to the two finishers in front of him being F2 cars, and so ineligible for F1 points. Other racing wins GT Class win in Coupes du Salon 1963 (de Montlhéry, in a Porsche 356 Carrera); 1964 Coupes de vitesse (de Montlhéry, in a Porsche 904 GTS); Magny-Cours 1965 (in a Ford GT40); Grand Prix d'Albi 1965 (in a Ford GT40, hors championnat d'Europe); Class S win (3L) at 1000 kilometres of Nürburgring 1966 in a Ford GT40 with Schlesser (fifth); Class S win (>2L) at 1000 kilometres of Monza 1967 in a Ford GT40 with Schlesser (sixth); 12 Heures de Reims, 1967 in a Ford Mk.IIB with Schlesser; Special Class win in 1969 Coupes de vitesse (Montlhéry, in a Ford Escort TC). Constructor and team owner In 1968 Ligier established "Ligier Cars" to build his own sports-racing cars in fulfillment of the dream that he and former teammate, business partner and close friend, the late Jo Schlesser had shared to build a "good car". Ligier hired Michel Têtu to design the cars, and the first car produced was the JS1 prototype, the "JS" in this and all subsequent names being a tribute to Schlesser. Only three JS1s were built before production switched to its successor, the JS2. The JS3 racing prototype was actually built in the time between the JS1 and JS2. Following limited success in the sports-racing field Ligier turned his attention to Formula 1 when he bought the assets of Equipe Matra Sports. With the experienced team, including designer Gerard Ducarouge and the Matra V12 engine Ligier formed Équipe Ligier in 1976. The team became successful in the early 1980s with drivers Jacques Laffite, Patrick Depailler and Didier Pironi. In 1981 Ligier's old friend François Mitterrand became President of France. When Ligier ran into trouble in 1983 the President ordered that government-owned companies such as Elf, Gitanes and Loto should supply sponsorship. Ligier also had preferential treatment when it came to engines, political pressure being applied to Renault to force the company to supply the team, which used Renault engines from 1984 to 1986 and from 1992 to 1994. The Ligier-Mitterrand-Bérégovoy alliance reached its peak in the early 1990s with the reconstruction of the Magny-Cours racing circuit as a new headquarters for Ligier and as a racing circuit to host the French Grand Prix. President Mitterrand and Prime Minister Bérégovoy backed the idea. At the 1996 Grand Prix