edgar.

Although Bronze-rated Willsey qualified only 12th in class 0n Sunday, the team had showed encouraging pace during the Roar Before the 24 test sessions, with Siegel setting the second-fastest time during Friday’s second session.

Siegel’s best lap across all six test sessions was less than a second off the pace of the fastest time set in the class up to that point.

“When we got here, everyone thought we were insane.” Siegel told Sportscar365. “But we are in the mix for sure. 

“To be that competitive when we have four days of experience with this car, and everyone else has four years of experience, it’s pretty impressive and a testament to how good a job the team has done. 

“You don’t see it race at all, it’s the only (JS P217) racing in the world. And this is just about as competitive a field as you get in LMP2, or even endurance racing in general.

“To be in the middle to the front of the pack in practice is pretty incredible. Hopefully we can fight for a good result in the race.”

Siegel said his past experience with Sean Creech in the LMP3 class had convinced him it was worth signing up to race with the team despite its eccentric choice of car.

“They had already announced they are running the Ligier before I had talked to them about driving,” he said. “I was with them last year and I saw how good a team it is, and I thought that if anyone can make it work, it’s them. 

“I guess I wondered how competitive it would be, but it’s actually a really fun challenge to race something that’s under-developed instead of rolling off the truck, being fast immediately and not making many changes. 

“To be working with the Ligier engineers has also been a great experience. I’ve driven the Ligier LMP3 a bunch in the past, so I know them already. We’ve been having a good time figuring it out together.”

Asked if running with the Ligier would make any subsequent success in the Rolex 24 feel more special, Siegel replied: “Absolutely. It does make it more special when you are running with this car nobody expected us to be able to compete with.”