Ligier JS17B
This model followed and completed the competitive life of the JS17, with which Guy Ligier’s team had contested the 1981 season, winning two Grands Prix with Jacques Laffite—in Austria and Canada.
The JS17B took part in seven Grands Prix during the 1982 season. It made its debut at Kyalami in January and ran its final race at Brands Hatch in mid-July. After a difficult start—three double retirements in the opening three rounds—Eddie Cheever took the car to third place at the Belgian Grand Prix in Zolder and second at the Detroit Grand Prix.
Like the JS17, of which it was the natural evolution, the B version was designed by French engineer Gérard Ducarouge, building on the JS11 and JS15 models with their extreme ground-effect aerodynamics—very much in vogue at the time—which had made the French team a front-runner in 1979 and 1980.
Drivers:
Jacques Laffite: For the French driver, 1982 marked his ninth season in Formula One and his seventh at the wheel of a Ligier, with which he had taken six victories. It would also be his last season with Guy Ligier’s team—though he would return in 1985 to end his career there. His 1982 campaign offered little satisfaction. With one car at the end of its development cycle and another struggling to find form, his retirements far outnumbered the races he managed to finish. Still, “Jacquot” managed one flash of brilliance at Zeltweg, where he claimed third place on the podium.
Eddie Cheever: The Rome, Italy-raised American driver reached the podium three times during the 1982 season—his only year with Ligier. Driving the JS17B, he finished second at Detroit and third at Zolder. With its successor, the JS19, Eddie took third place at the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas. Also worth noting is the single point he earned for finishing sixth at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Our model cars:
In place of the light Cosworth V8, whose compact size and low weight had played a key role in those successful seasons, the JS17 returned to the heavier, thirstier, and bulkier Matra 12-cylinder engine—specifically the MS81 version. Guy Ligier had actually hoped to equip the car with a Matra turbocharged six-cylinder, but that dream never came to fruition.
In Ligier’s original plans, the JS17B was meant to retire in the spring of 1982. But the disappointing performance of the new JS19, both in qualifying and in the race at Monaco, convinced the team to bring the JS17B back into service for four more Grands Prix.
