A stint at Ligier

Jean-Pierre Jarier at the wheel of a Ligier JS7-Matra at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix on the Mount Fuji circuit (photo above). The French team had decided to enter, for the first time in its history, a second single-seater alongside that of Jacques Laffite, but Jarier who qualified in 17th position, did not go very far in the race, as his engine gave up on lap 3. Victory went to James Hunt in his McLaren.

After a promising first season in 1976, the Ligier team entered a Ligier JS7-Matra for its driver Jacques Laffite in 1977. The first seven Grand Prix of the season were disappointing, then Laffite won, to everyone’s surprise and thanks to a miraculous set of Goodyear tires, the Swedish Grand Prix. This success represented the first victory for a French driver at the wheel of a French single-seater. Historic.

Laffite gave it all but the rest of the season was less good, with the exception of a fine second place won in a hard-fought battle at the Dutch Grand Prix. The likeable French driver finished tenth in the drivers’ championship with 18 points, while Jarier, who started his season with ATS (picture-below), then did a stint with Shadow and finally this Japanese GP with Ligier, finished the 1977 season with just one point.