The enormously talented Formula One team boss, racer and businessman, Guy Ligier, has died. He was 85.
Ligier was born in Vichy, France where he was raised as an orphan, first becoming an assistant in a butcher’s shop before displaying a talent for both rowing and rugby, the latter for which he represented his country. He applied a similar determination in the world of business, saving up to buy a bulldozer and founding his own construction firm.
Success in the world of business allowed him to pursue his interest in racing, first campaigning motorcycles before moving on to Formula Junior, sports cars and, in 1966-’67, Formula One. The Frenchman competed in a dozen Grands Prix, first racing a Cooper-Maserati before switching to a Brabham. His best result came at the Nürbrugring in 1967, when he finished in eighth position and sixth in class – his best-ever result. A change to Formula 2 for the following season brought no further success, so Ligier turned his attention to constructing cars.
By 1967, he had acquired the ailing Matra team, with driver Jacques Laffite scoring the team’s first podium in just its fifth race. Its first pole was quick to follow, before its maiden victory at the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix. Laffite’s success continued with victory in the first two races of the ’79 season, while fellow countrymen Patrick Depailler won in Spain. However, a devastating crash in which Depailler broke both legs put the team out of championship contention.
