LIGIER THAN LIFE

Guy Ligier had a difficult start in life. He was born in 1930, was orphaned and left school at 15 to become a butcher’s apprentice. Yet he was resilient, becoming the French rowing champion in 1947. He took up rugby and was selected for the French International B team, the perfect sport for this stocky, hot-tempered Vichy native.

Ligier started racing motorcycles and went on to be the 1959 French 500cc champion. Then he saved up to buy a bulldozer, launched a construction company and his political connections – including future President François Mitterrand – awarded him contracts during the autoroute construction boom. By the early 1960s he had more than 1000 employees and hundreds of machines.

Motor racing came next. Ligier graduated from a Simca to Formula 2 and had some decent results. Although he had less success in F1, he can be seen in real footage of the film driving a Cooper-Maserati in French Racing Blue, his first connection with the Trident. His career highlight, however, was winning the 1967 Reims 12 Hours with best friend Jo Schlesser in a Ford GT40 MkIIb. Alas, Schlesser perished during the following year’s French GP at Rouen, which prompted Ligier to stop racing single-seaters.